Dayton And Waitsburg On Top

WAITSBURG - The Waitsburg Knowledge Bowl team didn't know the answer to the question "What branch of mathematics was pioneered by the Islamic mathematician al- Khwarizmi?"

To score the point in round three of Monday's Knowledge Bowl meet at the Waitsburg Christian Church they didn't really need to know the exact response.

They just needed to be fast on the buzzer and take the 15 seconds they had to use logic and the process of elimination to figure out that it might algebra, derived from the Arabic word al-jabr meaning "restoration."

The answer obviously wasn't calculus or geometry or trigonometry, so the Arabic sounding "algebra" seemed like a good choice, team captain Fletcher Baker said.

The answer was right and on that question out of 60 in the round, the Cardinals did well on eight other questions, scoring 9 points and placing them second after the Dayton High School team with 19 points, but above Clarkston with only 4.

Dayton's team came in first with 93 points, followed by Waitsburg with 81, Clarkston with 81 and DeSales with 80.

The Waitsburg Knowledge Bowl meet was the fourth meet of the school year and brought 13 teams and more than 60 students from Waitsburg, Dayton, DeSales, Touchet, Prescott, and Clarkston who competed in mental gymnastics for two hours.

Waitsburg is well positioned to go to the state 'think-offs" as they have placed in the top three or four at every meet they've attended.

"It's our best year," said Baker, a senior who competed in Monday's meet along with sophomore EJ Meserve, sophomore Emily Wilson and freshman Emma Philbrook. Other rotating competitors include Meara Baker, David Smith, Tucker Alleman and Samantha Henze.

Because the DeSales Irish team isn't quite as strong this year and there are two area slots for teams to move to the state competition late February, Waitsburg has a good shot at one of those spots.

It's unlikely, however, that they'll be ranked higher than Dayton, which Fletcher and his fellow competitors said is a "bigger, older and smarter" team.

All jockeying aside, the quizzes are a lot of fun, according to the students, who are faced with questions covering everything from psychology and technology to grammar and architecture.

Here are just a few samples from Monday's Round Three:

"What one-syllable adjective indicates an unabashed enthusiastic review of a (theater) show?" Answer: "Rave."

"Projects such as $107,000 to study the sex life of Japanese quail or $13 million for a private pleasure boat harbor in Cleveland are examples of what kind of government spending?" Answer: pork barrel.

"What Central American country has the shortest coast on the Pacific Ocean?" Answer: Honduras. That's right. It's not Panama.

"What's the digital root of 309,572?" Answer: 8.

"An astronomical unit equals the average distance from the earth to what heavenly body?" Answer: the sun.

"Whose presidential library and museum is located in Independence, Missouri?" Answer: Harry Truman's.

The students in Round Three obviously need to brush up on their American political history. None of the teams got it right.

But the moderator didn't even get time to finish reading this question before the Waitsburg team slammed the buzzer:

" What company known mostly for its Internet search engine reported this in 2010?" The question was followed by: "Our automated cars have driven down Lombard Street, crossed the Golden Gate Bridge, navigated the Pacific Coast Highway, and all the way around Lake Tahoe. All in all, our self-driving cars have logged over 140,000 miles."

Never mind that. The answer is "Google."

The students said they prepare by watching the news and by specializing in certain subjects. Baker and Wilson, for instance, focus on math. Meserve knows his science and literature. Philbrook takes on history.

Waitsburg Knowledge Bowl coach Brad Green said he does review old meet quizzes with his students as a way to exercise their brain and get them accustomed to the kinds of questions they might face.

But there's really no other way to get ready for a meet since the questions can be drawn from an infinite number of subjects, dates, events, data and factoids. And trying to cram as many of those into your head can be counterproductive, Philbrook pointed out.

"That will just cause mental exhaustion and slow your reflex at the button," she said.