Sample Questions - middle school level


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Fine arts
  He was noted as a Renaissance painter and sculpture.  Who was this Florentine who sculpted the Pieta that sits in St. Peters Cathedral and painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, also in the Vatican?  
  This noted German composer of the Baroque period produced more than a thousand pieces of music that survive today.  Among the best known are Toccata and Fugue, the Brandenberg Concertos,  and Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring.  Who was this Court Composer of Augustus the Third?
  After designing the Eiffel Tower, Gustave Eiffel next designed the iron framework for what landmark that you find standing in New York harbor?
  This country is the setting for the opera Madame Butterfly, as was also the setting for the Akiro Kurasawa masterpiece The Seven Samurai.
  This Italian word means "fresh" and is used when paint is applied to fresh plaster to form a mural.  This technique was used by Leonardo da Vinci to paint The Last Supper.  Provide this six-letter word.

Current events

  What state did Barack Obama represent in Congress before being elected President?
  In 2014, she became the youngest person ever to win a Nobel Peace Prize. Provide the first name, last name, or both of the 17-year-old spokeswoman for women’s rights who was shot by a Taliban teenager for daring to attend high school in Pakistan.
  Please don't call them dolls.  By what name does the toy industry refer to dolls like G.I. Joe, Transformers and Spiderman?
  In February 2016, the Discovery Channel announced that this show is being discontinued after 14 seasons. A crew member summarized the show as, “260 hours of TV, 83 miles of duct tape, 280 destroyed cars.” Nerds and geeks everywhere will be disappointed to no longer be able to view the explosions and antics of Adam Savage and Jamie Hyenman. Name this scientific series filmed in the San Francisco area which sometimes confirms, but more often debunks, popular beliefs.

Geography
  The convention that set an international standard for treatment of prisoners of war is named for this Swiss city that sits on its western border with France.  Name this city that is also headquarters of the International Red Cross.
  This state contains the Craters of the Moon National Monument and has the words "Famous Potatoes" on its license plates.  Name this state with a panhandle that lies between Washington and Montana.
  It is the name of a SUV made by Toyota.  But in science, this word means a type of treeless Arctic terrain that is usually underlain by permafrost. 
  The equator passes through a lot of ocean, but goes through very few countries.  This largest country astride the equator is the largest country in South America.

History
  According to the Constitution, a person cannot be convicted of except by testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act or by confession in open court.  Name this crime for which Benedict Arnold  was convicted. 
  In World War Two, the US, Britain, Russia and France were the Allies.  They were opposed by the Axis powers.  Which three countries made up the Axis? 
  3. He was a printer, scientist, inventor, pacifist and diplomat.  He was the US envoy who negotiated the treaty that ended the Revolutionary War and invted bifocal eyeglasses.  The author of Poor Richard's Almanac, he is best know to modern schoolchildren for flying a kit in a thunderstorm. 
  4. This US president was praised as "bringing American into the 20th century" by his last vice-president Harry Truman.  Name the only man to serve more than two terms as President.

Language, Literature and Mythology
  One sentence that uses all 26 letters of the alphabet is "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog." In grammatical terms, what word is the subject of this sentence?
  Name any three of the four schools into which Hogwarts School of Wizardry is divided.
  In Greek mythology, this titan stole fire from the gods and gave it to mankind.
  Spelled one way, it means undecorated or, in mathematics, a flat surface.  Spelled differently, it is a means of transportation through the air.  Provide this five letter word.
Math
  You take a test twice and score 95 the first time, and 87 the second time.  What is your average score? 
  A coat normally costs $80.  it is on sale for 25% off.  How much does it cost now?
  What is the sum of the three angles of a triangle?
  Draw a square.  Double the length of each side.  The area of the new square is how many times the area of the original square?

Science
  To enroll in public school, you must get the MMR vaccine which protects against three formerly-common deadly childhood diseases.  These diseases start with the letters M, M and R.  Name any ONE of these three diseases
  What Scottish inventor was living in Ontario Canada when he developed the telephone?
  When you dip litmus paper into an acid, what color does it turn?
  The original atomic bomb developed during World War Two released energy by fission, the breaking-apart of what element, number 92 on the periodic table?

Popular culture (sports, TV, movies, etc.)
  What is the official name for the "birdie" in badminton?
  He is the only quarterback to have won more than 200 games, and the only one two have won Super Bowls for two different teams. He holds NFL records for most passing yards and most touchdown passes. Name this older brother of Eli who retired in 2016?
  Her legal name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, and her stage name was taken from a song by Queen.  Name this pop singer known for Born This Way, Bad Romance and Poker Face.
  The type of Olympic gymnastics done on the balance beam, floor mat and vaulting horse is called "artistic". What is the name of the other type done with a ball, hoop or ribbon, which originated in China?

More sample questions are posted on the Peninsula TV website