- Funding for High School Quiz Show: Austin comes from Sally and James Gavin Bank of America.

(upbeat music) Krishna Srinivasan and Raka Sandell.

- Coming up, it's LASA, the Liberal Arts and Science Academy.

(audience clapping) Taking on Westlake High School.

(audience clapping) That's next on High School Quiz Show: Austin.

(audience cheering) (upbeat music) (audience clapping) Hi everybody and welcome to High School Quiz Show: Austin.

I'm your host, Joe Hanson.

Today's match features LASA and Westlake in our first quarterfinal, and we start with the toss up round.

All answers are worth 10 points.

There are no point deductions for wrong answers, and players you may confer.

Okay teams, if you're ready, good luck, here we go.

Which planet that is the largest in our solar system formed about 4.5 billion years ago from gas and dust leftover from the sun's formation?

(button dings) Kaira.

- Jupiter.

- Jupiter's right.

Next question.

Saguaro and prickly pear are types of what drought resistant succulent plants that have spines instead of leaves?

(button dings) Niamh.

- Cactus.

- Cactus is right.

What tech company currently headquartered in Redmond, Washington was started by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in 1975?

(button dings) Aryan.

- Microsoft.

- Yes.

In July, 2025, David Steiner became the 76th person in history to hold what federal government position that oversees the operation of the US Postal Service?

(button dings) Aryan.

- Post master or... - More specific.

- The head- (timer buzzes) - LASA you have a chance.

- (buzzer dings) Postmaster General.

- Postmaster General is right.

Next question, what word of Algonquin Origin is a name for both a single-handed ax used by Native American people and a long range cruise missile used by the US military?

Carson.

(button dings) - Tomahawk.

- Yes.

The smallest of the Great Lakes by area is which lake that shares its name with a Canadian province?

(button dings) Madhav.

- Ontario.

- Ontario is right.

Ida B. Wells, Alice Paul and Carrie Chapman Catt are characters in what 2025 Tony-winning musical written by Shaina Taub?

(button dings) Niamh.

- Jets.

- No, Westlake you have a chance.

- Wait, can we hear the question again?

- Ida B. Wells, Alice Paul and Carrie Chapman Catt are characters in what 2025 Tony-winning musical written by Shaina Taub?

(timer buzzes) - I'm sorry.

- We're looking for Suffs is that musical about suffragettes.

Next question.

Disney princesses don't usually kiss the villain.

One exception is the 1992 animated film "Aladdin" when Princess Jasmine kissed what villain so Aladdin could steal the genie's lamp?

(button dings) Carson.

- Jafar.

- Jafar is right.

With a lifespan as long as 400 years, the longest living vertebrate known to science is a species of shark with a common name that refers to what large island on the Arctic circle?

(button dings) Kate.

- The Greenland shark.

- Greenland is right, next question.

This is a math question.

What is one half of 10% of 20?

(button dings) Madhav.

- One?

- One is correct.

Asked to describe his strategy for a 1964 boxing match, what heavyweight boxer said, "I'm gonna float like a butterfly and sting like a bee, his hands can't hit what his eyes can't see."

(button dings) Carson.

- Muhammad Ali.

- Yes.

The ship that took Charles Darwin to the Galapagos in the 1830s had what name that it shared with a breed of floppy ear dog?

(button dings) Madhav.

- HMS Beagle.

- The Beagle is right.

All right, we are off to a great start.

Let's take a moment to thank some of the folks who make this show possible.

- [Presenter] Support for High School Quiz Show: Austin comes from Bank of America.

Investing in education and the future of central Texas youth.

Information at bankofamerica.com.

(upbeat music) (audience cheering) - Welcome back, the score is LASA with 80 points, Westlake has 30, let's get back to the game.

What title of a 16th-century book by Sir Thomas Moore has become a synonym for an imaginary perfect place?

(button dings) Aryan.

- Utopia.

- Yes.

Which noble gas with the atomic number 10 is most often used to make a type of advertising sign and can be produced when helium and oxygen nuclei fuse?

(button dings) Aryan.

- Neon.

- Yes.

A ghost-shaped logo nicknamed Ghostface Chillah is the brand mascot for what messaging app?

(button dings) Kate.

- Snapchat.

- Yes.

In climate science, a drought refers to a prolonged shortage of which of these things?

Air, sunlight or water?

(button dings) Aryan.

- Water.

- Water is right.

What is the common three-word title for the march written by Edward Elgar and traditionally played at high school graduation ceremonies?

(button dings) Carson.

- Pomp and Circumstance.

- Yes.

In Spanish it's hermano, in French it's frère, In Italian it's fratello.

What is the English word for this member of a family?

(button dings) Madhav.

- Brother.

- Brother's right.

What Princess from Greek and Roman mythology, whose name means soul, becomes the wife of the love god Eros or Cupid, who forbids her to look directly at his face?

(button dings) Aryan.

- Psyche.

- Psyche is right.

This is a math question.

In a regular octagon, each interior angle measures how many degrees?

(button dings) Madhav.

- 108.

- No.

Westlake, you have a chance.

(button dings) Aryan.

- This would be, uh.. Let's go.

(timer buzzes) - We were looking for 135 degrees.

Math is hard in the morning, it's okay.

Next question.

The name of what green pasta sauce made from basil and pine nuts comes from the Italian word meaning to pound or to crush?

(button dings) Aryan.

- Pesto.

- Yes.

The federal holiday of Juneteenth commemorates the enforcement of what presidential order issued by Abraham Lincoln in 1863?

(button dings) Kate?

- The Emancipation Proclamation.

- Emancipation Proclamation is right.

Actor Donald Glover is also a rapper who released the 2018 single "This is America", under what stage name?

(button dings) Niamh.

- Childish Gambino.

- Yes.

The four nucleotide bases in DNA are adenine, guanine, thymine and what?

(button dings) Aryan.

- Cytosine.

- Cytosine, that's correct.

A 1931 landscape with melting clocks, "The Persistence of Memory" is the work of what Surrealist painter from Spain?

(button dings) Carson.

- Dali.

- Yes, Salvador Dali.

What 1 million-acre national park in Montana takes its name from the large moving masses of ice and snow that carved its landscape over millions of years?

(button dings) Aryan.

- Glacier Bend?

- No, LASA you have a chance.

(button dings) Madhav.

- Glacier National Park.

- Glacier National Park is right.

Known for its distinctive fan-shaped leaves and large seeds that smell like vomit, what genus of tree is thought to be the oldest tree genus on Earth?

(button dings) Madhav.

- Baobab?

- No.

Westlake, you do have a chance here.

(button dings) Aryan.

- Pinus?

- No, we are looking for the ginkgo tree.

The only member of its genus left.

Next question, what hyphenated adjective is associated with the Reagan era economic theory that increasing the wealth of rich people will gradually benefit poor people?

(button dings) Kate.

- Reaganomics.

- No, LASA you have a chance.

(button dings) Madhav.

- Trickle down economics.

- Trickle down economics is right.

It was a part of Reaganomics.

Which small country whose name begins with D, is located on the horn of Africa surrounded by Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia?

(button dings) Madhav.

- Djibouti.

- That is right.

In December, 2024, Bashar al-Assad was forcibly removed from office as president of which Middle Eastern country?

(button dings) Madhav.

- Syria.

- Syria is right.

(timer rings) And that's the end of the round, and the score is LASA with 160 points, Westlake has 110 points.

Let's hear it for both teams.

(audience cheering) All right, the head-to-head round is next, but first we're gonna take a minute to get to know the players.

Okay, LASA, we'll start with you.

Niamh, I hear you work in theater.

- Yeah, so me and Carson actually both do, but I do lighting design.

I've been doing it since about eighth grade, but, yeah, I really enjoy it.

- Carson, you're a collector, I hear?

- Yes, so I collect miniatures on- So which are like tiny pieces of furniture and like plates and cookies on a 1:12 scale.

So I'll set up little designs and like decorate for Christmas.

- Madhav, you haven't always lived in Texas, I hear.

- Yeah, so I've lived in five different states.

I was born in New Hampshire in the city of Nashua.

- Now, maybe a little bit of an unfair question, but do you have a favorite state among all of those?

It's okay, if you don't- (audience laughing) - I would have to- - New Hampshire's great, no, it's fine.

- I would have to say it's Massachusetts because of the snow, and like... - Yeah, we don't really get that around here and when we do, it doesn't turn out very well.

- Yeah.

- Tony, you had an interesting childhood fear, I hear.

- Yeah, so I don't know, I think like a lot of kids, I was a very avid PBS Kids watcher, and there's this one show I liked like in particular, which was "Dinosaur Train."

Basically the introduction of "Dinosaur Train," I think towards the end like there's like a T. rex and it's like this and then a camera like flies like into the T. rex's mouth as it like roars and I was not okay with that.

Like I was terrified of that T. rex when I was a little kid.

And like the show itself was great, but like that intro kind of freaked me out.

- You might be the only person on earth who was scared by "Dinosaur Train," a show about dinosaurs with trains.

But, you know, you persevered and you made it through the rest of the episode.

- Yeah.

- And I think that shows the value of children's programming to build resilient young people.

- Yeah, you know, it builds character.

- And filling out the LASA team, we have alternate Aditha and coaches, Jason Flowers and Adam Eskandel.

Okay, Westlake, it's your turn in the not so hot seat.

Kaira, I hear you're a black belt and a dancer.

- Yeah.

- How long have you been doing those?

- Karate I've been doing for around nine years and dance for 10.

- Okay, I have to ask, with the popularity of "KPop Demon Hunters," do you ever combine your dance and karate skills?

- Oh, they based that movie off of me.

(audience laughing) - Aryan, you're a music producer, I hear.

- Yeah, I love music.

I like listening to it and I love making it.

- Is that something that you think might be a career for you?

- Probably not, I just like making it, that's all.

- Well, you're in the right city for it, so Austin's the right place for musical love.

Kate, I'm told you went to ALA Girls State.

What is ALA?

- ALA is the American Legion Auxiliary.

It's a veterans organization, so it's family members of veterans.

- What sort of things do you do when you're at the ALA meetings?

- You make a mock government.

So in Texas we did a mock state government, and then at Girls Nation we did a mock Senate and I was the Senate majority leader.

- Did you pass any interesting laws?

- Actually my law passed which banned members of congress from stock trading to make sure they were ethical.

- Shivani, you're growing... You have an interesting plant-ish related hobby going on at home?

- Yes, for my class AP Research, I started growing three green star polyps corals in my house.

- What sort of inspired you to do that?

- I've liked the ocean since I was like very little, and corals have very interesting like neural nets.

They're like polyps connect with each other, and they have like a group think kind of thing.

And it's just really interesting and I really like them, so... - Also on the Westlake team we have alternate Chloe and Coach Deighton Zerby and principal Steve Ramsey.

Let's hear it for both teams.

(audience clapping) Okay, it's time for the head-to-head round.

In this round, correct answers add 10 points to the team total, and wrong answers result in a 10-point deduction.

The clock is set at one minute 30 seconds.

How about a nice friendly fist bump before we get going?

All right, good luck.

Here we go.

How many stars are featured on the state flag of Texas?

(button dings) - One.

- Yes.

Clark Kent is the alter ego of what- (button dings) - Superman.

- Yes.

What unofficial holiday observed on February 2nd involves a certain animal- (button dings) - Groundhog Day.

- Yes.

Which signs of the zodiac is represented by the twins?

(button dings) - Gemini.

- Yes, which mountain range runs through Peru and Chile?

(button dings) - Andes.

- Yes.

Ultra-violet rays from sunlight help the body form what vitamin?

(button dings) - D.

- Yes.

Protons are found in what central part of a- (button dings) - Nucleus.

- Yes, the most populous city in Oregon is which city that is home to the Timbers of major league soccer?

(button dings) - Portland?

- Yes.

Sockeye and coho are species of what fish that migrates upstream to spawn?

(button dings) - Trout?

- No, salmon.

Which is the smallest US state by area?

(button dings) - Rhode Island?

- Yes.

Japanese poet.

Basho was a master of what form- (button dings) - Haiku.

- Yes, from the Greek for outer skin, what is the name for the outermost layer of- (button dings) - Epidermis.

- Yes, what word meaning two heads refers to the large muscle at the front of the upper arm?

(button dings) - Brachius?

- No, biceps.

A flamboyance is a group of what long-legged pink birds?

(button dings) - Flamingos.

- Yes.

What dam named for a president spans the Colorado- (button dings) - Hoover.

- Yes.

The red suits in a standard deck of playing cards are diamonds and what?

(timer dings) Oh, we were looking for hearts there.

That's the end of the round, give it up for both teams.

(upbeat music) (audience clapping) All right, teams, it's time for the category round.

Today's categories are, "Me" First, Books Adapted Present Tens Moon Shot Fun with Fruit and Location Scouting.

All categories have five questions with increasing point value.

Teams will choose two categories each and have the option to toss one question per category to the other team that the other team must answer.

Players, you are able to confer.

Okay, LASA, who's your spokesperson?

Carson?

All right.

Westlake, how about you?

- Me.

- Kate.

Okay, Westlake, you have a little ground to make up on the scoreboard.

The first category goes to you.

- [Kate] We're gonna do Moon Shot.

- Moon Shot.

These are questions related to the moon.

For 10 points, American astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first human to walk on the moon in July of what year?

We need an answer.

- 1963.

- No, 1969 is that year.

Next question.

For 15 points, a crater on the moon measuring nearly 56 miles in diameter is named for what 16th century Polish astronomer who said that the Earth is the center of the moon's orbit?

- Galileo?

- No, that was Copernicus.

20 points in Moon Shot.

The moon goes through several phases over the course of a month.

What word that derives from the Latin for humped or swollen is used to describe the phases immediately before and immediately after a full moon?

We need an answer.

- Gibbous.

- Gibbous is right.

For 25 points, the core of the moon consists partly of nickel, but mainly of what other metallic element?

We need an answer, Westlake.

- We're gonna pass.

- Okay, that metal is iron.

For 30 points, the dark areas of the moon that are visible from Earth are known by what name that is the Latin word for seas?

We need an answer.

- We're gonna pass.

- That is the maria, that is Latin for the seas.

Okay, LASA, your first category.

- Location Scouting.

- Location Scouting.

These are questions about places that are the settings for movies.

For 10 points, in the animated film "Finding Nemo", Nemo, Marlin and Dory are fish who live in what enormous coral formation off the coast of Australia?

- The Great Barrier Reef.

- That's correct.

For 15 points, what major city in Morocco is the setting for a classic 1942 movie starring Humphrey Bogart and is also the site of a historic meeting between President Franklin Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill in 1943?

- Casablanca.

- That is correct.

For 20 points, the animated movie "Encanto" is set in a fictional version of what South American country where Bogota is the capital?

- Colombia.

- Colombia is right.

For 25 points in Location Scouting, directed by Richard Linklater, the 1995 movie "Before Sunrise" takes place in what city that is the capital of Austria?

- Vienna.

- Vienna is right.

And for 30 points, in the Star Wars movies, scenes from Luke Skywalker's home planet Tatooine were filmed near a real place called Tataouine in what North African country situated between Algeria and Libya?

- Tunisia.

- Tunisia is right.

Westlake, your next category.

- [Kate] We're gonna do "Me" First.

- "Me" First.

Answers in this category begin with the letters M-E.

For 10 points, the third most populous city in Arizona has what four-letter name that comes for the Spanish word for table?

- Mesa.

- Yes, Mesa, Arizona.

Correct.

For 15 points, from the Greek for transformation, what word refers to a physical transformation, such as when a caterpillar turns into a butterfly?

- Metamorphosis.

- That's right.

For 20 points in "Me" First, a 2009 animated movie about a scientist who invents a machine that makes food fall from the sky is called "Cloudy with a Chance of..." what?

- Meatballs.

- That's right.

25 points, what term for a trusted teacher or advisor comes from a character in the Odyssey, who is the teacher and advisor of Telemicus?

- Mentor.

- Mentor is right.

And for 30 points, what word that begins with M-E can be defined as a thin cartilage in a joint, a concave, convex optical lens or a phenomenon caused by surface tension of liquid in a test tube?

- Meniscus.

- Meniscus is right.

LASA, your category.

- Present Tens.

- Present Tens.

These are questions about things that happened in the 2010s.

For 10 points, the first summer Olympic games held in South America took place in 2016 in what host country?

- Brazil.

- Brazil is right.

For 15 points, on April 29th, 2011, Catherine Middleton married what member of the British royal family?

- Prince William.

- Prince William is right.

What founder of Al-Qaeda was killed on May 2nd, 2011 by US forces in Pakistan?

- Osama bin Laden.

- Correct.

For 25 points in Present Tens, what unit of currency became the official currency of Estonia in 2011, Latvia in 2014, and Lithuania in 2015?

- Euro.

- Euro is right.

For 30 points, the worst oil spill in US history occurred on April 20th, 2010 on what BP Oil rig located about 42 miles off the coast of Louisiana?

- The Deepwater Horizon.

- Deepwater Horizon is right.

(timer rings) And that's the end of the category round.

The score is LASA with 450 points.

Westlake with 225 points.

Let's hear a little love for these teams.

(audience clapping) (upbeat music) Okay, we're heading into the final round of play, the lightning round.

Correct answers add 20 points to the team total, and there is a 20-point deduction for incorrect answers.

Okay, clock is set, good luck, here we go.

The title of a 1960 Dr.

Seuss book mentions green eggs and what meat?

(button dings) Aryan.

- Ham.

- Yes.

Kangaroos are pictured on the $1 coins of what country?

(button dings) Madhav.

- Australia.

- Yes.

How many musicians make up a quintet?

(button dings) Madhav.

- Five.

- Yes, in Greek mythology, what goddess of the hunt is the twin sister- (buzzer dings) Aryan.

- Artemis.

- Yes.

Cirrus, stratus and cumulus are types of what?

(buzzer rings) Madhav?

- Clouds.

- Yes, the great fire of Rome occurred in the year 64 during the reign of what- (button dings) Aryan?

- Nero?

- Yes.

The Watergate break-in took place in what decade of the 20th- (button dings) Madhav.

- 1970s.

- Yes, which city in Ontario is the most populous city- (button dings) Madhav.

- Toronto.

- Yes.

Which track and field event involves propelling a heavy metal ball- (button dings) - Aryan.

- Discus throw?

- No, shot put.

Diabetes may result from the body's inability to produce what hormone?

(button dings) Madhav.

- Insulin.

- Yes.

Which trigonometric function is the reciprocal of the cosine?

(button dings) Aryan?

- The secant.

- Yes.

Talladega Superspeedway is a NASCAR venue in what state?

(button dings) Madhav.

- Tennessee.

- No, Alabama.

- What 17th century Dutch artist painted "Girl with a Pearl Earring"?

(button dings) Tony?

- Vermeer.

- Vermeer is right.

What term refers to March 21st and September 21st... (button dings) Madhav.

- Solstice.

- No, equinox.

Nephrons are the basic functional units of what organ of the- (button dings) Kaira?

- Kidney.

- Kidney, yes.

The Moonlight Sonata and Fur Elise are works by what- (button dings) Madhav.

- Beethoven.

- Yes.

A century consists of how many- (button dings) (timer beeps) - Aryan?

- Oh, a hundred years.

- Oh, didn't quite make it before the buzzer there.

And the winning team this week is LASA with 570 points.

Westlake finished with 305 points.

(audience clapping) Congratulations to both teams for a great game.

LASA now moves on to the semifinals.

Join us next week for the next quarterfinal match between McCallum and St.

Michael's.

This is gonna be one to watch.

Be sure to join us right here on High School Quiz Show: Austin.

(audience cheering) (upbeat music) - [Presenter] Funding for High School Quiz Show: Austin comes from Sally and James Gavin, Bank of America, Krishna Srinivasan and Raka Sandell.

(soft music)