Specific Question Discussion (Penn Bowl 2015)
Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2015 4:39 pm
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Round 10 TU 1 wrote: The cross section of reactive collisions over the total number of collisions gives a “factor” named this, which is multiplied by the collision frequency to find the pre-exponential factor. Auxiliary groups can direct addition to the re or si face of a compound through this effect. A term for this kind of interaction symbolized with a lowercase delta was added to the Hammett equation by Taft. The Hoffmann product is preferred over the Zaitsev product in eliminations using bases that use this effect, like (*) tert-butoxide. It’s not hyperconjugation, but this effect is the reason staggered conformers are preferred to eclipsed ones. This effect is the reason why SN2 reactions are very slow in tertiary systems. For 10 points, name this effect in which bulky functional groups interfere with each other.
ANSWER: steric effects [or steric hindrance or steric resistance]
Round 1 TU 7 wrote: The algebraic connectivity of a graph can be found by calculating one of these for the graph Laplacian. One algorithm for finding these things in big O of n-squared involves iteratively factoring an input into an orthogonal and triangular component. A condition for all of them to have negative real parts is given by Lyapunov’s first theorem. One theorem states that each of these lies within one Gershgorin disc. By definition, their algebraic multiplicity must be greater than their (*) geometric multiplicity, and their sum is equal to the trace. The collection of these things is called an operator’s spectrum. They are always real for Hermitian operators. These values are the roots of the characteristic polynomial. For 10 points, name these values for a square matrix, which are the constant multiple that appears when multiplying that matrix with an eigenvector.
ANSWER: eigenvalue
Maybe this is just me, but I think the lead-in is somewhat easier than the next two clues (based off my undergrad - I'm not familiar with clues 2 and 3). The fact that the pre-exponential factor is the product of the steric factor and collision frequency is usually just out of power on Arrhenius equation tossups, so I was surprised to see something so recognisable come up in virtually the first line.Round 10 TU 1 wrote: The cross section of reactive collisions over the total number of collisions gives a “factor” named this, which is multiplied by the collision frequency to find the pre-exponential factor. Auxiliary groups can direct addition to the re or si face of a compound through this effect. A term for this kind of interaction symbolized with a lowercase delta was added to the Hammett equation by Taft. The Hoffmann product is preferred over the Zaitsev product in eliminations using bases that use this effect, like (*) tert-butoxide. It’s not hyperconjugation, but this effect is the reason staggered conformers are preferred to eclipsed ones. This effect is the reason why SN2 reactions are very slow in tertiary systems. For 10 points, name this effect in which bulky functional groups interfere with each other.
ANSWER: steric effects [or steric hindrance or steric resistance]
Yeah this was a conscious choice on my part, because the other clues have been coming up a lot lately and I wanted to reward actual knowledge of the material over packet memorization, but I might have overshot it a littleEvan Lynch wrote:Maybe this is just me, but I think the lead-in is somewhat easier than the next two clues (based off my undergrad - I'm not familiar with clues 2 and 3). The fact that the pre-exponential factor is the product of the steric factor and collision frequency is usually just out of power on Arrhenius equation tossups, so I was surprised to see something so recognisable come up in virtually the first line.
The two Eliot questions were in the same packet; one was a bonus on Feuerbach, the other (which came later in the packet, unfortunately) was a tossup on Eliot stating that she had translated Strauss's Life of Jesus, Critically Examined and Feuerbach's The Essence of Christianity.The Quest for the Historical Mukherjesus wrote:All of the changes suggested in this thread (except the Eliot thing, because for some reason I can't find it), have been made.
Thanks, found it. FixedtheMoMA wrote:The two Eliot questions were in the same packet; one was a bonus on Feuerbach, the other (which came later in the packet, unfortunately) was a tossup on Eliot stating that she had translated Strauss's Life of Jesus, Critically Examined and Feuerbach's The Essence of Christianity.The Quest for the Historical Mukherjesus wrote:All of the changes suggested in this thread (except the Eliot thing, because for some reason I can't find it), have been made.
So this isn't the problem I thought was there (which turned out to be fine), and it's a fairly small point, but for a general operator, the spectrum is not equal to the set of eigenvalues. Specifically, the spectrum is only equal to the set of eigenvalues when working with operators/matrices on finite-dimensional spaces - for operators on infinite-dimensional spaces, the spectrum can be and often is larger than the set of eigenvalues. It's not like anyone is going to neg after that clue with "spectral elements" or something crazy, but for the sake of correctness, I felt I should mention it.Round 1 TU 7 wrote: The algebraic connectivity of a graph can be found by calculating one of these for the graph Laplacian. One algorithm for finding these things in big O of n-squared involves iteratively factoring an input into an orthogonal and triangular component. A condition for all of them to have negative real parts is given by Lyapunov’s first theorem. One theorem states that each of these lies within one Gershgorin disc. By definition, their algebraic multiplicity must be greater than their (*) geometric multiplicity, and their sum is equal to the trace. The collection of these things is called an operator’s spectrum. They are always real for Hermitian operators. These values are the roots of the characteristic polynomial. For 10 points, name these values for a square matrix, which are the constant multiple that appears when multiplying that matrix with an eigenvector.
ANSWER: eigenvalue
Round 5 TU 7 wrote:Autocorrelation in these values can be dealt with by the Durbin-Watson statistic. The vector of these values is equal to the product of the quantity identity matrix minus hat matrix all times the response vector. If a plot of these things appears U-shaped, adding a square of a variable to the model may help. These values are divided by an estimate of the standard deviation to find their “studentized” variety. The fact that n of these only have n minus one degrees of freedom leads to Bessel’s correction for finding the (*) population standard deviation. The best linear unbiased estimator is a test statistic that consists of the sum of the square of these values, according to the Gauss-Markov theorem. They can represent estimates of the unobservable error. For 10 points, name these values that appear in a regression analysis, which are the distances between the best-fit curve and the data points.
ANSWER: residuals [do NOT accept “errors” or “deviations”]
Fixed this and the West Germanic thing. And you can thank Jaimie Carlson for that tossupEvan Lynch wrote:I didn't write down many specific answerlines at the weekend so I can't really remember issues with questions until I see the set, but I do recall a bonus on West Germanic languages being mangled grammatically making it difficult for mods. Also whoever wrote the Firefly tossup needs a medal. :)
To nitpick, I might suggest that putting the Bessel's correction clue before the residual plot clue might help. There are not a whole lot of things in statistics that (1) can be plotted to evaluate model fit, and (2) would be remotely appropriate for this tournament. (I also think studentized residuals are more famous than the role of residuals in Bessel's correction, but I'm not sure.)The Quest for the Historical Mukherjesus wrote:Round 5 TU 7 wrote:Autocorrelation in these values can be dealt with by the Durbin-Watson statistic. The vector of these values is equal to the product of the quantity identity matrix minus hat matrix all times the response vector. If a plot of these things appears U-shaped, adding a square of a variable to the model may help. These values are divided by an estimate of the standard deviation to find their “studentized” variety. The fact that n of these only have n minus one degrees of freedom leads to Bessel’s correction for finding the (*) population standard deviation. The best linear unbiased estimator is a test statistic that consists of the sum of the square of these values, according to the Gauss-Markov theorem. They can represent estimates of the unobservable error. For 10 points, name these values that appear in a regression analysis, which are the distances between the best-fit curve and the data points.
ANSWER: residuals [do NOT accept “errors” or “deviations”]
Ben Salter wrote:Could I see the "Sonata in B minor" bonus set please?
This piece shares its key and genre with Alban Berg’s Op. 1. For 10 points each:
[10] Name this 1853 piano piece whose four interconnected sections serve as both an exposition, development, recapitulation, and as the movements of a symphony.
ANSWER: Piano Sonata in B minor [DONT READ THIS OUT LOUD but accept Franz Liszt’s piano sonata; prompt on partial answer]
[10] This virtuoso pianist and composer wrote the Piano Sonata in B minor and the Hungarian Rhapsodies.
ANSWER: Franz Liszt [or Liszt Ferenc]
[10] The Bagatelle sans tonalité is sometimes grouped with this set of Liszt piano compositions, whose opening piece begins with a sequence of stacked fifths that represents the title character tuning his fiddle.
ANSWER: Mephisto Waltzes [or Mephisto-Walzer]
So in our room, the moderator read out "Liszt's Piano Sonata in B minor" as the answer to the first part, so I guess he didn't see the warning there. I also feel that the first part could do with a little elaboration/rewording - it's written in such a way that it certainly wasn't clear to me when it was being read that it was trying to describe the piece as being in double-function form, though I suppose the omission of that phrase was intentional. It could just be my fault, and I'd be interested to hear how other people interpreted that clue, because I (incorrectly) just parsed it as "this piece is in sonata form, a bit like a symphony".This piece shares its key and genre with Alban Berg’s Op. 1. For 10 points each:
[10] Name this 1853 piano piece whose four interconnected sections serve as both an exposition, development, recapitulation, and as the movements of a symphony.
ANSWER: Piano Sonata in B minor [DONT READ THIS OUT LOUD but accept Franz Liszt’s piano sonata; prompt on partial answer]
[10] This virtuoso pianist and composer wrote the Piano Sonata in B minor and the Hungarian Rhapsodies.
ANSWER: Franz Liszt [or Liszt Ferenc]
[10] The Bagatelle sans tonalité is sometimes grouped with this set of Liszt piano compositions, whose opening piece begins with a sequence of stacked fifths that represents the title character tuning his fiddle.
ANSWER: Mephisto Waltzes [or Mephisto-Walzer]
How's this modification to the first bonus part?Ben Salter wrote:So in our room, the moderator read out "Liszt's Piano Sonata in B minor" as the answer to the first part, so I guess he didn't see the warning there. I also feel that the first part could do with a little elaboration/rewording - it's written in such a way that it certainly wasn't clear to me when it was being read that it was trying to describe the piece as being in double-function form, though I suppose the omission of that phrase was intentional. It could just be my fault, and I'd be interested to hear how other people interpreted that clue, because I (incorrectly) just parsed it as "this piece is in sonata form, a bit like a symphony".This piece shares its key and genre with Alban Berg’s Op. 1. For 10 points each:
[10] Name this 1853 piano piece whose four interconnected sections serve as both an exposition, development, recapitulation, and as the movements of a symphony.
ANSWER: Piano Sonata in B minor [DONT READ THIS OUT LOUD but accept Franz Liszt’s piano sonata; prompt on partial answer]
[10] This virtuoso pianist and composer wrote the Piano Sonata in B minor and the Hungarian Rhapsodies.
ANSWER: Franz Liszt [or Liszt Ferenc]
[10] The Bagatelle sans tonalité is sometimes grouped with this set of Liszt piano compositions, whose opening piece begins with a sequence of stacked fifths that represents the title character tuning his fiddle.
ANSWER: Mephisto Waltzes [or Mephisto-Walzer]
5. Zoltán Kodály (ZOHL-tahn KOH-dye) used this key to write a solo sonata for a cello whose bottom two strings are each tuned down a half step. For 10 points each:
[10] Name this key used to write a one-movement piano piece whose four interconnected sections behave simultaneously as the four movements of a symphony, and as an exposition, development, and recapitulation.
That bonus part's been fixed to include "double-function form," but I think I'd like to keep the new version because (a) the Kodaly lead-in is probably more helpful than the Berg lead-in and (b) I've always heard the piece called the "Piano Sonata in B minor," so I don't think it's a significant leap in difficulty to ask for the key instead.Muriel Axon wrote:Eddie, I don't think that bonus part needs to be entirely rewritten. (Actually, I thought it was totally fine, but that may just be me.) Anyway, I think all Ben's saying is that you might consider using the actual word "double-function form." The addition of "one-movement" is good, though.
Evan Lynch wrote:Could I see the tossup on fragile-x syndrome please?
Round 8 TU 7 wrote:The gene mutated in this syndrome is overexpressed in an associated ataxia/tremor syndrome. Experimental drugs to treat this condition like basim-glurant and mavo-glurant target the mGluR5 (EM-glue-ARE five) receptor. Neurons of sufferers of this disease have abnormally long and thin dendritic spines. Sufferers of this disease have characteristic protruding ears, elongated face, and (*) macro-orchidism. This disease is the most common inherited form of mental retardation and is caused by the expansion of C-G-G repeats in the F-M-R-1 gene, which causes a staining discontinuity in the q-twenty-seven-point-three region of a certain structure. For 10 points, name this genetic disease in which one of the sex chromosomes appears easily breakable on karyotype.
ANSWER: Fragile X syndrome [or Martin-Bell syndrome or Escalante syndrome]
Feel free to PM or email Eric if you want an unlocked copy of the full set.Penn Bowl 2015 Round 8 wrote:3. Benedetto Croce (CROW-chay) claimed that the philosophy of language and this branch of philosophy are the same thing, since this branch of philosophy is the "science of expression." The third volume of The World as Will and Representation discusses this topic and claims that the object of studies in this discipline are used to communicate Platonic ideas. Humans are compared to a clock in a book on this discipline that introduces tick-tock theory; that book consider this discipline's central phenomena (*) “as experience.” Ancient treatises on this topic often discuss mimesis or catharsis, the latter of which is defined as the purging of emotions when one interacts with the objects studied in this discipline. Aristotle's Poetics is a major treatise in, for 10 points each, name what philosophical study of beauty?
ANSWER: aesthetics [prompt on things like “art”]
As that third player, I have to say that Raynor is really overstating my cleverness with this tossup. One-off historic episodes like the Markov assassination are very much "you either know it happened or you don't" kind of topics, so when no one buzzed in (I think around the mention of ricin, thus eliminating the Litvinenko assassination), my thought process went, "We're all thinking 'the guy who got offed by the KGB with an umbrella,' but since nobody has buzzed in, nobody knows his name. Might as well risk 5 points and guess 'umbrella assassination' and see if that's acceptable, since the other team would have already buzzed if they knew."UlyssesInvictus wrote:
To explain why I ask, I and two (three?) other members of the team realized the event being described around where power ended, but two of us sat on it for a considerable time since we didn't remember the target's name. But the third player realized he could just buzz with "umbrella assassination," and we were very impressed he was clever enough to realize he could just buzz with that.
In Word, the red squiggle for unrecognized words can make v's and y's hard to distinguish.crash bandicoot wrote:Also, on the tossup on atheism, my moderator pronounced it "kaer-yae-kuh", which led me to infer that it had been written in the tossup as "Caryaka" or "Charyaka". If that's the case, that's a misspelling and it should be "Charvaka" or "Carvaka".
Among the many reasons to read from PDFs when you're running paperless tournaments.Muriel Axon wrote:In Word, the red squiggle for unrecognized words can make v's and y's hard to distinguish.crash bandicoot wrote:Also, on the tossup on atheism, my moderator pronounced it "kaer-yae-kuh", which led me to infer that it had been written in the tossup as "Caryaka" or "Charyaka". If that's the case, that's a misspelling and it should be "Charvaka" or "Carvaka".
I buzzed there off Wendy Carlos, but I'm pretty sure she worked on The Shining (just not nearly as much) and Tron as well. (But the first clue clearly wasn't Tron...)Xochiquetzal wrote:Could I see the tossup on A Clockwork Orange? The clue about the soundtrack making extensive use of synthesizer didn't seem necessarily unique (though I can't think of another example and, indeed, may just be misremembering an aspect of the clue).