Question-specific discussion: 2015 Division I ICT

[Important Bird Area]

This is your question-specific discussion for the 2015 DI ICT.

[Muriel Axon]

A minor thing, but it was odd to hear of Laud Humphreys going undercover as a gay man even though he was actually gay.

[Wynaut]

Could I see the tossup on "capacitors"? I negged it with "inductors" near the end of the question because I was being stupid, and I just want to see the clues again. I do remember the leadin being about how a 741 op-amp had one of them.

Also, if I recalled correctly, a bonus part erroneously claimed that Mother Courage and Her Children took place during the Hundred Years' War.

EDIT: Can I also see the Trieste tossup? I just want to see the rest of it, and what category it fell under.

[Important Bird Area]

The 741 op amp contains only one of these devices due to space constraints. Tantalum ones are prone to exploding, but are popular for decoupling, or filtering out noise in the power supply signal. In the hydraulic analogy, they correspond to a rubber membrane placed across the flow. These devices have an (*) impedance inversely proportional to frequency, making them behave as open circuits at DC. Inserting a dielectric strengthens--for 10 points--what components that store electric charge?

answer: _capacitor_s (accept _condenser_s)

Also, if I recalled correctly, a bonus part erroneously claimed that Mother Courage and Her Children took place during the Hundred Years' War.

This erroneous claim was present in round 9.

[Chimalpahin Quauhtlehuanitzin]

Could I please see the bonus with Pacinian corpuscles as the second part? Maybe it was just the moderator mumbling into the page, but I didn't hear the clue for that part other than "this corpuscle" and "pressure and vibration", and it didn't say "rapidly adapting", which is a more unique (but still not really unique) feature of Pacinian corpuscles, or "high-frequency vibrations", because Meissner's corpuscles (what I answered) are more slowly adapting and respond to low-frequency vibrations (primarily). I still enjoyed the rest of that bonus a lot, because sensory neuroscience is important.

Could I also see the tubulin tossup? The "dynamic instability" part of one clue and "this type/class of/one protein" threw me off and I negged with microtubules (a bad neg), but I was wondering why dynamic instability should be associated uniquely with tubulins (outside of just the tossup) when it's referred to as a property of both microtubules and tubulins. I guess the unique thing here was "this protein" but I'd just like to confirm that. The rest of the tossup seemed unique and parse-able.

Finally, the ylides(? because iffy moderator said il-ydes)/more complex functional groups bonus didn't seem to have a easy part (even at this level) to me, unless it was "ylides" or "ilydes" or whatever, and I'd like to see it for that reason.

[Important Bird Area]

For 10 points each--answer the following about an anatomic structure of bird bird bird bird birds:

A. These structures consist of two mandibles and are a distinctive feature of Darwin's finches.

answer: _beak_s or _bill_s (or _rostrum_s or _rostra_)

B. Many aquatic birds have beak tips with high concentrations of Herbst corpuscles, which are similar to these mechanoreceptors in mammals. These nerve endings detect vibration and pressure and have multiple concentric layers.

answer: _Pacinian_ corpuscles (or _lamellar_ corpuscles)

C. Birds usually have small examples of this unpaired bone at the back of their beaks. A sensory organ named for this bone and the nasal bones detects pheromones.

answer: _vomer_ [VOH-mur] [The sensory organ is the vomeronasal organ.]

One member of this group of proteins is, like histone H3, deacetylated by SIRT2. Augmin recruits another member of this group and acts as a nucleation site. This group of proteins typically forms 13-fold symmetric structures that can be severed by katanin and exhibit (*) dynamic instability; those structures are heterodimers of alpha and beta members of this group, interact with kinesins, and are organized by centrosomes. For 10 points--name this group of proteins found in microtubules.

answer: _tubulin_s (do not accept or prompt on "microtubule(s)")

These intermediates can be generated from reacting an amino acid and an aldehyde with subsequent decarboxylation. For 10 points each--

A. Name these neutral dipolar compounds that are reactants in the Prato reaction.

answer: azomethine _ylide_s

B. Azomethine ylides can also be made by ring opening of this smallest nitrogen-containing heterocyclic functional group.

answer: _aziridine_s (or _azacyclopropane_ or _ethylene imine_; do not prompt on partial answers)

C. In the Prato reaction, azomethine ylides add to carbon nanotubes and to these carbon allotropes first made by Richard Smalley, Robert Curl, and Harold Kroto.

answer: _fullerene_s (accept _buckminsterfullerene_s or _buckyball_s)

[Adventure Temple Trail]

A minor thing, but it was odd to hear of Laud Humphreys going undercover as a gay man even though he was actually gay.

Sorry about this; the source I used to write this clue (Giddens et al., Introduction to Sociology) didn't include this detail. Might have been better to say "disguised his identity among these people" or similar (as he was studying communities of men engaging in sexual activity with each other anonymously).

Finally, the ylides(? because iffy moderator said il-ydes)/more complex functional groups bonus didn't seem to have a easy part (even at this level) to me, unless it was "ylides" or "ilydes" or whatever, and I'd like to see it for that reason.

I Am Not A Scientist, but as far as I know there are no organic compounds called 'ilides' or 'ilydes'. There are only 'ylides,' for which the typical pronunciation is ['ɪ.lɪd], with a short "ih" sound in both syllables. I wouldn't be surprised if a moderator were unfamiliar, and it's certainly the case that a pronunciation more like ['aj.lajd] or even ['waj.lajd] ought to be acceptable under NAQT's correctness guidelines.

[Eddie]

A minor thing, but it was odd to hear of Laud Humphreys going undercover as a gay man even though he was actually gay.

I Am Not A Scientist, but as far as I know there are no organic compounds called 'ilides' or 'ilydes'. There are only 'ylides,' for which the typical pronunciation is ['ɪ.lɪd], with a short "ih" sound in both syllables. I wouldn't be surprised if a moderator were unfamiliar, and it's certainly the case that a pronunciation more like ['aj.lajd] or even ['waj.lajd] ought to be acceptable under NAQT's correctness guidelines.

For anyone not familiar with IPA, ['aj.lajd] sounds like "eye-lied" and ['waj.lajd] sounds like "why-lied."

[ryanrosenberg]

the tourism-focused Dubrovnik tossup

Could I see this, please? I spent a week in Dubrovnik on a study abroad seminar after my freshman year, but wasn't able to buzz until the King's Landing clue. I'd be interested in seeing whether this was me not recognizing clues, or an indication I should have spent more time exploring the city.

[Important Bird Area]

A cable car up Mount Srd provides views of this city, where a large domed fountain was built by Onofrio. To its northwest are the Elaphiti islands. Each year, a flag bearing the motto Libertas is hoisted atop Roland's Column in this city. Sponza Palace, in its walled Old Town, was built in its medieval era by the (*) Ragusa Republic. The King's Landing scenes in Game of Thrones are filmed in this Dalmatian city. For 10 points--what Adriatic tourist hub is a port in far southern Croatia?

[vinteuil]

Are there any sort of conversion statistics available for tossups? I'm wondering how well the Mayan serpent god was converted, in particular.

[jonah]

Are there any sort of conversion statistics available for tossups? I'm wondering how well the Mayan serpent god was converted, in particular.

Not for, at a bare minimum, several weeks. And don't count on anything until after HSNCT.

[Harpie's Feather Duster]

A small factual error I found while skimming the packets on the plane: the tossup on Blenheim gave the incorrect first name of the Duke of Marlborough. His first name is John.

[Smuttynose Island]

Could I see the projective tossup from the first game of the final? One of the clues sounded as if it was referring to a torus.

[Fado Alexandrino]

Could I also see the tubulin tossup? The "dynamic instability" part of one clue and "this type/class of/one protein" threw me off and I negged with microtubules (a bad neg), but I was wondering why dynamic instability should be associated uniquely with tubulins (outside of just the tossup) when it's referred to as a property of both microtubules and tubulins. I guess the unique thing here was "this protein" but I'd just like to confirm that. The rest of the tossup seemed unique and parse-able.

I negged with microtubules too (after dynamic instability)! I think it has to do more with the fact that classes tend to discuss microtubules than individual tubulins, and that both DEES and Penn Bowl had tossups on microtubules this year. I don't think there was anything that wrong with the tossup, I just wasn't paying attention.

Can I see the tossup on the Canadian House of Commons? After talking about it with some Canadians, we thought it was sort of vague.

[Adventure Temple Trail]

Could I also see the tubulin tossup? The "dynamic instability" part of one clue and "this type/class of/one protein" threw me off and I negged with microtubules (a bad neg), but I was wondering why dynamic instability should be associated uniquely with tubulins (outside of just the tossup) when it's referred to as a property of both microtubules and tubulins. I guess the unique thing here was "this protein" but I'd just like to confirm that. The rest of the tossup seemed unique and parse-able.

(emphasis added)

The short answer is that it shouldn't, and there's no reason to assume it has to, because the tossup keys you in elsewhere that "microtubules" is not an acceptable answer prior to the reading of those words. Assuming that it's a stretch to call microtubules "proteins," a phrase that effectively reads "proteins that exhibit dynamic instability" rules out microtubules as an answer. The burden is on the player to know which "buzzphrases" are one-to-one mappings and which are not, as that is part of what having knowledge of the answer entails. (If it is normal to call macro-structures of that size "proteins" then you probably have grounds for a protest, but relying on "associated with"-style binary matching in one's explanation is not the way to lodge it.)

(EDIT: Just listen to Susan below. The overarching point is that you have to listen to every word of the question, and it's ridiculous to complain when a term you thought was "associated with" one answer uniquely is actually used in a larger factually-accurate phrase to refer to another answer.)

[Susan]

This group of proteins typically forms 13-fold symmetric structures that can be severed by katanin and exhibit (*) dynamic instability;

I mean, it seems to me that the tossup was saying that the proteins that are the answer (tubulins) form larger structures (microtubules), which exhibit dynamic instability. I don't see any problem with this tossup.

[Important Bird Area]

~A~ is this type of module if the direct sum of ~A~ and some module ~B~ is a free module. This adjective denotes a surface equivalent to reversing and identifying pairs of opposite sides of a square. A duality principle links paired propositions that swap the words "point" and "line" in this type of geometry, in which (*) parallel lines intersect at the point at infinity. A flat representation of a sphere's surface is made by--for 10 points--what process, an example of which is named for Gerardus Mercator?

answer: _projective_ (accept _projection_s; accept _projective module_s or _projective plane_s or _projective geometry_ or _map projection_s or _Mercator projection_s)

Between 1985 and 2011 the makeup of this body was governed by the "279 formula." In 2011 the formula for determining the distribution of this body was altered by the Fair Representation Act, which added 30 seats to it. A grandfather clause dictates that the number of seats held in 1976 or during the (*) 33rd parliament will be the minimum allotted to each province. For 10 points--what body that now has 308 members and that meets on Parliament Hill is the lower house of the Canadian legislature?

answer: House of _Commons_ (of Canada)

[Important Bird Area]

A small factual error I found while skimming the packets on the plane: the tossup on Blenheim gave the incorrect first name of the Duke of Marlborough. His first name is John.

This question is correct as written; the reference is to Charles Churchill, the duke's younger brother.

[Ike]

Could I see the projective tossup from the first game of the final? One of the clues sounded as if it was referring to a torus.

I assume you mean the reversing and identifying the square clue. A torus is made by identifying the opposite ends of a square, the projective plane is made by reversing then identifying the opposite ends of a square.

Ike

[Smuttynose Island]

Could I see the projective tossup from the first game of the final? One of the clues sounded as if it was referring to a torus.

I assume you mean the reversing and identifying the square clue. A torus is made by identifying the opposite ends of a square, the projective plane is made by reversing then identifying the opposite ends of a square.

Ike

I know this. Hatcher has a quick treatment of it in his Algebraic Topology textbook. For whatever reason I thought that the question misstated the construction and wanted to see if I just misheard. For what it is worth, despite not getting it, I did enjoy the question.

[Sima Guang Hater]

The bonus part on Pacinian corpuscles didn't sufficiently differentiate them from Meissner's corpuscles. Both of them are lamellar and respond to vibration and pressure, and by the transitive property they must therefore both be similar to whatever Herbst corpuscles are.

[selene]

The bonus part on Pacinian corpuscles didn't sufficiently differentiate them from Meissner's corpuscles. Both of them are lamellar and respond to vibration and pressure, and by the transitive property they must therefore both be similar to whatever Herbst corpuscles are.

I was intending to say something about how Pacinian corpuscles are onion-like in morphology (vs. Meissner's corpuscles, which are not) but that didn't make it into the bonus part. I thought that what I had was uniquely identifying for Pacinian corpuscles vs. Meissner's corpuscles, but now I see that I was mistaken. Sorry about that!

[Wynaut]

Could I see the tossup on "valence," please? I want to confirm whether the things I've heard about it (i.e. the band gap clue being in power even in DI) are true.

Also, repeating an edited-in request from my previous post, could I see the tossup on "Trieste" as well?

[cchiego]

Could the "not-WPA" thing on the Writers Project be posted?

[Important Bird Area]

This word or "constituent" is used to describe a type of quark contrasted with virtual "sea" quarks. Spin-orbit coupling splits a region named for this word into "light-hole" and "heavy-hole" regions. This word names a region that lies below the conduction band and (*) band gap in a semiconductor or insulator. Molecular orbital theory is a competitor to this type of "bond theory." The outermost shells of atoms contain--for 10 points--what kind of non-core electrons, which form chemical bonds?

answer: _valence_ (accept _valence quark_s or _valence band_s or _valence bond theory_ or _valence electron_s)

A 2001 book on this city "and the Meaning of Nowhere" drew on Jan Morris's time there after World War II and before her gender transition. This city's Victory Lighthouse overlooks a namesake gulf abutting Duino castle. Before moving to Zurich, James Joyce wrote most of Dubliners in this non-Irish city. The first (*) bathyscaphe to enter Challenger Deep was named after--for 10 points--what Adriatic city, proclaimed by Winston Churchill with "Stettin in the Baltic" as a terminus of the Iron Curtain?

answer: _Trieste_ (accept _Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere_)

One member of this program, Jerre Mangione, traced its history in The Dream and the Deal. This program, which was led by Henry Alsberg, produced the American Guide Series. Under this program, Benjamin Botkin and John Lomax interviewed ex-slaves to collect slave (*) narratives and folklore. Weldon Kees and Anzia Yezierska were employed by this subdivision of the Works Progress Administration. Studs Terkel and Ralph Ellison were employed by--for 10 points--what New Deal program to fund authors?

answer: _Federal Writers' Project_ (or _FWP_; accept _WPA Writers' Project_ or _Works Progress Administration Writers' Project_ before "Works"; prompt on "Writers' Project" or "Federal One" or "Federal Project Number One"; prompt on "Works Progress Administration" or "WPA" before "Works")

[The Stately Rhododendron]

The FWP question threw me off. I don't think it's the fault of the question, but the copy of the guide to New York we have at our house is called the WPA Guide to New York (though it mentions the FWP on the cover).

http://www.amazon.com/The-WPA-Guide-Yor ... op?ie=UTF8

[Gautam]

The FWP question threw me off. I don't think it's the fault of the question, but the copy of the guide to New York we have on our house is called the WPA Guide to New York (though it mentions the FWP on the cover).

http://www.amazon.com/The-WPA-Guide-Yor ... op?ie=UTF8

Just chiming in that this exact thing happened to me.