Questions That Whiz Kids Have Faced at the Annual National Geographic Bee
Ten students, grades four through eight, and ages 10-14, compete for $50,000.
— -- Can you name the large bay that the Potomac River empties into? Or in which country Mount Kosciuszko is the highest peak? Or which Southeast Asian country besides the Philippines has a Roman Catholic majority?
Ten whiz kids from around the country who qualified for the 2015 National Geographic Bee championship round this Wednesday might be able to come up with the answers to those questions from last year's championship and final rounds -- the Chesapeake Bay, Australia and Timor-Leste (or East Timor).
The 10 finishers, winnowed down from 54 state-level winners today, will compete in the final round on Wednesday of the 27th annual competition at the National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C. The initial pool was a group of fourth through eighth graders, ages 10 to 14.
The ultimate champion will receive the top prize of a $50,000 college scholarship, lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society and an all-expenses-paid trip with a parent or guardian to the Galápagos Islands aboard the ship, the National Geographic Endeavour. The second- and third-place winners receive scholarships of $25,000 and $10,000, respectively.
From the pool of 54 students this year, seven of the students were repeat state winners, including two who are competing for the third time. Of those repeat students, Abhinav Karthikeyan of Maryland, who competed in the 2013 and 2014 contests, is the only one in the group of 10 finalists, who each already won $500.
See if you can answer these 10 questions from last year's bee:
Preliminary Round, U.S. Geography:
1. Which present-day state was part of the Louisiana Purchase?
Nebraska or Oregon?
2. Which state has two panhandles?
Colorado or West Virginia?
3. Lake Superior borders Michigan, Minnesota and which other state?
Missouri or Wisconsin?
4. King’s Mountain, site of an important American victory in the Revolutionary War, is located in the Piedmont region in which state?
Indiana or South Carolina?
5. Which state produces more peanuts?
Georgia or Utah?
Championship round questions:
1. Iceland’s largest city is located on Faxaflói, or Faxa Bay, and is the center of its cod-fishing industry. Name this city.
2. The Taklamakan Desert, home to the Uyghur people, is located north of the Kunlun Mountains in which Asian country?
3. The islands of Madura and Bali are part of which country?
4. The Donets Basin is an industrial area shared by Russia and which neighboring country to the west?
5. The Bab el Mandeb, a strait between the Arabian Peninsula and mainland Africa, connects the Gulf of Aden to what large body of water?
Click to the next page for answers.
Preliminary round answers:
1. Nebraska
2. West Virginia
3. Wisconsin
4. South Carolina
5. Georgia
Championship round answers:
1. Reykjavík
2. China
3. Indonesia
4. Ukraine
5. Red Sea