How it works
One hundred and twenty-eight questions for a senior year: how the Constitution divides power, the working vocabulary of economics, mechanics, waves and circuits, and books from the oldest epic to the modern novel. Each answer links its source.
Read the full guide
The four rounds
US government asks what the clauses and amendments say and how Congress and the courts go about their work; it takes no side on a party or a policy. Economics is the course's terms, from sunk costs to the Phillips curve. Physics covers collisions, rotation, waves, circuits and a little of the atom. British and world literature moves from Sir Gawain and Chaucer through the Romantics to Tolstoy, Kafka and García Márquez.
Senior review, or a civics night
For finals week, run one round a day. For a mixed room, start with Economics: its terms turn up in the news, so parents can play along with the class.
- Economics is the gentlest round by our estimate, with nine easy questions. US government and Physics are the hardest, with six hard questions each.
- Before the US government round, hand out a pocket Constitution. Looking up a clause is fair play in a review.
Questions and answers
What is layer cake federalism?
A nickname for dual federalism, in which power is divided between the federal and state governments in clearly defined terms. Cooperative federalism, in which the two levels work together on policy, is known as marble-cake federalism.
What is a Giffen good?
A product that people consume more of as its price rises, which violates the law of demand. For an ordinary good, a higher price makes consumers buy less of it and more of its substitutes.
What does ceteris paribus mean?
It is Latin for 'other things equal', also put into English as 'all else being equal' or 'other things held constant'. A statement made ceteris paribus is usually accurate in expected conditions but can fail because of intervening factors.
Who tells the stories in One Thousand and One Nights?
Scheherazade. In the frame story she tells the tales to her husband, the ruler Shahryar, one for each night of storytelling. The collection is often known in English as The Arabian Nights.