Final Jeopardy: Science Words (3-22-13)
Today’s Final Jeopardy question (3/22/2013) in the category “Science Words” was:
This biological term for cell division was borrowed in 1939 to describe a form of energy release.
New champ Steve Rininger defeated a 2-time lady champion yesterday, winning $22,200 in the process. Today he is up against these two ladies: Mary Jo Shoop, from Arlington, VA; and Rachel Liptak, from Temecula, CA.
Mary Jo found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “We Put Characters on Trial.” She was in last place with $200, $2,400 less than Rachel in the lead. She bet the $1,000 allowance but did not know so she was WRONG.
It’s no surprise that this Thomas Hardy title stonemason gives unclear responses on the witness stand. show
Rachel finished in the lead with $8,000. Steve was second with $2,000 and Mary Jo was last with $1,200.
Steve found the first Double Jeopardy Daily Double in “State Song Lyrics.” He was in second place with $4,000, $4,000 less than Rachel in the lead. He bet $2,000 and he was RIGHT.
Your freeborn single star, sends out its radiance to nations near and far. show
Mary Jo found the last Daily Double in “We’re on Mars.” She was in second place with $10,000, with Rachel still having a $4,000 lead. She bet $2,000, and thought it was “Tubman.” That was WRONG.
Valerie Ambroise won an essay contest and named this Rover for a 19th century African American woman. show
Rachel finished in the lead with $15,600. Mary Jo was next with $9,600 and Steve was in third place with $8,000.
TWO of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
“The experiments that provided the evidence for nuclear fission were done at (Otto) Hahn’s laboratory in Berlin and published in January 1939. In February 1939, (Lise) Meitner published the physical explanation for the observations and, with her nephew, physicist Otto Frisch, named the process nuclear fission.” (Atomic Archive: Lise Meitner)
Steve got it right and added $7,601 to his score to finish with $15,601.
Mary Jo wrote down “mitosis.” She lost $6,299 and wound up with $3,301.
Rachel also got it right and bet $3,601, winning the last match of the week with $19,201. So we will not see the new Jeopardy! champ until Monday. In the meantime, have a great weekend!
But first, this random observation: This is the second time this month that English novelist and poet Thomas Hardy has stumped a contestant. The other time was the Final Jeopardy! clue on March 11th and that stumped the whole panel! For anyone who wants to get a handle on his works and characters, here is a link to a timeline of his life from the Thomas Hardy Society.
