TeachersFirst's Middle School Brain Twisters

Week of December 1, 2023

1.It takes about 100 lights to cover three feet of height on an "average" Christmas tree. The tree for the state capitol is 24 feet high and about five times as big around as the average tree at the base, tapering to about double the typical tree's circumference in the top 6 feet. About how many lights will it take to decorate this tree? (20 points)

• 2000
• 1000
• 1600
• 1400
• 900

2.Which does not belong? (20 points)

• A day that will live in infamy
• Yamamoto
• December 7
• Hitler
• USS Arizona

3.Several stores sells the same TV that the Smiths would like as their family gift this year. Which is the best deal? (Sales tax is calculated on the actual sales price after discounts.) (10 points)

• An online retailer with price $289, plus $25.99 shipping. No sales tax.
• A national chain store in their town with price $329, with a 15% off sale and 6% sales tax.
• A local close-out store with price $349 with a coupon for $50 every item over $200 and 6% sales tax.
• A "big box store" Internet special. Regular price $299. Free shipping, but they do charge local sales tax (6%) because they have a store in town.
• The local electronics store with price $309 plus 6% sales tax.

4.Which does not belong? (5 points)

• Ham
• Choir
• Chestnuts
• Tots
• Eskimos

5.The eight reindeer on your sleigh each drink a pint of water for each time zone. How many gallons of water should you plan to take on your sleigh to get around the world? (5 points)

• 64
• 768
• 192
• 24
• 92

6."Wassail" is: (10 points)

• All of these
• A Christmas song
• A Christmas greeting
• A Christmas beverage
• A Christmas bowl

7.In Charles Dickens' story, A Christmas Carol, three of the primary characters are: (5 points)

• Children
• Police
• Soldiers
• Musicians
• Ghosts

8.Ebeneezer has decided to keep his Christmas tree until all the needles fall off. His tree has 10,420 needles. Half of the remaining needles will fall off each day, beginning on January 1. When will his tree be down to its last needle? (10 points)

• A week after President's Day
• About February 28th
• About January 15th
• Sometime in April
• Never

9.December 7, 1941 was a major event at what U.S. naval base? (5 points)

• Okinawa
• Guantanamo Bay
• Midway
• Pearl Harbor
• iwo Jima

10.What is the next number in this sequence? - 3, 3, 9, 27, 243 (10 points)

• 6,561
• 13,564
• 756
• 1.432
• 435

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