Are you smarter than an eighth grader?

What country forms the southern border of the English Channel?

How many four-digit numbers are there?

Where was the first fingerprint bureau organized in 1901?

What United State’s name comes from the Spanish word for mountain?

How many times can the same sample of aluminum be recycled?

The answers are: France, 9,000, Scotland Yard, Montana and, there is no limit to the number of times aluminum can be recycled.

Fielding questions with an incredibly broad range — from the Zulu nation to British Royalty, from Shakespeare to Harry Potter, from historical exploration to predatory fish — teams of eighth graders participated in the finals of the 29th Annual Academic Challenge Eighth Competition at Tamaqua Middle School Monday night.

The official competition began Feb. 20 and 21 with eight teams competing: Lehighton, Tamaqua, Northwestern Lehigh, Palmerton, Catasauqua, Jim Thorpe, Panther Valley and Northern Lehigh.

By Monday, the competition had been whittled to three teams: Palmerton, Northwestern Lehigh and Lehighton.

The teams from Palmerton and Lehighton, which had one loss each, faced off in the first round, with the winner to face Northwestern Lehigh, which was undefeated.

Tamaqua seventh-grade teachers Jen DiSante and Alisa Kemmerer, who advise the Tamaqua students, explained the basics of the competition.

“The advisers will pick their team members by giving a test, or doing a competition, and then take the top six students for the team,” DiSante explained.

“We have an activity period for ninth period, and we use that for practice, and also practice after school.”

The questions can cover geography, history, science, math, language and current events.

Four students represent a team at a time, with the remaining two students substituting as the adviser chooses.

In the first round, there are five questions for each team, alternating from team to team.

If a team answers correctly, members have the chance to answer a bonus question. The team has 10 seconds to answer a question (25 seconds to answer a math question).

Questions are worth 1 point.

The second round lasts 10 minutes and the third round lasts five minutes; questions are worth two points.

During those rounds, if a team misses a question, the other team can “steal” the points with a correct answer. During the third round, the questions are “toss-ups” and any team member can answer by hitting a buzzer.

At the end of the first round between Lehighton and Palmerton, Lehighton led 5-1. At the end of the second round, Palmerton had taken the lead, 29-21.

Palmerton kept its lead and won 37-23.

Next, students from Palmerton and Northwestern Lehigh took their seats.

Palmerton led by one point (6-5) after the first round and the teams were tied after the second round (16-16). After the third round, only four points separated the teams, with Northwestern Lehigh winning 30-26.

“It’s a great competition, and the rivalries are real but friendly,” said Palmerton adviser Patti Jo Boyd.

“We all work very hard, the advisers and the students, and in the end it’s all for the kids — win or lose, they are all winners because they want to learn.”

Competing schools

The overall coordinator for the ACE competition is Lisa Mace, Panther Valley School District.

Additional schools competing, students and advisers are as follows:

Panther Valley School District: Adviser Kim Laird, students Josh Faenza, Gabe Heaney, Matthew Rehrig, Nicholas Surotchak, Abigail Vermillion and Richard Zabroski.

Tamaqua School District: Advisers Jennifer DiSante and Alisa Kemmerer, students Cole Eberts, Alexxa Kowalski, Laura Mace, Jacob Mavricz, Kash Radocha and Teddy Ross.

Jim Thorpe School District: Advisers Amy Burkey and Jay Llewellyn, students Christian Bradley, Mariana Jaramillo, Alexandra Ramey, David Richards, Emma Spath and Hannah Summers.

Catasauqua School District: Advisers Judith Evans and Lisa Roth, students Penny Brodman, Randy Costenbader, Val Davidheiser, Dominic Gorr, Hannah Kurczeski and Haylie Toth.

Northern Lehigh School District: Adviser Alice Lieberman, students Gabriel Diaz, Kendall Heiney, Cydney Krause, Owen Levan-Uhler, Caelin Mack and Brooke Nonnemacher.

All about Ace:

Locally, the Academic Challenge Eighth Competition is called The Kern Classic. It was renamed to honor the late Janet Kern, who taught English at Northern Lehigh School District for 35 years.

She was active in ACE since its beginning, serving as adviser while she was a teacher, and acting as moderator for the competition after her retirement.

Academic competition comes in many varieties and formats but generally involves any display of personal knowledge in a competitive context. Whether tested by multiple choice exams or buzzer toss-ups, academic competition provides an opportunity for students to be recognized and rewarded for their intellectual prowess.

ACE uses points, medals and arenas to promote educational growth in curious students while fostering a healthy spirit for competition.

Students who participate in ACE are typically curious and competitive, shine in academics, enjoy games and tournaments, love learning and want all the answers, consistently strive to be better and brighter.

The competition — and practicing for the competition — broadens a student’s understanding of the world, develops skills in teamwork and communication, and serves as an outlet for curiosity, while providing a reward system of hard work.

Competition creed

“As an academic competitor, I commit to showing respect for all other competitors and to using competition as an opportunity to learn and grow.”

The mission of ACE is to inspire and recognize academic excellence in students nationwide.