United States Academic Decathlon topics
The United States Academic Decathlon (USAD) is an academic competition for high school students in the United States. The Academic Decathlon consists of 10 events: Art, Economics, Essay, Interview, Language and Literature, Math, Music, Science, Social Science, Speech and Super Quiz. Each year, one of the ten subjects is chosen as the Super Quiz, which uses a different format than the other events. The topics and theme of the competition are released in March of every year, giving students time to prepare for the competition season which runs from November to April. The events are split up into two groups: the seven objective tests (Art, Economics, Language and Literature, Math, Music, Science and Social Science) and the three subjective events (Essay, Interview and Speech). They are designated as such because the former seven are multiple choice tests, whereas the latter three are graded by judges. Students are given half an hour to answer each multiple choice exam. These exams consist of 50 questions, with the exception of Math and Super Quiz which have 35 and 40 questions respectively.
Objective events
In general, the objective events follow a set organizational outline from year to year. Language and literature focuses on a single novel or a set of plays in addition to multiple short literary selections which tend to be poems or excerpts from short stories. The art and music sections include several selections with which students must familiarize themselves in addition to historical information. Economics remains fairly static; 85% of the material focuses on a standard course of macroeconomics and microeconomics<ref name="Econ 2008-2998>
and the remaining 15% focuses on the year's topic. For example, in 2005 the themed material covered the economics of ancient Ancient Egypt and Rome. The math curriculum, which includes general math, geometry, trigonometry, and differential calculus, has remained constant since 2002. Science and social science reflect the season's theme. Unlike the other events, there is no basic information that carries over.
Subjective events
The subjective events each have their own rules and allow the students more creativity than the objective subjects. In the speech event, a three-and-a-half to four-minute long prepared speech is delivered followed by a one-and-a-half to two-minute impromptu speech. The competitor has one minute to prepare for this impromptu talk, which must be based on one of three topics. Example prompts include, "It has been said about our modern times that, 'Invention is the mother of necessity.' Please discuss.", "Math has been described as the universal language. Discuss" and "Why is light, light and dark, dark?". In the interview, the students are asked a wide variety of questions in a formal environment. Questions range from, "Who is your role model?" to, "How would you alert someone that their zipper is down?". In both the speech and interview, the competitor is not allowed to reveal his hometown. In the essay event, students are given 50 minutes to write an essay responding to one of three or more prompts derived from the language and literature or the Super Quiz curriculum.
Super Quiz
The format of the Super Quiz differs from that of the other subject areas. Added in 1969, it offers a culminating championship event. The Super Quiz consists of a forty-question multiple choice test as well as an oral relay. This is generally referred to as the Super Quiz Relay, and is unique in that it is the only event viewable by the general public. The relay starts with the Varsity students followed by the Scholastic group and finally the Honors students. Each group is given 5 or 10 questions, depending on the format decided by the state coordinator. These questions are read aloud to the audience and are printed or projected for the competitors. After the questions and answers are read, the students are allowed seven seconds to select the correct answer. The answer is checked on the spot by a judge and scores are immediately displayed to the audience.
Themes
As the competition has evolved, more of the events have been tied into a central theme. The focus of the 2008–09 curriculum is Latin America, with an emphasis on Mexico. Language and literature is based on six short selections of literature as well as the novel Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya. Art focuses on the art of Mexico featuring, among others, Miguel Cabrera and Diego Rivera. The music event concentrates on Latin American music, including works by Manuel de Zumaya and Silvestre Revueltas. Social science and economics focus on the history and economy of Mexico respectively. The Super Quiz covers an introduction to evolutionary biology, the historical development of the theory of evolution, natural selection, speciation, mutation, gene flow, genetic drift, and evolutionary developmental biology. Information is also included on Charles Darwin's voyages, as well as his work in Latin America.
Topics, past and present
1982–1998
Season |
Subject |
Topic |
|---|---|---|
1983–84 |
Economics |
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Fine Arts |
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Language and Literature |
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Math |
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Science |
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Social Science |
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Super Quiz |
Olympic Games |
|
1984–85 |
Economics |
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Fine Arts |
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Language and Literature |
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Math |
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Science |
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Social Science |
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Super Quiz |
Futurism—Megatrends |
|
1985–86 |
Economics |
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Fine Arts |
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Language and Literature |
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Math |
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Science |
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Social Science |
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Super Quiz |
Immigration to the United States |
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1986–87 |
Economics |
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Fine Arts |
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Language and Literature |
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Math |
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Science |
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Social Science |
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Super Quiz |
We The People: The Constitution of the United States |
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1987–88 |
Economics |
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Fine Arts |
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Language and Literature |
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Math |
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Science |
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Social Science |
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Super Quiz |
History of Flight |
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1988–89 |
Economics |
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Fine Arts |
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Language and Literature |
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Math |
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Science |
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Social Science |
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Super Quiz |
The U.S. Presidency |
|
1989–90 |
Economics |
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Fine Arts |
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Language and Literature |
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Math |
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Science |
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Social Science |
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Super Quiz |
American Indians: Our American Heritage |
|
1990–91 |
Economics |
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Fine Arts |
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Language and Literature |
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Math |
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Science |
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Social Science |
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Super Quiz |
Space Exploration |
|
1991–92 |
Economics |
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Fine Arts |
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Language and Literature |
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Math |
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Science |
||
Social Science |
||
Super Quiz |
"Habitat Earth" |
|
1992–93 |
Economics |
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Fine Arts |
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Language and Literature |
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Math |
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Science |
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Social Science |
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Super Quiz |
"A Diversity of Achievers" |
|
1993–94 |
Economics |
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Fine Arts |
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Language and Literature |
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich |
|
Math |
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Science |
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Social Science |
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Super Quiz |
Documents of Freedom |
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1994-1995 |
Theme |
Health, Wellness, and Biotechnology{{cite news|last=Pulaski|first=Lee|title=Chino students win in academic competition|work=Chino Valley Review|date= February 15, 1995|url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=EnEOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xYEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4851,454802&dq=academic-decathlon+health-wellness |
Economics |
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Fine Arts |
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Language and Literature |
Arrowsmith |
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Math |
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Science |
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Social Science |
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Super Quiz |
Biotechnology: The Next Frontier |
|
1995-1996 |
Theme |
Competition and Cooperation |
Economics |
||
Fine Arts |
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Language and Literature |
The Odyssey and Selected Works by Ralph Waldo Emerson |
|
Math |
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Science |
||
Social Science |
||
Super Quiz |
The United Nations: Competition and Cooperation |
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1996-1997 |
Theme |
Communication and Culture |
Economics |
||
Fine Arts |
||
Language and Literature |
William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion |
|
Math |
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Science |
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Social Science |
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Super Quiz |
The Information Revolution |
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1997–1998 season to the present
1997-1998
Theme |
Subject |
Topic |
|---|---|---|
Looking Outward: |
Art |
Fundamentals of art and selected art objects from the Philadelphia Museum of Art |
Language and Literature |
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte |
|
Math |
Algebra, geometry, trigonometry and differential calculus |
|
Music |
Music of the twentieth century
|
|
Science |
The structure and behavior of matter |
|
Social Science |
World events and new developments of the 1980s |
|
Super Quiz |
Globalization: The New Economy |
1998–1999
Theme |
Subject |
Topic |
|---|---|---|
Looking Inward: |
Art |
20th century American and European Art (entirely from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art collection)
|
Economics |
Fundamentals of economics, macroeconomics, and investment methods and strategies |
|
Language and Literature |
Siddhartha by Herman Hesse and The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro Shabanu by Suzanne Fisher Staples replaced Siddhartha for the junior varsity competition. |
|
Math |
Geometry, algebra, trigonometry, and calculus |
|
Music |
Opera |
|
Social Science |
Ancient Civilizations |
|
Super Quiz |
The Brain |
1999–2000
Theme |
Subject |
Topic |
|---|---|---|
Looking Forward: |
Art |
Art focused on innovations in the Fine Arts. Featured pieces:
|
Economics |
Fundamentals of economics, microeconomics, and environmental economics |
|
Language and Literature |
''Novel
Play
Selected poems
|
|
Math |
Fractals, fractal geometry, and algorithms in the complex plane |
|
Music |
Music focused on breakthroughs in American Jazz. Featured pieces:
|
|
Social Science |
Infrastructures Around the Globe: Suez Canal, Transmerican Railroad, Panama Canal, Alaska Pipeline, Channel Tunnel, Glen Canyon Dam, Three Gorges Dam, and the International Space Station |
|
Super Quiz |
Sustainable Earth |
2000–2001
Theme |
Subject |
Topic |
|---|---|---|
Understanding the Self |
Art |
Art focused on images of the self. Featured selections: Paintings
Sculptures
Masks
|
Economics |
Fundamentals of economics, business organizations, and profiles in individual enterprise |
|
Language and Literature |
Novel
Poems
|
|
Math |
Logic and set theory, numbers, combinatorics and probability, and application |
|
Music |
Music focused on sacred music from around the world. Featured songs:
|
|
Science |
The Biological Self: biology of the cell, molecular genetics, and the immune system |
|
Super Quiz |
Concepts of the Self: Philosophy, Psychology, and Religion |
2001–2002
Theme |
Subject |
Topic |
|---|---|---|
Understanding Others |
Art |
Drawings
Paintings
Printmaking
Sculptures
Textiles
Fixed Media
|
Economics |
Economics basics, relationships, taxation, labor markets, and behaviors. Also included a feature on several prominent historical economists. |
|
Language and Literature |
Novel
Poems
|
|
Math |
Algebra, geometry and statistics. |
|
Music |
Music focused on the country music genre (1920's to the present). Featured songs:
|
|
Science |
Light, sound and waves. |
|
Super Quiz |
E-communication: The Internet & Society |
2002–2003
Theme |
Subject |
Topic |
|---|---|---|
Understanding the Natural World |
Art |
Romantic, Realist, Impressionist, and Asian Art, including
|
Economics |
Fundamentals of economics; micro- and macro-economics; a special section on "The Economics of the Natural World" |
|
Language and Literature |
Novel
Poems
|
|
Math |
General math, algebra, geometry, and trigonometry |
|
Music |
Music of the Romantic Era, featuring the following works:
|
|
Social Science |
The Natural World as it Shapes Human History: early cultures in the Americas, technology and the natural world, the impact of natural disasters in U.S. history, and the preservation of nature. |
|
Super Quiz |
The Blue Planet: Beneath the Surface |
2003–2004
Theme |
Subject |
Topic |
|---|---|---|
America: The Growth of a Nation |
Art |
Early American Art
Native American Art
Photography
|
Economics |
Fundamentals of economics; micro- and macro-economics; The U.S. Economy in the Late Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Century |
|
Language and Literature |
Novel
Shorter Selections
|
|
Math |
General math, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and calculus |
|
Music |
|
|
Science |
Botany
|
|
Super Quiz |
The Lewis and Clark Expedition |
2004–2005
Theme |
Subject |
Topic |
|---|---|---|
Exploring the Ancient World |
Art |
Ancient Near Eastern Art
Ancient Egyptian Art
'''''Art of Ancient Aegean Civilizations (Cyclades, Minoa, and Mycenaea)
Ancient Greek Art
Ancient Etruscan and Roman Art
|
Economics |
|
|
Language and Literature |
Plays by Sophocles
Shorter Selections
|
|
Math |
|
|
Music |
Music focused on the Classical Era with the following selected pieces:
|
|
Social Science |
Emerging Empires in the Near East, Egypt, Greece, and Rome
|
|
Super Quiz |
From Empty Space to Incredible Universe: The Sky Is Not the Limit |
2005–2006
Theme |
Subject |
Topic |
|---|---|---|
The European Renaissance: Renewal and Reform |
Art |
Early to Mid Fifteenth-Century Italian
Mid to Late Fifteenth-Century Italian
Sixteenth-Century Italian
Renaissance Outside of Italy
|
Economics |
|
|
Language and Literature |
Plays
Shorter Selections
|
|
Math |
|
|
Music |
The music in this year's curriculum was broken up into two sections: Music in the Early Renaissance ( c. 1450–1520 C.E.)
Music in the High Renaissance ( c. 1520–1600 C.E.)
|
|
Science |
|
|
Super Quiz |
The European Renaissance: Renewal and Reform |
2006–2007
Theme |
Subject |
Topic |
|---|---|---|
China and Its Influence on the World |
Art |
The featured works were: Tripod Ritual Vessel, Pendent in the Form of a Dragon, Female "Long-Sleeve Dancer, Spirit Jar (Hung Ping), Exalted Gathering in the Green Woods, Boy Leading an Ox Along the Farm Path, Boddhisttva Kuan-Yin, Verse in Cursive Script, Bamboo and Rocks, Book of Sudhana, Taihe Dian, Imperial Throne, Empress's Twelve Symbol Robe, Blue-and-White dish, Pillow, Official Seal, Cricket Container, Cosmetic Case, and Mirror Stand |
Economics |
Fundamentals of economics, macroeconomics, microeconomics, areas, international trade and development, Chinese economic history |
|
Language and Literature |
The featured novel was The Good Earth. I Watered My Horse, Sent to My Two Little Children, The Terrace in the Snow, Half of Me is Aching, Kubla Khan, and The River Merchant's Wife: A Letter |
|
Math |
||
Music |
||
Social Science |
||
Super Quiz |
An Introduction to Climatology |
2007–2008
Theme |
Subject |
Topic |
|---|---|---|
History of the Civil War |
Art |
There were 18 selected works chosen from museums in Washington D.C. They were: Watson and the Shark , Mississippi Boatman, The Lackawanna Valley, The Boating Party, Shaw Memorial, The Westwood Children, The Seine, A Visit from the Old Mistress, The Sick Soldier, Cañon de Chelle, Walls of the Grand Cañon about 1200 Feet in Height (Wheeler Survey), two from National Museum of American History , a Frederick Douglass ambrotype, and Lyndhurst for George Merritt, Tarrytown, New York |
Economics |
Fundamentals of economics, including general topics in macro- and microeconomics and international trade and global economic development, slavery, and the economics of the U.S. Civil War. |
|
Language and Literature |
The featured work was The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane. There were also six shorter works: The Gettysburg Address, Second Inaugural Address of Abraham Lincoln, Narrative of the Life (excerpt), An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, Grant and Lee: A Study in Contrasts, O Captain! My Captain!, and The Unsung Heroes |
|
Math |
General math, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and differential calculus. |
|
Music |
There were 14 selected works: |
|
Science |
Infectious disease |
|
Super Quiz |
The Civil War |
2008–2009
Theme |
Subject |
Topic |
|---|---|---|
Latin America with a focus on Mexico |
Art |
There were 18 or 19 selected works: "Olmec Figure Sitting with Spread Legs, Standing Female (Jalisco) and Standing Female (Ancient Michocán), View of the Street of the Dead Showing the Plaza of the Moon and the Pyramid of the Sun, Tikal: Temple of the Giant Jaguar, Mosaic Skull and Jaw, Codex Huejotzingo (Painting 5), Untitled (Our Lady of Guadalupe), Don Juan Joachín Gutiérrez Altamirano y Velasco, From Spaniard and Black, Mulatto, Shawl, , Valley of Oaxaca, La Calavera Catrina, The Flower Carrier, Frieda and Diego Rivera, and Figure in Illuminated Doorway |
Economics |
Fundamentals of economics, including general topics in macro- and microeconomics, international trade, global economic development, and Mexican economic history |
|
Language and Literature |
The featured novel was Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya. Also featured were six short works: Sonnets 27 and 28 by Sor Juana de la Cruz, The Ruby, La Extranjera, United Fruit Co., The Switchman, and Painting To Survive. |
|
Math |
General math, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and differential calculus. |
|
Music |
There were fourteen featured selections: Copal Offering to the Four Directions, Kyrie, Sol-fa de Pedro, , Sinfonia India, Sensemayá, Las Mañanitas, Jocotan - Small Marimba, Aria, Scherzo, Verano Porteno, Samba Urbano, Los Jilacatas, Brand New Cha Cha Cha |
|
Social Science |
History of Mexico, from the Olmecs to modern day. |
|
Super Quiz |
Evolutionary Biology |
2009–2010
Theme |
Subject |
Topic |
|---|---|---|
The French Revolution |
Art |
The 17 featured selections included: Mezzetin, Soap Bubbles, Wine Cooler, Broken Eggs, Shepherd's Idyll, Modern Rome, The Death of Socrates, The Triumph of Aemilius Paulus, Minerva Protecting the Young King of Rome, Evening: Landscape with an Aqueduct, The Start of the Race of the Riderless Horses, Stormy Coast Scene after a Shipwreck, Royal Tiger, Young Jewish Woman of Algeria, Seated, Portrait of a Young Man, Self-portrait with Two Pupils: Mademoiselle Marie Gabrielle Capet and Mademoiselle Carreaux de Rosemond, Bust of Voltaire, and Princesse de Broglie |
Economics |
Fundamentals of economics, including general topics in macro- and microeconomics, international trade, global economic development, and the economic history of France during the French Revolution |
|
Language and Literature |
The novel was A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. Also featured were six shorter works: |
|
Math |
General math, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and differential calculus. |
|
Music |
18th and 19th century French music. The fourteen selected works were: |
|
Science |
Introduction to Chemistry, history of chemistry with a focus on Antoine Lavoisier. |
|
Super Quiz |
History of the French Revolution |
Footnotes
- 1 The two Standing Females are two different sculptures, but are in the same picture.