Are you a brainbox like Brandon, or even half as wise as Wang? Ahead of Monday’s final, pit your wits against our truly tricky questions, as compiled by the show’s question setters
In which present-day country is the ancient kingdom of Sheba, whose queen visited King Solomon?
Oman
Yemen
Saudi Arabia
Which Latin-derived philosophical term was popularised by Ivan Turgenev’s 1862 novel Fathers and Sons, where it was used to describe the crude scientism espoused by the character Bazarov?
Nihilism
Nominalism
Probablism
Which US state capital was named after a dukedom conferred on the future James II (James VII of Scots) in 1664?
Albany
Hartford
Bismarck
More than 80% of compounds used in nuclear medicine are labelled using which radioisotope? It has atomic number 43 and mass number 99.
Gallium
Thallium
Technetium
Appearing in the title of an opera by Philip Glass, which term did Mahatma Gandhi use for his policy of non-violent resistance to British rule?
Satyagraha
Pratyahara
Swaraj
Named by the US sociologist Robert K Merton after a book of the Bible, which "effect" can be summarized as: "The rich get richer while the poor get poorer"?
Mark
Matthew
Genesis
Depicting an impoverished pea-picker and her children in 1936, Migrant Mother was a celebrated image by which photographer?
Dorothea Lange
Jack Delano
Arthur Rothstein
Polka dots and "infinity rooms" with mirrors are a characteristic feature of the installations of which Japanese artist, born in 1929?
Yayoi Kusama
Tatsuo Miyajima
Yoshitomo Nara
What term denotes the boundary between the solar wind and the interstellar medium? It lies about 123 astronomical units from the sun.
Heliopause
Heliosheath
Heliotrope
The first independent French-speaking African state, which country did Ahmed Sékou Touré rule from 1958 until his death in 1984?
Ivory Coast
(Republic of) Guinea
Mali
Describing an allegorical place populated by women of "great renown", The Book of the City of Ladies is a 1405 work by which French author?
Marie de France
Christine de Pizan
Clémence de Bourges
In transport history, the Rainhill Trials - won by Stephenson’s Rocket - took place towards the end of which decade?
1780s
1820s
1850s
Expressed in metric tons, what is one gigagramme?
1,000
10,000
100,000
Changsha is the capital of which Chinese province, the birthplace, in 1893, of Mao Zedong?
Hunan
Hebei
Hubei
Which Swiss architectural firm designed the Bird’s Nest stadium for the 2008 summer Olympics?
Ateliers Jean Nouvel
Mario Botta Architetti
Herzog & De Meuron
15 and above.
Wang, is that you?! If those were all guesses, then they were superb
14 and above.
Wang, is that you?! If those were all guesses, then they were superb
13 and above.
Wang, is that you?! If those were all guesses, then they were superb
12 and above.
Wang, is that you?! If those were all guesses, then they were superb
11 and above.
Wang, is that you?! If those were all guesses, then they were superb
10 and above.
And at the gong ... looks like you’ve done a more than respectable job!
9 and above.
And at the gong ... looks like you’ve done a more than respectable job!
8 and above.
And at the gong ... looks like you’ve done a more than respectable job!
7 and above.
And at the gong ... looks like you’ve done a more than respectable job!
6 and above.
And at the gong ... looks like you’ve done a more than respectable job!
5 and above.
Oh, do come on! Sadly, it’s a non-starter for 10
4 and above.
Oh, do come on! Sadly, it’s a non-starter for 10
3 and above.
Oh, do come on! Sadly, it’s a non-starter for 10
2 and above.
Oh, do come on! Sadly, it’s a non-starter for 10
0 and above.
Oh, do come on! Sadly, it’s a non-starter for 10
1 and above.
Oh, do come on! Sadly, it’s a non-starter for 10
The University Challenge grand final airs Monday 20 April at 8.30pm on BBC Two
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