University Challenge style starter questions (Easy)

Whose last words were 'Monsieur, I beg your pardon. I did not do it on purpose' before she was executed by guillotine on October 16th 1793 in Paris?

What field of mathematics was invented separately by Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, and considers infinitesimal changes of functions with respect to their variables?

What peninsula of northern Australia shares part of its name with an English city known to the Romans as Eboracum and to the Vikings as Jorvik and a former Premier League striker from Trinidad and Tobago (although spelt differently)?

In 1896, Alfred Binet invented the first test of what: a number assigned to each person, the distribution across a whole population is supposed to be normal, with a mean of 100 and standard deviation of 15?

What Middle Eastern country was the birthplace of comedian Eddie Izzard, is home to the Houthi rebel group and has Sana'a as its capital? Its second largest city, Aden, shares its name with the nearby gulf.

What was measured by Romer and Huygens as 220 million m/s, by Hippolyte Fizeau as 315 million m/s and most recently in 1983 as 299,792,458 m/s exactly?

In 2003, Wimbledon FC relocated to which satellite town of London, a move which sparked a lot of controversy as it angered the club's fanbase? The town was granted city status in 2022.

Jules Winnfield, Vincent Vega, Mia Wallace, Butch Coolidge, Winston Wolfe and Marsellus Wallace are all characters from which 1994 Quentin Tarantino classic?

What word means 'a pattern composed of diamonds of various colours on a plain background'? It is also part of the name of a Championship football club in Devon?

What is the Latin name of the philosopher born Kong Qui? His philosophy underpins East Asian culture and many of his teachings were compiled in the Analects.

Which country in the Caribbean sea is composed of roughly 700 islands, one of which, New Providence was the island where Christopher Columbus landed in 1492?

Which city is notable for the following? the European city of culture in 1990, the location of a football rivalry known as the Old Firm, the home of singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi, and the largest city in Scotland.

What word has all of the following meanings? Able to pay all legal debts, something that eliminates or attenuates something especially unwanted, something that provides a solution, or a liquid substance capable of dissolving one or more other substances.

What word is the name of an American rock band founded in 1974 by Debbie Harry and Chris Stein, the name of Adolf Hitler's dog and the nickname of Clint Eastwood's character in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly?

Noam Chomsky is known as the father of the modern version of what field? His main theory states that because all languages contain similar structures and children everywhere acquire language the same way, the basics of language are wired in our brains.

What adjective links all of the following? The surname of the family which Paddington Bear lives with in the books by Michael Bond, the common name of the species of bear Ursus arctos, and the ball which is worth 4 points on a snooker table.

Which country won the FIFA World Cup in the year which is the arithmetic mean of the year in which the Second World War ended and the year when Forrest Gump won the Academy Award for Best Picture?

Footballers Mary Earps and Beth Mead, tennis player Emma Raducanu, Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton and cricketer Ben Stokes were the last five winners of which award presented annually in December?

With a name which means 'play bells', which musical instrument from the percussion family consists of chromatically tuned, flat metal bars set in a frame, that produce bell-like tones when struck with small hammers?

Which fundamental concept of quantum mechanics states that the standard deviation of a particle's momentum multiplied by the standard deviation of the particle's position is always greater than or equal to the original Planck constant divided by 4pi?

Penang in Malaysia, Ascension, the Cayman Islands and Guyana all have a capital city with what English name?

What word was invented in 1782, when Mr Daly, a Dublin theatre manager, claimed he could introduce a new word into the language within 24 hours? The present sense of the word came into common usage in the 1860s.

Which novel written by Miguel de Cervantes opens with the line 'At a village of La Mancha, whose name I do not wish to remember, there lived a little while ago one of those gentlemen who are wont to keep a lance in the rack, an old buckler, a lean horse and a swift greyhound'?

Which author's books include The Carpet People, Discworld, Hogfather, The Last Continent and Mort?

What city is all of the following? The location of an 1801 battle in the French Revolutionary Wars, the name of an interpretation of quantum mechanics, a school of thought in securitisation theory and the birthplace of film director Carl Theodor Dreyer?

Which 1964 musical film includes famous songs such as 'Let's Go Fly a Kite', 'Chim Chim Cheree' and 'A Spoonful of Sugar'?

Which composer's symphonies have nicknames such as 'Eroica', 'Funeral March', 'Fate', 'Pastoral', 'Choral' and most famously, 'Ode to Joy'?

What links the following? The name of the 1974 Swedish Eurovision-winning song, the location of an important 1815 battle and a London underground line known as 'The Drain' represented by the colour turquoise?

Who was the Greek god of rain and cupbearer to the Gods? He was the son of King Tros of Troy, and the largest of the Galilean moons was named after him.

The Big Bash League, the Caribbean Premier League, the Hundred and the County Championship are all competitions in which sport?

The name of which London football club can be formed by combining the names of two Scottish football clubs?

In what sport is an adolph a three and a half front twisting somersault, a barani a front somersault with half twist, a fliffis a double front somersault with twist, a randolph a two and a half twisting front somersault and a swingtime a series of different moves performed between bounces?

Cleese, Idle, Gilliam, Jones, Palin, Chapman and Cleveland are the surnames of which comedy group behind a television show, and films including Life of Brian, and The Holy Grail?

Bice, cerulean, cobalt, cornflour, duck-egg, jupiter, lapis lazuli, mazarine, sapphire and ultramarine are all shades of which primary colour?

Tim Campbell, Michelle Dewberry, Simon Ambrose, Lee McQueen and Yasmina Siadatan are among winners of which television show led by a member of the House of Lords? The iconic theme tune comes from Sergei Prokofiev's music for Romeo and Juliet.

In which year did all of the following occur? Crash helmets made compulsory in British horse racing, the death of Vladimir Lenin, the first Winter Olympics held in Chamonix, and after a hung parliament, Ramsay MacDonald formed the first labour government in Britain.

I am looking for two words: a nickname for the transformation of the London Stock Exchange in 1986 which reflected the advent of global stock and bond trading networks and of round-the-clock trading, is also the name of an American television sitcom starring Jim Parsons and a theory conceived first by Belgian cosmologist Georges Lemaitre?

Celebrated on the 10th of January, Margaret Thatcher day commemorates the day when she visited which islands in 1983? She is known for her role in defending the islands against the invading Argentinians.

What two words link all of the following? A character in the videogame cookie run kingdom, a nickname for former Portuguese footballer Eusebio and the name of Captain Jack Sparrow's ship in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series.

Castor and Pollux, the Roman counterparts of Greek characters Castor and Polydeuces, were the twin sons of Zeus and Leda which make up which constellation? The constellation represents the zodiac sign for people born between May 21st and June 21st.

Named after a Scandinavian city, what two words refer to a psychological condition in which hostages grow to empathise with their captors' political or personal convictions?

The years in which the following events took place all end with what 2-digit number? Gerbert of Aurillac, taking the name Sylvester II, becomes the first French pope, Preston North End wins the first English Football League title, and the French Revolution begins with the storming of the Bastille?

Christopher Waltz for Inglourious Basterds, Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight, Morgan Freeman for Million Dollar Baby and Michael Caine for The Cider House Rules are all 21st century winners of what specific award?

Which planet in the solar system has a mean distance from the Sun equal to 108.2 million km, an atmosphere composed mainly of carbon dioxide, and has been known throughout history as Hesperus, meaning evening star, and Phosphorus, meaning morning star?

Red Vineyard was the only painting sold by which European artist in his lifetime?

The Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow is the full name of an area in which resort in the USA?

Baby, Scary, Sporty, Posh and Ginger were the nicknames of the members of which UK girl group?

I'm looking for the name of a band here. An advertisement in the Los Angeles Daily Vanity in September 1965 by Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider led to the formation of the band who would go on to release the No.1 Single, I'm A Believer?

Father of English poetry Geoffrey Chaucer, playwright William Shakespeare, writer of the first dictionary Dr Samuel Johnson and novelist Charles Dickens are among those buried at the Poets' Corner in which cathedral founded by St Edward the Confessor?

Which island in the Irish Sea has a parliament called Tynwald, a capital city called Douglas and a flag with 3 legs connected at the above the thigh?

Who is credited with the following quotes? 'Each man kills the thing he loves', 'Experience is the name everyone gives to his mistakes', 'I can resist everything except temptation', and 'I have nothing to declare but my genius'?

Erroll Flynn, Kevin Costner, Cary Elwes and Jonas Armstrong are just a few of the actors to have played which English folk hero? The character was also a fox in a 1973 animated Disney adaptation, and was played by a black woman in a 2023 TV series set in the future?

What 3 letter first name links the following? A minor character in The Godfather played by Alex Rocco, famous for being shot through the lens in his glasses, the leader of The Three Stooges, and the bartender in The Simpsons.

Usually known by an abbreviation, who was the patron saint of children, because he was known for given children secret gifts during his lifetime?

Who famously defined oats as 'a grain, which in England is generally given to horses but in Scotland supports the people'? This was in his first dictionary.

Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb and Robin Gibb made up which band formed in 1958? Famous albums include To Love Somebody, Saturday Night Fever, and they are well-known for their song Stayin' Alive.

On New Year's Day 2007, which 2 bordering countries both joined the European Union? Neither has since changed currency to the Euro; they have the Lev and the Leu respectively.

What specific thing links the following? Antonin Panenka in 1976, Fabio Grosso in 2006, and Gonzalo Montiel in 2022?

Which creature is a small, terrestrial, isopod crustacean of the order Oniscoidae, feeding on rotten wood and plant matter? Some of them, known as pill bugs, are able to roll into a ball.

Ungulates are mammals with what features? They are divided into odd-toed, known as perissodactyls, and even-toed, known as artiodactyls.

Charles Sherrill was the first athlete to do what in 1888?

Bump, Strong, Happy, Tickle and Messy are amongst surnames of characters in which Roger Hargreaves book series?

What old Spanish courtship dance in triple time is mentioned in the lyrics of Bohemian Rhapsody, in the line 'Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the...?

What group of animals is defined as any of the cartilaginous fish of the class Chondrichthyes with pointed snouts extending over a crescent-shaped mouth? Species include the thresher, Greenland and mako.

Literally meaning 'pick-me-up', what Italian dessert consists of layers of sponge cake soaked in coffee and brandy or liqueur with powdered chocolate and mascarpone cheese?

In 1958, the tragic Munich Air Disaster saw the deaths of most of the players of which football team on their way back from a European Cup game against Red Star Belgrade? Manager Matt Busby and player Bobby Charlton both survived the crash.

Which German composer is well-known for his opera Hansel and Gretel? He shares his peculiar name with a British pop singer's stage name who was born as Arnold Dorsey?

What name is given to the mathematical method by which, when an innings in a cricket match cannot be finished, a projected total is calculated using statistics from the previous overs?

What is the only name to be shared by 4 books of the Bible? All are in the New Testament.

Ragnar Frisch and Jan Tinbergen were the joint first winners of which prize in 1969, 'for having developed and applied dynamic models for the analysis of economic processes'?

The Baikonur Cosmodrome was the launch site for many Soviet manned space flights and satellites. In what modern day Asian country is it located?

In chemistry, what name is given to the number of hydrogen atoms that an atom or group can combine with or displace in forming compounds?

In St Paul's Cathedral, whose tomb is inscribed with the following quote, though in Latin? 'Reader, if you seek his monument, look around you.'

Answer as soon as you buzz. Which Shakespeare play is the only one to include the name of a modern European capital city in its name?

Matthew Horne, Joanna Page, James Corden, Ruth Jones, Alison Steadman, Larry Lamb and Rob Brydon all star in which British sitcom?

In astrophysics, what is the name of the diagram in which stars are plotted according to their spectral types and their absolute magnitudes?

The Lung Channel of Hand, the Large Intestine Channel of Hand and the Stomach Channel of Foot are just 3 of the 12 meridians in which traditional medical practice?

Which song is described here? With music by Thomas Arne to words of James Thomson and first played in 1740, this nationalistic English anthem is often considered to be the hidden theme of Elgar's Enigma Variations.

Which North American mountain range is the second largest in the world? Its highest point is the summit of Mount Elbert.

According to the character Polonius in Shakespeare's play Hamlet, what is the 'soul of wit'?

What Greek philosophical system was founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens circa 3000 BC? It views the world as permeated by rationality and divinely planned as the best possible organisation of matter.

What mathematical term refers to a numerical constant or quantity which multiplies the variable in an algebraic expression?

For which gambling card game is the object to hold cards with values as near to nine as possible?

John Flamsteed, Edmund Halley and James Bradley were the first 3 people to have what title? Until 1972, it was given to the director of the Greenwich Observatory.

Who was murdered in 1170, after 2 knights heard Henry II say 'Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?'?

In the James Bond series of books and films, what does the acronym SPECTRE stand for?

In the film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, what was the name of the product which Slugworth asked Charlie to steal from the factory?

What word has all the following meanings? In set theory, a set which is closed and bounded, in anatomy the type of bone tissue which forms the hard, outer layer of bones, and in general language, closely packed together.

I'm looking for the name of a philosopher here. Born in Tagaste in Numidia, he was converted to Christianity in 386 AD and described his conversion in his most famous work Confessions. His other masterpiece was The City of God.

I'm looking for 2 words here. The first is from age 4-7, the second from 7-11, the third from 11-14, the fourth from 14-16 and the fifth and final from 16-18, what categorisation in the British school curriculum am I referring to.

From 1745 to 1772, the French philosopher Denis Diderot served as the chief editor for the first of what type of book?

What five word phrase is regularly used by the presenter on Mastermind, when a player's time is up partway through reading a question?

Who is attributed with the following quote? 'If penicillin can cure those who are ill, Spanish sherry can bring the dead back to life'

Answer as soon as you buzz. What is the decimal number 170 in hexadecimal?

What name is given to the 1919 scandal, in which 8 members of the Chicago White Sox were accused of accepting bribes to throw the baseball World Series?

What nickname is given to the 1923 FA Cup Final, due to measures taken by the police to control the crowd? It was the first game played at the Old Wembley and the crowd was roughly 300,000.

What three words precede 'cycle' in the cycle that the central processing unit follows from boot-up until the computer shuts down in order to process instructions?

Did I not tell you I was writing this for myself' were the last words of which composer in 1791?

What phrase refers to a computer programming language that is closer to machine code than to human language?

Also known as The Invisible Hand Theorem, the first fundamental theorem of what specific field states that any Walrasian equilibrium results in a Pareto optimal allocation of resources?

In chemistry, what name is given to different structural modifications of an element?

St Sylvester's Day is the same day as which annual event? When it is finished, people usually sing Auld Lang Syne.

Alpha, Canberra, Dominant, Nevada, Snow Cap and Snow Crown are all varieties of which vegetable?

What was hosted for the first time in 1924 in Chamonix and most recently in Beijing in 2022?

The Dewey decimal system is used to categorise items in what type of building? Numbers between 0 and 999 are given to each item, depending on genre. e.g. 901 would refer to history or geography

What was first awarded in 1927 to aviator Charles Lindbergh, and most recently in 2023 awarded to musical artist Taylor Swift?

Leeds Rhinos, Wigan Warriors and Warrington Wolves are teams in which sports tournament sponsored by Betfred?

What 4 letter word links all the following, allowing for pronunciation? the title of a non-fiction book by Dee Brown about Native American history, the name of an English football club who were famously removed from the EFL, and a verb meaning to hide underground.

In which country is Mount Kosciuszko the highest point? It is located in the Great Dividing Range in New South Wales.