RAPID CITY - If the constant of variation is k=5/2 and y varies inversely as x, what is y when x is ten?

The answer is ¼, and it was answered correctly in less than 30 seconds by the Stevens High School Knowledge Bowl team Saturday.

That, and 59 other difficult science, literature, grammar, current events and history questions were asked and answered at the Regional Knowledge Bowl middle and high school competition Saturday at Central High School.

The four top Northern Hills teams that attended the regional competition were Lead-Deadwood, St. Thomas More, Belle Fourche and Spearfish. The top four southern teams included Rapid City Central, Rapid City Stevens, Hill City and Custer. Sturgis Brown High School also was allowed to compete.

In the middle school competition, Southwest Middle School took first, South Middle School took second and Custer took third place.

In the high school competition, Hill City took first place, Stevens took second and Sturgis took third. Central coach Michael Slaback said Hill City took the first place title home by one point and earned it in a twist of unconventional wisdom.

In the third round written exam, Hill City tied with Sturgis for first place. According to rules, a tie is broken with a coin toss and the winning team decides whether to compete in the room of other first place competitors or the room of second place competitors.

Hill City won the coin toss and instead of choosing the second place room, they chose to compete against the first place winners, which were the Lead-Deadwood and Stevens teams.

In that round, Hill City took first, Lead-Deadwood took second and Stevens came in last, which is the only way that Hill City could have won the extra point over Stevens.

"It was absolutely amazing," Slaback said. "They gambled, and it paid off in first place for them."

During the competition at regionals, the students competed in four oral rounds and took one written exam. The questions being asked were bought from a company called Academic Hallmarks, and the students did not have an opportunity to study any of them ahead of time.

"It's fun," Bell Fourche coach Jennifer Roberts said. "The questions are very challenging."

It's also a great way for students who might not otherwise be involved in school activities to get out there and compete, Slaback said.

"They get an opportunity to compete against other really bright kids," he said. "It's an outlet for the kids that are really bright and that aren't athletes; it gives them a chance to compete."

Lynn Padilla of Sturgis came Saturday to watch her two kids compete, one at the middle school level and one in high school.

"It's amazing the questions they get asked," she said.

In the second round of oral exams, Stevens competitor Jacquie Godbe sat at the head of the table and led her team to a victory over Lead-Deadwood and Hill City.

She said that although they practice, sometimes you just have to recall facts you learned years and years ago.

"You just remember random things from third grade," she said. "You learn the game, and you learn each other, and it's a lot of luck."

It's got to be a lot more than that, said Central teacher Dana West, who was at the event to read questions during rounds.

"They're awesome," he said of the competitors. "I'm a math teacher, so I get those, but the others, oh my heavens. The (students) are absolute brainiacs. You read the questions and think no one is going to get these, and then they do, almost all of them."

There were a few that stumped them though, such as this one: What is larger than a kayak and looking much like a rowboat, the Eskimo watercraft made of skins stretched over a wooden frame?

In case you ever need to know, it's an umiak.

Contact Kayla Gahagan at 394-8410 or kayla.gahagan@rapidcityjournal.com