"The unusual molar teeth of leopard seals enable this behavior, which, in sponges, relies on cells called choanocytes. A siphon allows bivalves such as clams and oysters to perform this behavior. Lamellae in the flamingo beak allow the birds to perform this behavior to consume brine shrimp. Baleen whales feed on krill via—for 10 points—what behavior in which an animal captures food floating in water?"

That's the type of question that will be posed to a group of Stoughton High School students in May during the High School National Quiz Bowl Championship Tournament in Atlanta.

(The answer, according to the National Academic Quiz Tournaments, LLC, which organizes the tournaments, is filter feeding).

This month, a team of four Stoughton High Schools students – Collin Ace, JP Fisher, Ava Cook and Luke Soderbloom – qualified for the national tournament later this year in Atlanta. The team's qualification marks the ninth consecutive year the SHS Quiz Bowl program has qualified at least one team for the national tournament.

Students on the SHS Quiz Bowl team are aware of the streak and "kind of expect to qualify" for the tournament every year, although it is still a challenge, said Cook, a junior.

Quiz bowl is "a fast-paced buzzer competition in which teams of four players compete to answer questions that cover academic subjects like literature and science as well as the broader world of popular culture and current events," according to the National Academic Quiz Tournaments, LLC, website.

That means the questions can run the gamut, sometimes even asking students to answer math problems. The "buzzer system" of Quiz Bowl also allows players to interrupt the reading of a question if they believe they already know the answer, according to NAQT.

The mental aspect of the competition - in which students sometimes don't realize that they already know the answer, at least right away - can present challenges in addition to the content of the questions themselves, said Fisher, a senior.

Both students said information they learn from classes, such as Advanced Placement (AP) World History, Chemistry and Physics, prove helpful when it comes to fielding questions in the competition.

"I think there are a lot of (things) from the classroom that are still applicable," Cook said.

This year's national tournament will take place over Memorial Day weekend. Good luck students!