Difference between revisions of "Tossup"

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A '''tossup''' is a question that is read out loud to both teams. During a game, any player who believes they know the answer to a tossup can use their [[buzzer]] to interrupt the question and deliver an answer to attempt to score points for their team. The [[tossup-bonus format]], [[four-quarter format]], [[VHSL]] format, and all other known forms of contemporary quizbowl use tossup questions as the staple of gameplay.
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{{Intro}}
  
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A tossup typically contains several sentences describing the answer and ends with a "giveaway" clue about the answer. Players can buzz in anytime they think they know the answer. Tossups should be written in a [[pyramidality|pyramidal]] style, with the result being that more knowledgeable teams should buzz in before less knowledgeable teams. Points are awarded to the team of the person that answered the tossup correctly.  
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A '''tossup''' is a question, usually containing several sentences, that is read out loud for both teams to attempt to answer. During a game, any player who believes they know the answer to a tossup can use their [[buzzer]] to [[interruption|interrupt]] the question and deliver an answer to score points for their team. Tossup questions are the staple of game play for virtually all contemporary quizbowl.  
  
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Tossups are usually worth 10 points. Variations on tossup rules include [[negs|neg penalties]], meaning that a team that buzzes in first with an incorrect while the question is being read has points deducted from their score, and [[powers]], meaning that a team that buzzes in during an early part of the question with a correct answer received more than the standard number of points.
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[[Good quizbowl]] advocates write tossups in [[pyramidality|pyramidal]] style, in which a question begins with more in-depth knowledge about the answer and progresses towards easier clues, the intent being that more knowledgeable teams should answer before less knowledgeable teams.
  
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Though players do not have to begin their answer to a tossup question immediately after buzzing in, there are typically time limits involved in answering tossups. In [[ACF]], [[HSAPQ]], [[PACE]], and [[NHBB]] gameplay, players have five seconds to begin their answer; in the official [[NAQT]] rules, players have two seconds to begin.  If a person buzzes in, they typically have three seconds to start giving their answer. Additionally, if nobody buzzes in within three seconds of the end of a tossup, then it goes dead.  
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Correctly-answered tossups are usually worth 10 points, though some tournaments allow for [[power]]s, in which an increased number of points, usually 15, is rewarded for a correct answer being given early in a tossup. When a player [[negs]], or gives an incorrect answer before the tossup's end, his team cannot attempt to answer the question again and, under some rules, loses points.  
  
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'''Example tossup'''
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Players have a finite amount of time after buzzing to provide an answer. In [[ACF]], [[PACE]], and [[NHBB]] gameplay, players have five seconds to begin their answer, while under [[NAQT]] rules, players have only two seconds. Additionally, if nobody buzzes in within five seconds (under ACF and PACE rules) or three seconds (under NAQT rules) of the end of a tossup, it is considered "[[dead]]", and the next tossup is read instead of proceeding to a bonus.
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From [[ACF Fall]] 2012, Buffalo packet
 
  
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==Sample tossup==
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From the Buffalo packet of [[ACF Fall]] 2012:
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<blockquote style="clear: both; margin: 10px; padding: 10px">
 
Nicolas Poussin painted this figure being helped by a faun onto a goat while looking at a putto attacking a young satyr. Four paintings also by Poussin depict this figure presenting weapons forged by Vulcan to her son. Jacques-Louis David's last painting shows this figure disarming Mars. Two paintings by Rubens depict this figure gazing into a mirror held by another son who has wings. Titian made a depiction of this goddess reclining on a couch in a painting commissioned by the Duke of Urbino. Botticelli painted the birth and arrival on a seashell of, for 10 points, what figure, the Roman goddess of love?<br>
 
Nicolas Poussin painted this figure being helped by a faun onto a goat while looking at a putto attacking a young satyr. Four paintings also by Poussin depict this figure presenting weapons forged by Vulcan to her son. Jacques-Louis David's last painting shows this figure disarming Mars. Two paintings by Rubens depict this figure gazing into a mirror held by another son who has wings. Titian made a depiction of this goddess reclining on a couch in a painting commissioned by the Duke of Urbino. Botticelli painted the birth and arrival on a seashell of, for 10 points, what figure, the Roman goddess of love?<br>
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ANSWER: '''<u>Venus</u>''' [do not accept “Aphrodite”]
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ANSWER: <span style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline">Venus</span> [do not accept “Aphrodite”]
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</blockquote>
 
[[Category:Original QBWiki Page]]
 
[[Category:Original QBWiki Page]]
 
[[Category: Quizbowl basics]]
 
[[Category: Quizbowl basics]]

Revision as of 14:05, 9 July 2017

A tossup is a question, usually containing several sentences, that is read out loud for both teams to attempt to answer. During a game, any player who believes they know the answer to a tossup can use their buzzer to interrupt the question and deliver an answer to score points for their team. Tossup questions are the staple of game play for virtually all contemporary quizbowl.

Good quizbowl advocates write tossups in pyramidal style, in which a question begins with more in-depth knowledge about the answer and progresses towards easier clues, the intent being that more knowledgeable teams should answer before less knowledgeable teams.

Correctly-answered tossups are usually worth 10 points, though some tournaments allow for powers, in which an increased number of points, usually 15, is rewarded for a correct answer being given early in a tossup. When a player negs, or gives an incorrect answer before the tossup's end, his team cannot attempt to answer the question again and, under some rules, loses points.

Players have a finite amount of time after buzzing to provide an answer. In ACF, PACE, and NHBB gameplay, players have five seconds to begin their answer, while under NAQT rules, players have only two seconds. Additionally, if nobody buzzes in within five seconds (under ACF and PACE rules) or three seconds (under NAQT rules) of the end of a tossup, it is considered "dead", and the next tossup is read instead of proceeding to a bonus.

Sample tossup

From the Buffalo packet of ACF Fall 2012:

Nicolas Poussin painted this figure being helped by a faun onto a goat while looking at a putto attacking a young satyr. Four paintings also by Poussin depict this figure presenting weapons forged by Vulcan to her son. Jacques-Louis David's last painting shows this figure disarming Mars. Two paintings by Rubens depict this figure gazing into a mirror held by another son who has wings. Titian made a depiction of this goddess reclining on a couch in a painting commissioned by the Duke of Urbino. Botticelli painted the birth and arrival on a seashell of, for 10 points, what figure, the Roman goddess of love?
ANSWER: Venus [do not accept “Aphrodite”]

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