What is the molecular geometry of sulfur tetrafluoride? Which layer of the Sun is thickest? What is the average of the first 10 prime numbers? If you answered “see-saw,” “radiation zone,” and “12.9,” respectively, then you know a tiny fraction of what high school students must learn to compete successfully in the National Science Bowl.

On Saturday, March 1, students from University High School in Irvine answered enough of these kind of challenging questions correctly to earn the points to defeat 19 other high school teams, winning a regional Science Bowl competition hosted by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. Troy High, from Fullerton, won second place, while Arcadia High placed third.

Some 100 students gathered at JPL for the fast-paced event, which drew schools from across Los Angeles, Orange, and San Bernardino counties. Teams are composed of four students and one alternate, with a teacher serving as coach. Two teams at a time face off in a round robin tournament, followed by tie-breaker and double-elimination rounds, then final matches.