How to Study for a Teen Jeopardy Tournament

Jeopardy is the most popular quiz show in the country, and the Teen Tournament offers teens throughout the nation a chance to show their smarts. Whether you have already qualified for a tournament, or if you just want some advice on how to play along at home, these tips will help to make you a better Jeopardy player.

Things You'll Need

• Retractable ballpoint pen

Instructions

1. Take the online test. To qualify for the Teen Tournament, you must take an online test at Jeopardy.com. This test is only offered at certain times of year, usually in February, but you can register at any time to receive updates. The test consists of 50 Jeopardy style answers, and you have 15 seconds to answer each one. If you do well, the people at Jeopardy will contact you for an in-person interview, a second test and a mock round of Jeopardy. After that, they will decide if you can be on the show. The competition is hard, so good luck! And if you don't get in on your first attempt, keep trying! All-time champ Ken Jennings didn't make it on the show on his first try, either.

2. Watch the show. If you want to be on the show, chances are you already watch Jeopardy. Nothing can better prepare you for the kinds of questions that are going to be asked and the flow of the game than watching. Keep track of answers and categories you get wrong, and study up on them. Pay attention to the word games they use in the questions. For example, a category that has a word in quotation marks, means that word will appear in all the correct responses.

3. Practice ringing in. Jeopardy is as much about quick reflexes as it is general knowledge. The three people on the show have all had to pass the same tests of general knowledge, so they all know many of the same responses. What will determine the winner is their speed in ringing in. The buzzers in the show do not become active until Alex Trebek has finished reading the question. this prevents people from ringing in early and interrupting him for the people at home. On set, a light will come on when it is time to buzz in. You don't have that light at home, but practice by clicking a ballpoint pen as soon as Alex finishes reading the answer.

4. Study common categories. The quiz website Sporcle.com has published a quiz that lists the most common recurring categories from the run of the program. These include, state capitals, U.S. history, literature, and so on. There's a good chance you'll have to respond to a few of these, so brush up on your presidents, world capitals, and Oscar winners.

References

• Jeopardy Contestant FAQ
• Sporcle.com's Jeopardy Quiz