Jeopardy-Related Trivia Questions...How do you get better?

Question

I love watching trivia TV-shows like Jeopardy and Cash Cab :P and all those.

But I can only answer a number of those questions. So what can I do to improve so I can answer more questions?

I'm a sophomore in high school, so I guess some of the questions will be covered in my future years of learning but is there anything I can do now?

(I also want to join the Quiz Team next year, I don't know how to prepare for that either)

Thanks all in advance.

Answer 1

I can answer most of the questions and I just graduated high school. My dream is eventually get on Jeopardy! I attained my status by reading all of the volumes of World Book several times. Study as much "useless" facts and information as possible. Read things over and over until they stick.

Answer 2

Take unique courses that are very subject specific. A lot of history classes, science classes, and fine arts.

Answer 3

Even though I heard Jeopardy! will give you something like a study guide once you are picked to be on the show- you still need to be well knowledgeable on current events, foreign affairs, history, plants etc. My co-worker was on Jeopardy! and said that you also need skill in pressing the button (timing)!

Much luck to you, I hope you make it!

Answer 4

I have a trivia desk calendar--a question for each day.  There are also Jeopardy calendars, and you can also play Jeopardy online.

Answer 5

i can actually answer a lot of the questions and I'm a sophomore. but i think thats because i read alot and i research random subjects when i hear them but don't know a lot about them. i also read a lot. just books and stuff. im sure that helps.

i also have a big family and my brothers especially know a lot of random info. if you know anyone like that...just listen to them when they spout off random trivia.

Answer 6

listen to the news instead of music, and read the newspaper.watch "talking head" news shows.

Answer 7

Unfortunately I don't think you can't really study for "Jeopardy" - you just have to get through school and pay attention and read and absorb as much information as you can.

You can try to cram by reading the Almanac, particularly the facts about the U.S. States, U.S. Presidents, foreign countries and capitals...but all this will do is put a lot of information into your "short-term" memory.

And ultimately Jeopardy! is more of a test of what's in your long-term memory.  You're not going to remember the list of U.S. presidents unless you truly "care" about it.  Unless you go and study classical music, you're not going to know one composer from another, you'll just be guessing.

You could study the list of presidents backwards and forwards, and then on the show get a category about British royalty instead.

So it's best to just take some time and study all that you can, in as many subjects as possible.  Maybe a book like "An Incomplete Education" can give you a whole lot of shorthand information about Shakespeare, Renaissance art, and world history, but you still need to have a lot of context in order to guess properly.

I think the best way to practice for Jeopardy! is to watch Jeopardy!.  There are only so many possible questions, and eventually they repeat.  Keep track of how many answers you could have come up with on each Jeopardy board, and see if the number increases over time.

Also, get familiar with the way that each Jeopardy answer usually contains 2 ways to arrive at the right question.  You can also play Jeopardy on-line or on most video-game systems to get in some practice time.