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10 Cambridge University Questions | Colleges & Universities Trivia Quiz

Cambridge (UK) is world-famous for its university. How much do you know about it?

A multiple-choice quiz by Matve. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
Matve

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
98,495

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
527

Last 3 plays: Guest 82 (4/10), Guest 128 (8/10), gogetem (7/10).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Which was the first Cambridge college to be founded? Hint

Trinity College

Fitzwilliam College

King's College

Peterhouse

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Question 2 of 10

2. When was the oldest college in Cambridge founded? Hint

1184

1384

1284

1484

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Question 3 of 10

3. What, in Cambridge terminology, is Tripos? Hint

The name for a particular course

The end-of-term bill

The central student union

The newest Cambridge college

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Question 4 of 10

4. Each College has a titular head. The name of this person varies between Colleges, but what is the usual title? Hint

Mistress

Provost

Master

Principal

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Question 5 of 10

5. When someone graduates from Cambridge, what abbreviation is attached to the degree name? In other words, what follows BA (Hons.) ...?

Answer: (Abbreviation of the Latin for Cambridge)

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Question 6 of 10

6. Which of these famous people did NOT graduate from Cambridge University? Hint

Stephen Fry

Sam Mendes

Vanessa Feltz

Richard Branson

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Question 7 of 10

7. True or false: In the college name 'Gonville and Caius', the last part is pronounced like the word 'queues'.

True

False

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Question 8 of 10

8. Which of these subjects can you NOT study at Cambridge? Hint

Archaeology and Anthropology

Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic

Modern and Medieval Languages

Business and Marketing

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Question 9 of 10

9. The obligatory boat race question. On which river does the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race take place? Hint

Cam

Isis

Severn

Thames

10. Who is this Cambridge graduate? I was born on the 4th January, 1643, in Lincolnshire. I entered Trinity College in 1661, originally intending to study law. However, I became interested in mathematics, and later made revolutionary advances in this subject, as well as optics, physics and astronomy. I died on the 31st March, 1727.

Answer: (First name and surname)

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Most Recent Scores

Apr 20 2024 : Guest 82: 4/10
Apr 19 2024 : Guest 128: 8/10
Apr 13 2024 : gogetem: 7/10
Apr 08 2024 : Guest 148: 7/10
Feb 28 2024 : Guest 131: 1/10

Score Distribution

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Which was the first Cambridge college to be founded?

Answer: Peterhouse

Peterhouse (my alma mater) was founded by the Bishop of Ely, Hugo de Balsham in 1284. King's College, with its famous Gothic chapel, dates from 1441; Trinity College, the richest Oxbridge college, was founded in 1546; and Fitzwilliam was founded most recently, in 1966.

2. When was the oldest college in Cambridge founded?

Answer: 1284

Peterhouse may be the oldest Cambridge college, but it is newer than University, Balliol and Merton Colleges in Oxford, which were founded earlier in the same century.

3. What, in Cambridge terminology, is Tripos?

Answer: The name for a particular course

When applying to Cambridge, you elect to follow a particular Tripos (named after the stool on which candidates for oral exams used to sit, which had three legs). At the end of each year, you take exams in that course, which are called Tripos exams. By the way, Cambridge has no student union, much to our chagrin.

4. Each College has a titular head. The name of this person varies between Colleges, but what is the usual title?

Answer: Master

The Master of a College is elected by the Fellowship every so often. Peterhouse elected a new Master in 2002, Lord Wilson of Tillyorn. King's has a Provost, Homerton has a Principal, and Girton has a Mistress.

5. When someone graduates from Cambridge, what abbreviation is attached to the degree name? In other words, what follows BA (Hons.) ...?

Answer: Cantab

Oxford graduates put 'Oxon' instead.

6. Which of these famous people did NOT graduate from Cambridge University?

Answer: Richard Branson

Fry was at Queens', Feltz was at Trinity, Mendes was at Peterhouse. Richard Branson didn't need a degree of any sort to become chairman of one of the most successful businesses ever...

7. True or false: In the college name 'Gonville and Caius', the last part is pronounced like the word 'queues'.

Answer: False

It's pronounced the same as 'keys'. Stephen Hawking is a fellow of this College: he has the title of Lucasian Professor of Mathematics. Caius was founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville (and later 'refounded' by John Caius).

8. Which of these subjects can you NOT study at Cambridge?

Answer: Business and Marketing

There are very few 'vocational' Triposes in Cambridge, and you would have to look elsewhere if you wanted a BA in Business and Marketing. Believe it or not, Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic is a Tripos of its own. MML is a rather posh name for, er, 'languages'. Arch and Anth is what the distinctly underqualified Prince Charles studied when at Trinity.

9. The obligatory boat race question. On which river does the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race take place?

Answer: Thames

I have never watched it in my life. Anyway, the Cam flows through Cambridge, the Isis flows through Oxford, and the Severn flows through several towns in the West and Midlands (and is close to my home city of Bristol). The Isis is actually part of the Thames, but would still not be the correct answer to this question.

Answer: Isaac Newton

Newton is one of Cambridge's most famous alumni, his most famous work being 'Principia Mathematica'. As well as being an undergraduate here, he became Lucasian Professor of Mathematics in 1670, when only 27.

Source: Author Matve

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