You are an aspiring R&B singer who tries out for American Idol in your

hometown of Jacksonville, Florida. You “wow” the judges with your stage

presence and range of vocals and they select you to advance to the 1st round of

auditions in Los Angeles!

HOWEVER, disaster strikes when you lose your precious

plane ticket, and the producers tell you that you’ll have to find

your own way to L.A. That means a cross-country trip, by any means of transportation.

In order to get to Los Angeles, you’ll have to answer the

following 10 questions correctly. If you do not, you will find

yourself on a different career path and in a different city than

you intended!

QUESTION #1

A. C.Removable discontinuity at

(3,0)

B.Infinite discontinuities at

x=-1 and x=4

D.All of the above

If you answered #1 correctly:

Congratulations! Because you knew the right answer, you were able to help your cousin with the last bit of homework she had. Now she is free to drive to Tallahassee to visit her boyfriend (and

you can come with her)!

Tallahassee is 2258 miles from Los Angeles

If you answered #1 incorrectly:

Sorry! You won’t be leaving Jacksonville right now – but it’s not too late, you may still have time

if you try again and find the correct answer!

QUESTION #2

A. C.

B. D.

If you answered #2 correctly:

When you and your cousin arrive in Tallahassee, you are listening to the local country station.

They’re having a contest. You phone in and are the 9th caller – you win! The prize is a ticket to a

Hurricane Katrina benefit concert in Gulfport, MS plus transportation to that concert. You even get

backstage passes. You’re not a huge country music fan, but it’s a great opportunity!

(Gulfport is 1950 miles from Los Angeles).

If you answered #2 incorrectly:

When you and your cousin arrive in Tallahassee, she asks you where you want to be dropped off.

You decide that the only way to get out is to hitchhike. Unfortunately, for your goal, no one

picks you up. Fortunately, for your safety, no one picks you up. However, it’s disappointing. You

take a pamphlet from Florida State University and decide to check into its music program.

QUESTION #3

A. C.

B. D.

If you answered #3 correctly:

Way to go! It just so happens that, when backstage at the concert, you meet Faith Hill in person. She hears about your plight and offers

you a ride on her tour bus all the way to her next tour stop: Baton Rouge, Louisiana (1818 miles

from L.A.).

If you answered #3 incorrectly:

Too bad! During your brief time in Gulfport, you are so moved by the determination of the

hurricane-stricken Gulfport residents that you decide to abandon your dream for now and help with the reconstruction efforts. Who knows?

Maybe the floating casino will re-open and maybe they’ll need some entertainers. This feels right for

now.

QUESTION #4

A. C.

B. D.

If you answered #4 correctly:

Still at the whim of Faith Hill’s tour bus, you get roped into being in her entourage for a brief stop

at the convention center for the annual Governors’ Convention. You meet the governor of Texas,

Rick Perry. Intrigued by your journey and hot on the campaign trail, he invites you to ride to Texas with him in his jet, as he heads to Houston for the

first of several live, televised debates with his opponents, some of whom have really strange

names or nicknames! (Houston – 1549 from L.A.).

If you answered #4 incorrectly:

Sorry that you didn’t get it right. But you hear from a group of traveling jazz musicians that New Orleans’ musical nightlife is really beginning to boom again. Since you’re already in Louisiana,

you decide to join them and see if anything comes of it.

QUESTION #5

A. C.

B. D.

If you answered #5 correctly:The Houston Rockets have had a huge turnaround from last year’s dismal season and they’re headed to San Antonio to play the Spurs in the Western Conference finals. The owner of the Rockets

hears you singing to yourself in line at a coffee shop and insists that you travel with the team to

San Antonio and sing the National Anthem of the opening game of the series.

San Antonio is 1355 miles from Los Angeles.

If you answered #5 incorrectly:Sorry you missed the opportunity to get closer to Los Angeles, but you still made a connection in Houston. Singing to yourself at a Houston area coffee shop, you are approached by Pastor Joel

Osteen, head pastor of the mega-church Lakewood Church. He is so impressed with your vocal

abilities that he offers you a paying job with the church choir, effective immediately. Hallelujah!

QUESTION #6

A. C.

B. D.

If you answered #6 correctly:

At the basketball game, you meet country legend and San Antonio native George Strait. He

believes you have real potential – he gives you money for a one way Amtrak ticket to El Paso,

which is only 802 miles from Los Angeles. While it would have been great if he’d just put you on a plane to L.A., you won’t look a gift horse in the

mouth and graciously accept the train ticket.

If you answered #6 incorrectly:

Your voice breaks during the middle of the “Star Spangled Banner”. You don’t even make it to the end of the song. Perhaps this is proof that you’re

just not ready for the pressures of the music industry yet. And it’ll be awhile before you re-

emerge from your humiliation and begin singing in public again.

QUESTION #7

A. C.

B. D.

If you answered #7 correctly:Correct answer! It just so happens that your grandparents, who travel by RV all over the

country, are making a stop in El Paso after visiting Carlsbad. They meet up with you and offer to

drive you as far as Phoenix, before they continue on to Scottsdale to visit a deluxe retirement and

golfing community. Traveling with your grandparents may not be your idea of traveling in

style, but it certainly beats the desert heat – it doesn’t hurt that Phoenix is just 373 miles from

Los Angeles!

If you answered #7 incorrectly:Sorry – your grandparents call your cell phone and tell you they’re in El Paso temporarily, as they just came down from Carlsbad in their RV. They are exhausted, but have a busy traveling and social

schedule and need you to drive them to your great-uncle George’s house in Amarillo. This detour

will cost you too much time, so you decide to ride with them until they head back toward Florida.

QUESTION #8

A. C.

B. D.

If you answered #8 correctly:

After Grandma and Grandpa drop you off near the Phoenix airport, you meet a motley crew of Elvis

impersonators headed to a convention in Las Vegas. It turns out that, yep – they’re the “Flying

Elvises”, and they offer you a ride and a jump from their plane to Vegas. Las Vegas wasn’t

originally in your plans as it’s a little out of the way, but still closer to L.A. than Phoenix (Vegas

is 270 miles from L.A.).

If you answered #8 incorrectly:

Phoenix is miserably, stiflingly hot. Grandma and Grandpa can’t stand the thought of you

hitchhiking or not knowing how to get to California, so they rent you a “safe and reliable”

car that they want you to drive to L.A. Unfortunately, it overheats just outside of

Phoenix. You don’t have the money to upgrade, you’re so hot and tired – you give up your dream

and call home for them to get you home.

QUESTION #9

A. C.

B. D.

If you answered #9 correctly:You jump with the Elvises, which is terrifying, yet thrilling. Once on the ground, you wander into a

hotel off the Strip, and you find that they’re hosting a Karaoke contest. You win easily with your soulful and patriotic rendition of “America the Beautiful”. The grand prize for winning is

$500 – which is enough for a plane ticket to Los Angeles plus a new outfit for your audition!

Congratulations!

If you answered #9 incorrectly:Skydiving wasn’t for you. You lose your voice

from screaming and then you actually collide with the ground. A concussion lands you in the hospital overnight for observation, and you come to terms

with the fact that you can’t get to Los Angeles tomorrow. But hey, there’s PLENTY of work for singers and recording artists in Vegas, and plenty

of people waiting to “discover” you.

QUESTION #10

A. C.

B. D.

If you answered #10 correctly:After your journey across the United States, the

pinnacle of this trip begins. You dazzle the judges of the Los Angeles audition with your charm,

poise, and talent. You are invited to be an official contestant on the newest installment of American Idol, and you become so popular that despite the fact that you don’t win the overall title, you get several endorsement opportunities and a music label interested in producing your first album!

Life is good!

If you answered #10 incorrectly:Well, we’d seen it all on TV. Perfectly talented people that Simon Cowell rips to shreds with his scathing remarks after their auditions. While he was complimentary of your look and your choice

of song, he does think that you have some fine tuning and tweaking to do to your sound before he would consider it to be recordable. You take this as constructive criticism and vow to try again next

year!

ANSWER KEYfor teachers’ use only

1. D

2. C

3. A

4. A

5. B

6. C

7. B

8. D

9. D

10. A