UIJEONGBU, South Korea — Talk about setting yourself up for some good-natured "ribbing."

During Camp Red Cloud’s second-annual "Are You Smarter Than A Fifth-Grader?" event Monday night, Command Sgt. Maj. Earlene Lavender started probing up and down her sides as she tried to come up with an answer to the question, "How many ribs in the human body?"

She settled on 10, only to find out the correct answer was 24 and she was out of the competition with no money earned.

After a "biggest loser" medal was put around her neck, Lavender turned to the 150 people packed into Mitchell’s Sports Grill and said, "I may be the Area I Garrison command sergeant major, but I’m not smarter than a fifth-grader."

Before she was brought on stage by emcee Marshall Downs, Lavender said the point of the evening was not "to discredit anyone or humiliate them," but rather to give Area I soldiers something fun to do.

"The No. 1 issue we have is soldiers that are away from their families who, other than work, there is nothing for them to do," she said. "So we try to give them different alternatives … [to] going down to The Ville and drinking and spending their money on things like that."

The fifth-graders for the event were supplied by the International Christian School, located near Camp Red Cloud’s back gate.

Annalisa Benner, the school’s fifth-grade teacher, said seven students were chosen based on their performance in a variety of tasks.

"The kids are really excited about it," she said. "I think what makes it fun is that fifth-graders are so candid and they do learn some kinds of difficult things that we do use on a regular basis."

School principal Shamala Boice called the event "a great opportunity for us to interact with the soldiers and with the departments here at CRC."

While $500 in prize money was available, not one of six contestants, selected primarily by lottery, got within shouting distance of the big money.

For their part, the students seemed to revel in alternately helping and shaming the contestants.

When Downs asked the group what the point of the evening was, they said in unison, "To embarrass the adults."

Contestant Tess Compton was asked the plural of "moose" and was disappointed to learn her answer of "mooses" was incorrect.

Spc. Jason Bulger was so sure the Indian Ocean was the fourth-largest that he spent several minutes thumbing through a textbook in hopes of proving the correct answer was not the Southern Ocean. His effort fell short.

Contestant Murrell Francis was one of the biggest winners of the night, collecting $75 for his efforts. But he, too, had to face the audience and say, "It’s been a nice run, but I am definitely not smarter than a fifth-grader."

Are YOU smarter than a fifth-grader?

Here are some of the questions from Monday’s event at Camp Red Cloud. Answers are at the bottom.

1) What is the plural of "moose?"

2) Yosemite National Park is located in what U.S. state?

3) True or false: The humpback whale is cold-blooded?

4) What is the name of the largest bone in the human body?

5) What is the largest species of bear?

Answers: 1) Moose 2) California 3) False 4) Femur 5) Polar bear