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NORTH ATTLEBORO

The answer is this North Attleboro teenager will be a contestant on "Jeopardy!" 's Teen Tournament this week.

The question: Who is Karan Takhar?

The 17-year-old high school senior at the Wheeler School in Providence and the son of Amrita and Gurpartap Takhar recently traveled to Culver City,, Calif. to participate in the tournament. The Teen Tournament will air nationally beginning on Monday, Nov. 10, and run through Friday, Nov. 21.

"It was an amazing experience," Takhar said. "It was a great group of amazing, smart people." Takhar was one of 15 students who participated in the tournament to compete for a grand prize of at least $75,000. While Takhar can't reveal how he did before the show airs, he is guaranteed at least $5,000 just for participating.

His selection as a candidate actually began a year ago after he took the online test on the "Jeopardy!" Web site. His score was high enough to qualify him to audition in New York, where he took another test, played a mock game with two other potential contestants and participated in a mock interview with a stand-in for host Alex Trebek.

"Normally, you hear back within two weeks, but that didn't happen for us. Because of the writer's strike, we didn't hear anything for almost a year," Takhar said. "I was completely shocked. They called my mom's cell phone, and when they said they were from Jeopardy! she knew right away why they were calling.

"I had no clue what was going on at first. Once they told me I was going to be a contestant, I started yelling and shouting."

The Teen Tournament episodes were taped about three weeks ago. Takhar was excited that Trebek recognized him from his previous participation in the National Geographic Bee, which Trebek also hosts.

"He walked up to me before we taped, and said, 'Young man, I recognize you.' It was pretty cool because he remembered me three years later," Takhar said.

In the tournament, players compete in a series of five shows the first week. The winners of those games and the four highest money-earners go on to compete in a semi-final round. The three winners of those shows proceed to a two-game finals match.

The three finalists keep the money they accumulate in the last two games, with a minimum guarantee of $25,000 for second place, and $15,000 for third place. The overall winner is guaranteed $75,000.

Now that the taping is over, Takhar is busy dodging the answer to the question everyone wants to know - how he did in the tournament.

"Everyone will know soon enough," he said. AMY DeMELIA can be reached at 508-236-0334 or at ademelia@thesunchronicle.com.