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AP Government

Subjects : civics, ap
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. A dispute growing out of an actual case or controversy and that is capable of settlement by legal methods.






2. Initial proposal at the Constitutional Convention made by the Virginia delegation for a strong central government with a bicameral legislature dominated by the big states.






3. Quality or state of a work that taken as a whole appeals to a prurient interest in sex by depicting sexual conduct in a patently offensive way and that lacks serious literary - artistic - political - or scientific value.






4. A philosophy that encourages individual nations tacked together to solve international problems.






5. An action taken by Congress to reverse the presidential veto - requiring a two-thirds majority in each chamber.






6. A technique of Congress to establish federal regulations. Direct orders must be complied with under threat of criminal or civil sanction. An example is the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 - barring job discrimination by state and local gover






7. Clause in the First Amendment that states that Congress shall make no law prohibiting the free exercise of religion.






8. Trade status granted as part of an international trade policy that gives a nation the same favorable trade concessions and tariffs that the best trading partners receive.






9. A formal writ used to bring a case before the Supreme Court.






10. The proportion of the voting age public that votes - sometimes defined as the number of registered voters that vote.






11. The act of declaring party affiliation; required by some states when one registers to vote.






12. The Federal government's primary intelligence officer - responsible for overseeing all national intelligence agencies and providing advice to the President on terrorist threats.






13. Promoting a particular position or an issue paid for by interest groups or individuals but not candidates. Much issue advocacy is often electioneering for or against a candidate - and until 2004 had not been subject to any regulation.






14. Elections held midway between presidential elections.






15. Consumer tax on a specific kind of merchandise - such as tobacco.






16. Established rules and regulations that restrain government officials.






17. System designed to reduce voter fraud by limiting voting to those who have established eligibility to vote by submitting the proper documents.






18. An opinion that agrees with the majority in a Supreme Court ruling but differs on the reasoning.






19. An informal and subjective affiliation with a political party that most people acquire in childhood.






20. 30-second statements on the evening news shows. The media have been accused of simplifying complicated political issues by relying on sound bites to explain them to the public.






21. The process by which we develop our political attitudes - values - and beliefs.






22. Clause of the Constitution (Article I - Section 10) originally intended to prohibit state governments from modifying contracts made between individuals; for a while interpreted as prohibiting state governments from taking actions that adversely affec






23. Unlimited amounts of money that political parties previously could raise for party-building purposes. Now largely illegal except for limited contributions to state and local parties for voter registration and get-out-the-vote efforts.






24. The power of a court to refuse to enforce a law or government regulation that in the opinion of the judges conflicts with the U.S. Constitution or - in a state court - the state constitution.






25. Government in which citizens vote on laws and select officials directly.






26. Theory that opposes governmental interference in economic affairs beyond what is necessary to protect life and property.






27. A procedure for terminating debate - especially filibusters - in the Senate.






28. Congress appropriates funds for a specific purpose - such as school lunches or for building airports and highways. These funds are allocated by formula and are subject to detailed federal conditions - often on a matching basis; that is - the local go






29. An ideology that cherishes individual liberty and insists on minimal government - promoting a free market economy - a noninterventionist foreign policy - and an absence of regulation in moral - economic - and social life.






30. An election during periods of expanded suffrage and change in the economy and society that proves to be a turning point - redefining the agenda of politics and the alignment of voters within parties.






31. Media that emphasize the news.






32. A congressional committee created for a specific purpose - sometimes to conduct an investigation.






33. A policy that emphasizes a united front and cooperation between the major political parties - especially on sensitive foreign policy issues.






34. Constitutional arrangement in which sovereign nations or states - by compact - create a central government but carefully limit its power and do not give it direct authority over individuals.






35. Programs such as unemployment insurance - disaster relief - or disability payments that provide benefits to all eligible citizens.






36. Aid to the poor; 'welfare.'






37. The tendency in elections to focus on the personal attributes of a candidate - such as his/her strengths - weaknesses - background - experience - and visibility.






38. Clause in the Fourteenth Amendment that forbids any state to deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. By interpretation - the Fifth Amendment imposes the same limitation on the national government. This clause is t






39. A career government employee.






40. Divisions within society that reinforce one another - making groups more homogenous or similar.






41. The drawing of legislative district boundaries to benefit a party - group - or incumbent.






42. Directive issued by a president or governor that has the force of law.






43. The boost that candidates may get in an election because of the popularity of candidates above them on the ballot - especially the president.






44. Theory based on the principles of John Maynard Keynes - stating that government spending should increase during business slumps and the curve during booms.






45. The dispensing of government jobs to persons who belong to the winning political party.






46. Views the Constitution as giving a limited list of powers—primarily foreign policy and national defense—to the national government - leaving the rest to the sovereign states. Each level of government is dominant within its own sphere. The Supreme Cou






47. A court order requiring explanation to a judge why a prisoner is being held in custody.






48. Attempting to overthrow the government by force or use violence to interrupt its activities.






49. Money spent by individuals or groups not associated with candidates to elect or defeat candidates for office.






50. A system of public employment based on rewarding party loyalists and friends.







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