Test your basic knowledge |

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






2. Economic theory based on the principles of John Maynard Keynes stating that government spending should increase during business slumps and be curbed during booms.






3. Philosophy proposing that judges should interpret the Constitution to reflect what the framers intended and what its words literally say.






4. Money raised in unlimited amounts by political parties for party-building purposes. Now largely illegal except for limited contributions to state or local parties for voter registration and get-out-the-vote efforts.






5. In this type of sample - every individual has unknown and random chance of being selected.






6. The process by which provisions of the bill of rights are brought within the scope of the Fourteenth Amendment and so applied to state and local governments.






7. A decision made by a higher court such as a circuit court of appeals or the Supreme Court that is binding on all other federal courts.






8. A company in which new employees must join a union within a stated time period.






9. Citizenship in more than one nation.






10. A division of population based on occupation - income - and education.






11. An economic system characterized by private property - competitive markets - economic incentives - and limited government involvement in the production - distribution - and pricing of goods and services.






12. A veto exercised by the president after Congress has adjourned; if the president takes no action for 10 days - the bill does not become law and does not return to Congress for possible override.






13. Elections held in years when the president is on the ballot.






14. Democratic and civic habits of discussion - compromise - and respect for differences - which grow out of participation in voluntary organizations.






15. An individual who does not to join a group representing his or her interests yet receives the benefit of the group's influence.






16. A policy-making alliance that involves a very strong ties among a congressional committee - an interest group - and a Federal Department or agency.






17. A permanent committee established in a legislature - usually focusing on a policy area.






18. Inherent powers of state governments to pass laws to protect the public health - safety - and welfare; the national government has no directly granted police powers but accomplishes the same goals through other delegated powers.






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






20. Voting based on what a candidate pledges to do in the future about an issue if elected.






21. Domination of an industry by a single company; also the company that dominates the industry.






22. The desire to avoid international entanglement altogether.






23. Written defamation of another person. For public officials and public figures - the constitutional tests designed to restrict libel actions are especially rigid.






24. An explanation of the decision of the Supreme Court or any other appellate court.






25. The widely shared beliefs - values - and norms about how citizens relate to governments and to one another.






26. Federal laws (starting with the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890) that try to prevent a monopoly from dominating an industry and restraining trade.






27. Conceives of federalism as a marble cake in which all levels of government are involved in a variety of issues and programs - rather than a layer cake - or dual federalism - with fixed divisions between layers or levels of government.






28. Statement required by Federal law from all agencies for any project using Federal funds to assess the potential affect of the new construction or development on the environment.






29. 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.






30. An official document - published every weekday - which lists the new and proposed regulations of executive departments and regulatory agencies.






31. Clause in the Constitution (Article 4 - Section 1) requiring each state to recognize the civil judgments rendered by the courts of the other states and to accept their public records and acts as valid.






32. 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.






33. A commission created by the 1974 amendments to the Federal Election Campaign Act to administer election reform laws. It consists of six commissioners appointed by president and confirmed by the Senate. Its duties include overseeing disclosure of camp






34. Stresses federalism as a system of intergovernmental relations in delivering governmental goods and services to the people and calls for cooperation among various levels of government.






35. Arrangement whereby public officials are hired to provide legal assistance to people accused of crimes who are unable to hire their own attorneys.






36. The principle of a two-house legislature.






37. A small political party that rises and falls with a charismatic candidate or - if composed of ideologies on the right or left - usually persists over time; also called a third party.






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






39. General tax on sales transactions - sometimes exempting food and drugs.






40. Alternative means of health care in which people or their employers are charged a set amount and the HMO provides health care and covers hospital costs.






41. Powers that grow out of the very existence of government.






42. Voting by member of one party for a candidate of another party.






43. Governance divided between the parties - especially when one holds the presidency and the other controls one or both houses of Congress.






44. Relationships among interest groups - congressional committees and subcommittees - and the government agencies that share a common policy concern.






45. 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.






46. The clause of the Constitution (Article I - Section 8 - Clause 3) that gives Congress the power to regulate all business activities that cross state lines or affect more than one state or other nations.






47. People who favor state or local action rather than national action.






48. Denial of export - import - or financial relations with the target country in an effort to change that nation's policies.






49. The redrawing of congressional and other legislative district lines following the census - to accommodate population shifts and keep districts as equal as possible in population.






50. Interpretation of the First Amendment that would permit legislatures to forbid speech encouraging people to engage in illegal action.