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. A meeting of local party members to choose party officials or candidates for public office and to decide the platform.






2. The process by which individuals screen out messages that do not conform to their own biases.






3. An elected office that is predictably won by one party or the other - so the success of that party's candidate is almost taken for granted.






4. 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.






5. Authority given by Congress to the Federal bureaucracy to use reasonable judgment in implementing the laws.






6. An agreement among two or more states. Congress must approve most such agreements.






7. Election in which voters choose party nominees.






8. Literacy requirements some states imposed as a condition of voting - generally used to disqualify black voters in the South; now illegal.






9. Constitutional doctrine that whenever conflict occurs between the constitutionally authorized actions of the national government and those of a state or local government - the actions of the federal government will prevail.






10. A government agency that operates like a business corporation - created to secure greater freedom of action and flexibility for a particular program.






11. The candidate or party that wins more than half the votes cast in an election.






12. Constitutional arrangement that concentrates power in a central government.






13. A characteristic of individuals that is predictive of political behavior.






14. Presidential refusal to allow an agency to spend funds that Congress authorized and appropriated.






15. The right of women to vote.

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16. The effort to slow the growth of the federal government by returning many functions to the states.






17. 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.






18. A philosophy that encourages individual nations to act on their own when facing threats from other nations.






19. The power to keep executive communications confidential - especially if they relate to national security.






20. Unlimited and undisclosed spending by an individual or group on communications that do not use words like 'vote for' or 'vote against -' although much of this activity is actually about electing or defeating candidates.






21. Electoral system used in electing the president and vice president - in which voters vote for electors pledged to cast their ballots for particular party's candidates.






22. Exemption from prosecution for a particular crime in return for testimony pertaining to the case.






23. Programs such as Medicaid and welfare under which applicants must meet eligibility requirements based on need.






24. Belief in the superiority of one's nation or ethnic group.






25. A theory of international relations that focuses on the hope the nations will act together to solve international problems and promote peace.






26. Aid to the poor; 'welfare.'






27. The principle of a two-house legislature.






28. A formal agreement between the U.S. president and the leaders of other nations that does not require Senate approval.






29. 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






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






31. The right of a federal law or a regulation to preclude enforcement of a state or local law or regulation.






32. An economic and governmental system based on public ownership of the means of production and exchange.






33. Officer of the Senate selected by the majority party to act as chair in the absence of the vice president.






34. Presidential power to strike - or remove - specific items from a spending bill without vetoing the entire package; declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.






35. The process by which individuals perceive what they want to in media messages.






36. Tax levied on imports to help protect the nation's industries - labor - or farmers from foreign competition. It can also be used to raise additional revenue.






37. The political arm of an interest group that is legally entitled to raise funds on a voluntary basis from members - stockholders - or employees to contribute funds to candidates or political parties.






38. Constitutional requirement that governments proceed by proper methods; limits how government may exercise power.






39. 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






40. Agreement between a prosecutor and a defendant that the defendant will plead guilty to a lesser offense to avoid having to stand trial for a more serious offense.






41. Constitutional arrangement in which power is distributed between a central government and subdivisional governments - called states in the United States. The national and the subdivisional governments both exercise direct authority over individuals.






42. Primary election in which any voter - regardless of party - may vote.






43. Proposal at the Constitutional Convention made by William Paterson of New Jersey for a central government with a single-house legislature in which each state would be represented equally.






44. Congress appropriates a certain sum - which is allocated to state and local units and sometimes to nongovernmental agencies - based on applications from those who wish to participate. Examples are grants by the National Science Foundation to universi






45. Formal accusation against a president or other public official - the first step in removal from office.






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






47. Holding incumbents - usually the president's party - responsible for their records on issues - such as the economy or foreign policy.






48. A committee composed of members of both the House of Representatives and the Senate; such committees oversee the Library of Congress and conduct investigations.






49. 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.






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