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 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.






2. Interpretation of the First Amendment that holds that freedom of expression is so essential to democracy that governments should not punish persons for what they say - only for what they do.






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






4. Committee appointed by the presiding officers of each chamber to adjust differences on a particular bill passed by each in different form.






5. A president's claim of broad public support.






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






7. Money government provides to parents to pay their children's tuition in a public or private school of their choice.






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






9. 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.






10. 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.






11. Special spending projects that are set aside on behalf of individual members of Congress for their constituents.






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






13. Biological - chemical - or nuclear weapons that can cause a massive number of deaths in a single use.






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






15. 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.






16. A decision by the president not to spend money appropriated by Congress - now prohibited under Federal law.






17. 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.






18. 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.






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






20. A local or judicial election in which candidates are not selected or endorsed by political parties and party affiliation is not listed on ballots.






21. A procedural rule in the House of Representatives that permits floor amendments within the overall time allocated to the bill.






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






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






24. A procedural practice in the Senate whereby a senator temporarily blocks the consideration of the bill or nomination.






25. The process of putting a law into practice through bureaucratic rules or spending.






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






27. 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.






28. A minor party dedicated to the environment - social justice - nonviolence - and the foreign policy of nonintervention. Ralph Nader ran as the Green party's nominee in 2000.






29. A belief that limited government insures order competitive markets and personal opportunity.






30. Formal orders issued by the president to direct action by the Federal bureaucracy.






31. A belief that government can and should achieve justice and equality of opportunity.






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






33. Through different grant programs - slices up the marble cake into many different pieces - making it even more difficult to differentiate the functions of the levels of government.






34. The Supreme Court has ruled that individuals - groups - and parties can spend unlimited amounts in campaigns for or against candidates as long as they operate independently from the candidates. When an individual - group - or party does so - they are






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






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






37. An agency of Congress that analyzes presidential budget recommendations and estimates the cost of proposed legislation.






38. Clause in the Constitution that states that 'Congress should have the power to make all laws necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers. . . .' This clause is also known as the elastic clause as is a major and significant p

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






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






41. An electoral district in which voters choose one representative or official.






42. The total output of all economic activity in the nation - including goods and services.






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






44. 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






45. Advertisements and commercials for products and services; they receive less First Amendment protection - primarily to discourage false and misleading ads.






46. Literally - a 'friend of the court' brief - filed by an individual or organization to present arguments in addition to those presented by the immediate parties to a case.






47. Constitutional division of powers among the legislative - executive - and judicial branches - with the legislative branch making law - the executive applying and enforcing the law - and the judiciary interpreting the law.






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






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






50. A government agency or commission with regulatory power whose independence is protected by Congress.