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






2. Domination of an industry by a single company that fixes prices and discourages competition; also - the company that dominates the industry by these means.






3. The informal list of issues that Congress and the president consider most important for action.






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






5. Governance according to the expressed preferences of the majority.






6. Governance according to the expressed preferences of the majority.






7. The principle of a two-house legislature.






8. 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






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






10. The joint listing of the presidential and vice presidential candidates on the same ballot as required by the Twelfth Amendment.






11. 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.






12. Agency that administers civil service laws - rules - and regulations.






13. Lawsuit brought by an individual or group of people on behalf of all those similarly situated.






14. A jury of 6 to 12 persons that determines guilt or innocence in a civil or criminal action.






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






16. A provision attached to a bill






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






18. 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.






19. A procedural rule in the House of Representatives that prohibits any amendments to bills or provides that only members of the committee reporting the bill may offer amendments.






20. 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






21. Clause in the Fifth Amendment limiting the power of the national government; similar clause in the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits the state governments from depriving any person of life - liberty - or property without due process of law.






22. 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.






23. The head of the White House staff.






24. A formal written statement from a grand jury charging an individual with an offense; also called a true bill.






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






26. 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.






27. Media that emphasize the news.






28. A tax whereby people with lower incomes pay a higher fraction of their income than people with higher incomes.






29. The rights of all people to dignity and worth; also called human rights.






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






31. Powers expressly or implicitly reserved to the states.


32. 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.






33. A law that governs relationships between individuals and defines their legal rights.






34. A policy adopted by the Bush administration in 2001 that asserts America's right to attack any nation that has weapons of mass destruction that might be used against U.S. interests at home or abroad.






35. The rights of an individual to own - use - rent - invest in - buy - and sell property.






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






37. An official who is expected to represent the views of his or her constituents even when personally holding different views; one interpretation of the role of legislator.






38. A term the founders used to refer to political parties and special interests or interest groups.






39. A requirement the federal government imposes as a condition for receiving federal funds.






40. A collection of people who share a common interest or attitude and seek to influence government for specific ends. Interest groups usually work within the framework of government and try to achieve their goals through tactics such as lobbying.






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






42. 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.






43. A landmark case in United States law and the basis for the exercise of judicial review in the United States - under Article Three of the United States Constitution. The case resulted from a petition to the Supreme Court by William Marbury - who had b






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






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






46. The cluster of presidential staff agencies that help the president carry out his responsibilities. Currently the office includes the Office of Management and Budget - the Council of Economic Advisers - and several other units.






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






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






49. Tax required to vote; prohibited for national elections by the Twenty-Fourth Amendment (1964) and ruled unconstitutional for all elections in Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections (1966).






50. Party leader who is the liaison between the leadership and the rank-and-file in the legislature.