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






2. 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.






3. 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.






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






5. 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.






6. National Health Insurance program for the elderly and disabled.






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






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






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






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






11. 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.






12. A congressional district created to include a majority of minority voters; ruled constitutional so long as race is not the main factor in redistricting.






13. Formal accusation by the lower house of legislature against a public official - the first step in removal from office.






14. 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.






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






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






17. Federal statute barring Federal employees from active participation in certain kinds of politics and protecting them from being fired on partisan grounds.






18. Policy of erecting trade barriers to protect domestic industry.






19. 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.






20. The list of potential cases that reach the Supreme Court.






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






22. Police targeting of racial minorities as potential suspects of criminal activities.






23. 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






24. Powers inferred from the express powers that allow Congress to carry out its functions.






25. Political contributions given to a party - candidate - or interest group that are limited in amounts and fully disclosed. Raising such limited funds is harder than raising unlimited funds - hence the term 'hard money.'






26. Philosophy proposing that judges should interpret the Constitution to reflect current conditions and values.






27. 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.






28. Remedial action designed to overcome the effects of discrimination against minorities and women.






29. An imbalance in international trade in which the value of imports exceeds the value of exports.






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






31. Established by Congress in 1978 as a flexible - mobile corps of senior career executives who worked closely with presidential appointees to manage government.






32. Trial or punishment for the same crime by the same government; forbidden by the Constitution.






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






34. Media that emphasize the news.






35. A combination of entitlement programs - paid for by employer and employee taxes - that includes retirement benefits - health insurance - and support for disabled workers and the children of deceased or disabled workers.






36. Compromise agreement by states at the Constitutional Convention for a bicameral legislature with a lower house in which representation would be based on population and an upper house in which each state would have two senators.






37. The right to keep executive communications confidential - especially if they relate to National Security.






38. 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.






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






40. Interpretation of the First Amendment that holds that the government cannot interfere with speech unless the speech presents a clear and present danger that it will lead to evil or illegal acts.






41. The means by which individuals can express preferences regarding the development of public policy.






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






43. Election in which voters choose party nominees.






44. The system created by Congress in 1913 to establish banking practices and regulate currency in circulation and the amount of credit available. It consists of 12 regional banks supervised by the Board of Governors. Often called simply the Fed.






45. International organization derived from the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) that promotes it free trade around the world.






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






47. The drawing of election districts so as to ensure that members of a certain race are a minority in the district; ruled unconstitutional in Gomillion v. Lightfoot (1960).






48. The principle of a two-house legislature.






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






50. Deliberate refusal to obey law or comply with orders of public officials as a means of expressing opposition.