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






3. The inclination to focus on national issues - rather than local issues - in an election campaign. The impact of the national tide can be reduced by the nature of the candidates on the ballot who might have differentiated themselves from their party o






4. The powers of the national government in foreign affairs that the Supreme Court has declared do not depend on constitutional grants but rather grow out of the very existence of the national government.






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






6. The residents of a congressional district or state.






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






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






9. A meeting of the members of a party in a legislative chamber to select party leaders and to develop party policy. Called a conference by the Republicans.






10. The formal instructions that government issues for implementing laws.






11. Means of communication that are reaching the public - including newspapers and magazines - radio - television (broadcast - cable - and satellite) - films - recordings - books - and electronic communication.






12. 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.






13. 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.






14. 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.






15. A formal decision to reject a bill passed by Congress after it adjourns






16. 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.






17. A notion held by a nineteenth-century Americans that the United States was destined to rule the continent - from the Atlantic the Pacific.






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






19. A grouping of human beings with distinctive characteristics determined by genetic inheritance.






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






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






22. A provision in a deed to real property prohibiting its sale to a person of a particular race or religion. Judicial enforcement of such deeds is unconstitutional.






23. A government that enforces recognized limits on those who govern and allows the voice of the people to be heard through free - fair - and relatively frequent elections.






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






25. 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.






26. The powers expressly given to Congress in the Constitution.






27. Divisions within society that cut across demographic categories to produce groups that are more heterogeneous or different.






28. The portion of the Federal budget that is spent on programs - such as Social Security - that the president and Congress are unwilling to cut.






29. A form of organization that operates through impersonal - uniform rules and procedures.






30. Advisory council for the president consisting of the heads of the executive departments - the vice president - and a few other officials selected by the president.






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






32. A consistent pattern of beliefs about political values and the role of government.






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






34. A specific course of action taken by government to achieve a public goal.






35. Opponents of ratification of the Constitution and of a strong central government - generally.






36. Donations made to political candidates - party committees - or groups which - by law - are limited and must be declared.






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






38. Employment cycle in which individuals who work for governmental agencies that regulate interests eventually end up working for interest groups or businesses with the same policy concern.






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






40. Period at the beginning of the new president's term during which the president enjoys generally positive relations with the press and Congress - usually lasting about six months.






41. A social division based on national origin - religion - language - and often race.






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






43. A system of public employment in which selection and promotion depend on demonstrated performance rather than political patronage.






44. 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.






45. A nonprofit association or group operating outside of government that advocates and pursues policy objectives.






46. Elections in which voters determine party nominees.






47. 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.






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






49. Mutual aid and vote trading among legislators.






50. 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.