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. The residents of a congressional district or state.






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






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






4. 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.






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






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






7. The distribution of individual preferences or evaluations of a given issue - candidate - or institution within a specific population.






8. Mutual aid and vote trading among legislators.






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






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






11. A small political party that rises and falls with a charismatic candidate or - if composed of ideologies on the right or left - usually persists over time; also called a third party.






12. 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.






13. Presidential custom of submitting the names of perspective appointees for approval to senators from the states in which the appointees are to work.






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






15. In a criminal action - the person or party accused of an offense.






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






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






18. Method whereby representatives of the union and employer determine wages - hours - and other conditions of employment through direct negotiation.






19. Compromise between northern and southern states at the Constitutional Convention that three-fifths of the slave population would be counted for determining direct taxation and representation in the House of Representatives.






20. A dispute growing out of an actual case or controversy and that is capable of settlement by legal methods.






21. A procedural practice in the Senate whereby a senator refuses to relinquish the floor and thereby delays proceedings and prevents a vote on a controversial issue.






22. Citizenship in more than one nation.






23. 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.






24. Congress appropriates funds for a specific purpose - such as school lunches or for building airports and highways. These funds are allocated by formula and are subject to detailed federal conditions - often on a matching basis; that is - the local go






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






26. Views the national government - 50 states - and thousands of local governments as competing with each other over ways to put together packages of services and taxes. Applies the analogy of the marketplace: we have some choice about which state and ci






27. 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.






28. Alternative means of health care in which individuals make tax-deductible contributions to a special account that can be used to pay medical expenses.






29. A technique of Congress to establish federal regulations. Federal grants may establish certain conditions that extend to all activities supported by federal funds - regardless of their source. The first and most famous of these is Title VI of the 196






30. 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.






31. Words that by their very nature inflict injury on those to whom they are addressed or insight them to acts of violence.






32. Clause in the First Amendment that states that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. The Supreme Court has interpreted this to forbid governmental support to any or all religions.






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






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






35. Implies that although federalism provides 'a sharing of power and authority between the national and state governments - the state's share rests upon the permission and permissiveness of the national government.'






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






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






38. 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






39. The idea that the rights of the nation are supreme over the rights of the individuals who make up the nation.






40. 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.






41. Attempting to overthrow the government by force or use violence to interrupt its activities.






42. 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.






43. Segregation imposed by law.






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






45. A close contest; by extension - any contest in which the focus is on who is ahead and by how much rather than on substantive differences between the candidates.






46. A policy-making alliance among loosely connected participants that comes together on a particular issue - then disbands.






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






48. Aid to the poor; 'welfare.'






49. An international trade organization with more than 130 members - including the United States and the People's Republic of China - that seeks to encourage free trade by lowering tariffs and other trade restrictions.






50. 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