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






2. Review of all executive branch testimony - reports - and draft legislation by the Office of Management and Budget to ensure that each communication to Congress is in accordance with the president's program.






3. Presidential staff agency that serves as a clearinghouse for budgetary requests and management improvements for government agencies.






4. The difference between the political opinions or political behavior of men and of women.






5. 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.






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






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






8. Interest groups organized under section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code may advertise for or against candidates. If their source of funding is corporations or unions - they have some restrictions on broadcast advertising. 527 organizations were impo






9. 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.






10. Denial of export - import - or financial relations with the target country in an effort to change that nation's policies.






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






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






13. Procedure for submitting to popular vote the removal of officials from office before the end of their term.






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






15. A tax graduated so that people with higher incomes pay larger fraction of their income than people with lower incomes.






16. Holding incumbents - usually the president's party - responsible for their records on issues - such as the economy or foreign policy.






17. Democratic party primary in the old 'one-party South' that was limited to white people and essentially constituted an election; ruled unconstitutional in Smith v. Allwright (1944).






18. 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






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






20. 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.






21. Elections in which voters elect officeholders.






22. An election system in which the candidate with the most votes wins.






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






24. Unlimited and undisclosed spending by an individual or group on communications that do not use words like 'vote for' or 'vote against -' although much of this activity is actually about electing or defeating candidates.






25. Arrangement whereby public officials are hired to provide legal assistance to people accused of crimes who are unable to hire their own attorneys.






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






27. Mutual aid and vote trading among legislators.






28. Election in which voters choose party nominees.






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






30. 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.






31. Elected office that is predictably won by one party or the other - so the success of the party's candidate is almost taken for granted.






32. The dispensing of government jobs to persons who belong to the winning political party.






33. The reliance on diplomacy and negotiation to solve international problems.






34. An agreement among two or more states. Congress must approve most such agreements.






35. 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






36. A characteristic of individuals that is predictive of political behavior.






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






38. Procedure for submitting to popular vote measures passed by the legislature or proposed amendments to a state constitution.






39. Libel - obscenity - fighting words - and commercial speech - which are not entitled to constitutional protection in all circumstances.






40. A law that defines crimes against the public order.






41. 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






42. Elections held in years when the president is on the ballot.






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






44. In this type of sample - every individual has unknown and random chance of being selected.






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






46. Media that emphasize the news.






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






48. A belief that ultimate power resides in the people.






49. 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.






50. Domination of an industry by a single company; also the company that dominates the industry.