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 rule of precedent - whereby a rule or law contained in a judicial decision is commonly viewed as binding on judges whenever the same question is presented.






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






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






4. A meeting of party delegates to vote on matters of policy and in some cases to select party candidates for public office.






5. A formal - public agreement between the United States and one or more nations that must be approved by two thirds of the Senate.






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






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






8. Clause of the Constitution (Article 1 - Section 8 - Clause 3) setting forth the implied powers of Congress. It states that Congress - in addition to its express powers has the right to make all laws necessary and proper to carry out all powers the Co






9. A national meeting of delegates elected in primaries - caucuses - or state conventions who assemble once every four years to nominate candidates for president and vice president - ratify the party platform - elect officers - and adopt rules.






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






11. Legal process whereby an alleged criminal offender is surrendered by the officials of one states to officials of the state in which the crime is alleged to have been committed.






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






13. A theory of government that holds that open - multiple - and competing groups can check the asserted power by any one group.






14. A writ issued by a magistrate that authorizes the police to search a particular place or person - specifying the place to be searched and the objects to be seized.






15. An individual who does not to join a group representing his or her interests yet receives the benefit of the group's influence.






16. Championed by Ronald Reagan - presumes that the power of the federal government is limited in favor of the broad powers reserved to the states.

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17. 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.






18. 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.'






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






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






21. A theory of international relations that focuses on the tendency of nations to operate from self-interest.






22. Government by religious leaders - who claim divine guidance.






23. A rising public approval of the president that follows a crisis as Americans 'rally 'round the flag' and the chief executive.






24. A career government employee.






25. A minor party that believes in extremely limited government. Libertarians call for a free market system - expanded individual liberties such as drug legalization - and a foreign policy of nonintervention - free trade - and open immigration.






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






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






28. 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






29. Widespread agreement on fundamental principles of democratic governance and the values that undergird them.






30. These are broad state grants to states for prescribed activities—welfare - child care - education - social services - preventive health care - and health services—with only a few strings attached. States have greater flexibility in deciding how to sp






31. Government in which the people elect those who govern and pass laws; also called a republic.






32. Government by the people - both directly or indirectly - with free and frequent elections.






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






34. The right to vote.






35. Literally - a 'friend of the court' brief - filed by an individual or organization to present arguments in addition to those presented by the immediate parties to a case.






36. 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






37. 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.






38. Synonymous with 'collective action -' it specifically studies how government officials - politicians - and voters respond to positive and negative incentives.






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






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






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






42. Petition that - if signed by majority of the House of Representatives' members - will pry a bill from committee and bring it to the floor for consideration.






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






44. 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.






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






46. A congressional committee created for a specific purpose - sometimes to conduct an investigation.






47. A jury of 12 to 23 persons who - in private - hear evidence presented by the government to determine whether persons shall be required to stand trial. If the jury believes there is sufficient evidence that a crime was committed - it issues an indictm






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






49. Power of a government to take private property for public use; the U.S. Constitution gives national and state governments this power and requires them to provide just compensation for property so taken.






50. The study of the characteristics of populations.