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






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






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






4. A career government employee.






5. Money spent by individuals or groups not associated with candidates to elect or defeat candidates for office.






6. Views the Constitution as giving a limited list of powers—primarily foreign policy and national defense—to the national government - leaving the rest to the sovereign states. Each level of government is dominant within its own sphere. The Supreme Cou






7. 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






8. Governance divided between the parties - especially when one holds the presidency and the other controls one or both houses of Congress.






9. 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






10. 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.






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






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






13. The head of the White House staff.






14. Procedure whereby a certain number of voters may - by petition - propose a law or constitutional amendment and have it submitted to the voters.






15. The number of Americans who are out of work but actively looking for a job. The number does not usually include those who are not looking.






16. 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.






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






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






19. A procedural rule in the House of Representatives that permits floor amendments within the overall time allocated to the bill.






20. The widespread belief that the United States is a land of opportunity and that individual initiative and hard work can bring economic success.






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






22. The constitutional requirement (in Article II - Section 3) that presidents take care that the laws are faithfully executed - even if they disagree with the purpose of those laws.






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






24. The idea that a just government must derive its powers from the consent of the people it governs.






25. The residents of a congressional district or state.






26. The informal list of issues that Congress and the president consider most important for action.






27. 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.'






28. The process by which individuals screen out messages that do not conform to their own biases.






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






30. Formal accusation against a president or other public official - the first step in removal from office.






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






32. The process by which we develop our political attitudes - values - and beliefs.






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






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






35. Clause in the Fifth Amendment limiting the power of the national government; similar clause in the Fourteenth Amendment prohibiting state governments from depriving any person of life - liberty - or property without due process of law.






36. Domination of an industry by a single company that fixes prices and discourages competition; also - the company that dominates the industry by these means.






37. The right of women to vote.


38. The process by which individuals perceive what they want to in media messages.






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






40. 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.






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






42. A company with a labor agreement under which union membership can be a condition of employment.






43. Advertisements and commercials for products and services; they receive less First Amendment protection - primarily to discourage false and misleading ads.






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






45. Clause in the Constitution that states that 'Congress should have the power to make all laws necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers. . . .' This clause is also known as the elastic clause as is a major and significant p


46. Tax levied on imports to help protect the nation's industries - labor - or farmers from foreign competition. It can also be used to raise additional revenue.






47. The joint listing of the presidential and vice presidential candidates on the same ballot as required by the Twelfth Amendment.






48. Presidential power to strike - or remove - specific items from a spending bill without vetoing the entire package; declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.






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






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