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 study of the characteristics of populations.






2. Media that emphasize the news.






3. A court with appellate jurisdiction that hears appeals from the decisions of lower courts.






4. Powers expressly or implicitly reserved to the states.

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5. National Health Insurance program for the elderly and disabled.






6. Election in which voters choose party nominees.






7. An organization that seeks political power by electing people to office so that its positions and philosophy become public policy.






8. State laws formerly pervasive throughout the South requiring public facilities and accommodations to be segregated by race; ruled unconstitutional.






9. The authority of a court to hear a case 'in the first instance.'






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






11. An explanation of the decision of the Supreme Court or any other appellate court.






12. A secret ballot printed by the state.






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






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






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






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






17. Police targeting of racial minorities as potential suspects of criminal activities.






18. A policy adopted by the Bush administration in 2001 that asserts America's right to attack any nation that has weapons of mass destruction that might be used against U.S. interests at home or abroad.






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






20. An informal and subjective affiliation with a political party that most people acquire in childhood.






21. Legislative act inflicting punishment - including deprivation of property - without a trial - on named individuals or members of a specific group.






22. A company in which new employees must join a union within a stated time period.






23. The presiding officer in the House of Representatives - formally elected by the House but actually selected by the majority party.






24. A legislative practice that assigns the chair of the committee or subcommittee to the member of the majority party with the longest continuous service on the committee.






25. The tendency in elections to focus on the personal attributes of a candidate - such as his/her strengths - weaknesses - background - experience - and visibility.






26. A veto exercised by the president after Congress has adjourned; if the president takes no action for 10 days - the bill does not become law and does not return to Congress for possible override.






27. An action taken by Congress to reverse the presidential veto - requiring a two-thirds majority in each chamber.






28. 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.






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






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






31. A collection of people who share a common interest or attitude and seek to influence government for specific ends. Interest groups usually work within the framework of government and try to achieve their goals through tactics such as lobbying.






32. A large body of people interested in a common issue - idea - or concern that is of continuing significance and who are willing to take action. Movements seek to change attitudes or institutions - not just policies.






33. During the Great Society - the marble cake approach of intergovernmental relations.






34. Aid to the poor; 'welfare.'






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






36. The assigning by Congress of congressional seats after each census. State legislatures reapportion state legislative districts.






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






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






39. Elections held midway between presidential elections.






40. 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.






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






42. Constitutional arrangement that concentrates power in a central government.






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






44. 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.






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






46. A system of government in which the legislature selects the prime minister or president.






47. An opinion that agrees with the majority in a Supreme Court ruling but differs on the reasoning.






48. 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.






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






50. A convention held in September 1786 to consider problems of trade and navigation - attended by five states and important because it issued the call to Congress and the states for what became the Constitutional Convention.