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. People who favor national action over action at the state and local levels.






2. People who favor state or local action rather than national action.






3. The proportion of the voting age public that votes - sometimes defined as the number of registered voters that vote.






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






5. The process of putting a law into practice through bureaucratic rules or spending.






6. A landmark case in United States law and the basis for the exercise of judicial review in the United States - under Article Three of the United States Constitution. The case resulted from a petition to the Supreme Court by William Marbury - who had b






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






8. Powers expressly or implicitly reserved to the states.


9. A commission created by the 1974 amendments to the Federal Election Campaign Act to administer election reform laws. It consists of six commissioners appointed by president and confirmed by the Senate. Its duties include overseeing disclosure of camp






10. 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.






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






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






13. The total amount of money the Federal government has borrowed to finance deficit spending over the years.






14. Powers that grow out of the very existence of government.






15. A judicial system in which the court of law is a neutral arena where two parties argue their differences.






16. Engaging in activities aimed at influencing public officials - especially legislators - and the policies they enact.






17. A monopoly that controls goods and services - often in combinations that reduce competition.






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






19. The power of a court to refuse to enforce a law or government regulation that in the opinion of the judges conflicts with the U.S. Constitution or - in a state court - the state constitution.






20. Stresses federalism as a system of intergovernmental relations in delivering governmental goods and services to the people and calls for cooperation among various levels of government.






21. 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.






22. Efforts by government to alter the free operation of the market to achieve social goals such as protecting workers and the environment.






23. Inherent powers of state governments to pass laws to protect the public health - safety - and welfare; the national government has no directly granted police powers but accomplishes the same goals through other delegated powers.






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






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






26. 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.






27. 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






28. Economic theory based on the principles of John Maynard Keynes stating that government spending should increase during business slumps and be curbed during booms.






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






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






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






32. Clause in the First Amendment that states that Congress shall make no law prohibiting the free exercise of religion.






33. Federal laws (starting with the Sherman Act of 1890) that tried to prevent a monopoly from dominating an industry and restraining trade.






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






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






36. The right to vote.






37. A decision made by a higher court such as a circuit court of appeals or the Supreme Court that is binding on all other federal courts.






38. Promoting a particular position or an issue 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 regulation.






39. Photo opportunities set up by the candidates. The media have been accused of simplifying complicated political issues by relying on photo ops to explain them to the public.






40. Employment cycle in which individuals who work for governmental agencies that regulate interests eventually end up working for interest groups or businesses with the same policy concern.






41. Incumbents have an advantage over challengers in election campaigns because voters are more familiar with them - and incumbents are more recognizable.






42. A technique of Congress to establish federal regulations. Direct orders must be complied with under threat of criminal or civil sanction. An example is the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 - barring job discrimination by state and local gover






43. 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.






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






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






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






47. Powers the Constitution specifically grants to one of the branches of the national government.






48. Elections in which voters elect officeholders.






49. A procedural rule in the House of Representatives that prohibits any amendments to bills or provides that only members of the committee reporting the bill may offer amendments.






50. Requirement that evidence unconstitutionally or illegally obtained be excluded from a criminal trial.