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. A decision by the president not to spend money appropriated by Congress - now prohibited under Federal law.






2. 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.






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






4. 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.






5. The total output of all economic activity in the nation - including goods and services.






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






7. A dispute growing out of an actual case or controversy and that is capable of settlement by legal methods.






8. 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.






9. The formal process for making regulations.






10. Formal orders issued by the president to direct action by the Federal bureaucracy.






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






12. Citizenship in more than one nation.






13. The authority of a court to review decisions made by lower courts.






14. 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.






15. A term the founders used to refer to political parties and special interests or interest groups.






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






17. 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






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






19. Donations made to political candidates - party committees - or groups which - by law - are limited and must be declared.






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






21. A policy that emphasizes a united front and cooperation between the major political parties - especially on sensitive foreign policy issues.






22. An official who is expected to vote independently based on his or her judgment of the circumstances; one interpretation of the role of the legislator.






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






24. 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






25. 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.






26. Rebellion led by Daniel Shays of farmers in western Massachusetts in 1786-1787 - protesting mortgage foreclosures. It highlighted the need for a strong national government just as the call for the Constitutional Convention went out.

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






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






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






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






31. Statement required by Federal law from all agencies for any project using Federal funds to assess the potential affect of the new construction or development on the environment.






32. Election in which voters choose party nominees.






33. A policy-making alliance among loosely connected participants that comes together on a particular issue - then disbands.






34. Democratic and civic habits of discussion - compromise - and respect for differences - which grow out of participation in voluntary organizations.






35. Unlimited amounts of money that political parties previously could raise for party-building purposes. Now largely illegal except for limited contributions to state and local parties for voter registration and get-out-the-vote efforts.






36. Agreement between a prosecutor and a defendant that the defendant will plead guilty to a lesser offense to avoid having to stand trial for a more serious offense.






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






38. Compromise between northern and southern states at the Constitutional Convention that three-fifths of the slave population would be counted for determining direct taxation and representation in the House of Representatives.






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






40. Usually the largest organization in government with the largest mission; also the highest rank in Federal hierarchy.






41. Governance according to the expressed preferences of the majority.






42. A legal action conferring citizenship on an alien.






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






44. A jury of 6 to 12 persons that determines guilt or innocence in a civil or criminal action.






45. Election in which voters choose party nominees.






46. Powers that the Constitution gives to both the national and state governments - such as the power to levy taxes.






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






48. 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.






49. A consistent pattern of beliefs about political values and the role of government.






50. System designed to reduce voter fraud by limiting voting to those who have established eligibility to vote by submitting the proper documents.