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 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.






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






3. A provision attached to a bill






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






5. Segregation resulting from economic or social conditions or personal choice.






6. A procedure for terminating debate - especially filibusters - in the Senate.






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






8. Officer of the Senate selected by the majority party to act as chair in the absence of the vice president.






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






10. A meeting of local party members to choose party officials or candidates for public office and to decide the platform.






11. Opponents of ratification of the Constitution and of a strong central government - generally.






12. An electoral district in which voters choose one representative or official.






13. Divisions within society that cut across demographic categories to produce groups that are more heterogeneous or different.






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






15. 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.






16. 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






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






18. 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.






19. General tax on sales transactions - sometimes exempting food and drugs.






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. 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.






22. The cluster of presidential staff agencies that help the president carry out his responsibilities. Currently the office includes the Office of Management and Budget - the Council of Economic Advisers - and several other units.






23. The president's annual statement to Congress and the nation.






24. Procedure for submitting to popular vote measures passed by the legislature or proposed amendments to a state constitution.






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






26. Federal statute barring Federal employees from active participation in certain kinds of politics and protecting them from being fired on partisan grounds.






27. Candidate or party with the most votes cast in an election - not necessarily more than half.






28. The residents of a congressional district or state.






29. 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.






30. The system created by Congress in 1913 to establish banking practices and regulate currency in circulation and the amount of credit available. It consists of 12 regional banks supervised by the Board of Governors. Often called simply the Fed.






31. Programs in which eligibility is based on prior contributions to government - usually in the form of payroll taxes.






32. Supporters of ratification of the Constitution and of a strong central government.






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






34. Contributions to a state or local party for party-building purposes.






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






36. The dispensing of government jobs to persons who belong to the winning political party.






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






38. Advisory council for the president consisting of the heads of the executive departments - the vice president - and a few other officials selected by the president.






39. The act of declaring party affiliation; required by some states when one registers to vote.






40. Those citizens who follow public affairs carefully.






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






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






43. Financial contributions by individuals or groups in the hope of influencing the outcome of the election and subsequently influencing policy.






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






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






46. Lawsuit brought by an individual or group of people on behalf of all those similarly situated.






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






48. The belief that nations must engage in international problem solving.






49. 30-second statements on the evening news shows. The media have been accused of simplifying complicated political issues by relying on sound bites to explain them to the public.






50. 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.