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 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






2. 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.






3. Elections in which voters determine party nominees.






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






5. An individual who does not to join a group representing his or her interests yet receives the benefit of the group's influence.






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






7. A policy promoting cutbacks in the amount of Federal regulation in specific areas of economic activity.






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






9. A president's claim of broad public support.






10. Divisions within society that reinforce one another - making groups more homogenous or similar.






11. A belief that ultimate power resides in the people.






12. A national meeting of delegates elected at primaries - caucuses - or state conventions who assemble once every four years to nominate candidates for president and vice president - ratify the party platform - elect officers - and adopt rules.






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






14. Party leader who is the liaison between the leadership and the rank-and-file in the legislature.






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






16. Theory based on the principles of John Maynard Keynes - stating that government spending should increase during business slumps and the curve during booms.






17. 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.






18. Constitutional division of powers among the legislative - executive - and judicial branches - with the legislative branch making law - the executive applying and enforcing the law - and the judiciary interpreting the law.






19. An election system in which the candidate with the most votes wins.






20. Clause of the Constitution (Article I - Section 10) originally intended to prohibit state governments from modifying contracts made between individuals; for a while interpreted as prohibiting state governments from taking actions that adversely affec






21. Voting by member of one party for a candidate of another party.






22. 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.






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






24. The precise legal definition of how government will implement a policy.






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






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






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






28. A congressional committee created for a specific purpose - sometimes to conduct an investigation.






29. 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






30. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






36. A tax graduated so that people with higher incomes pay larger fraction of their income than people with lower incomes.






37. The desire to avoid international entanglement altogether.






38. Political contributions given to a party - candidate - or interest group that are limited in amounts and fully disclosed. Raising such limited funds is harder than raising unlimited funds - hence the term 'hard money.'






39. 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.






40. How groups form and organize to pursue their goals or objectives - including how to get individuals and groups to participate and to cooperate. The term has many applications in the various social sciences such as political science - sociology - and






41. A provision in a deed to real property prohibiting its sale to a person of a particular race or religion. Judicial enforcement of such deeds is unconstitutional.






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






43. A person who is employed by and acts for an organized interest group or corporation to try to influence policy decisions and positions in the executive and legislative branches.






44. The difference between the revenues raised annually from sources of income other than borrowing and the expenditures of government - including paying the interest on past borrowing.






45. Government in which citizens vote on laws and select officials directly.






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






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






48. 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






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






50. 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