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






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






3. 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






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






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






6. Alternative means of health care in which individuals make tax-deductible contributions to a special account that can be used to pay medical expenses.






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






8. A congressional district created to include a majority of minority voters; ruled constitutional so long as race is not the main factor in redistricting.






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






10. 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.

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /var/www/html/basicversity.com/show_quiz.php on line 183


11. A close contest; by extension - any contest in which the focus is on who is ahead and by how much rather than on substantive differences between the candidates.






12. Clause in the First Amendment that states that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. The Supreme Court has interpreted this to forbid governmental support to any or all religions.






13. A tax whereby people with lower incomes pay a higher fraction of their income than people with higher incomes.






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






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






16. The rights of all people to dignity and worth; also called human rights.






17. A theory that government should control the money supply to encourage economic growth and restrain inflation.






18. An economic and governmental system based on public ownership of the means of production and exchange.






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






20. A procedural practice in the Senate whereby a senator temporarily blocks the consideration of the bill or nomination.






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






22. Elections held in years when the president is on the ballot.






23. Philosophy proposing that judges should interpret the Constitution to reflect current conditions and values.






24. A widely shared and consciously held view - like support for homeland security.






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






26. A technique of Congress to establish federal regulations. Total preemption rests on the national governments power under the supremacy and commerce clauses to preempt conflicting state and local activity. Building on this constitutional authority - f






27. A policy-making alliance that involves a very strong ties among a congressional committee - an interest group - and a Federal Department or agency.






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






29. A rise in the general price level (and decrease in dollar value) owing to an increase in the volume of money and credit in relation to available goods.






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






31. An official document - published every weekday - which lists the new and proposed regulations of executive departments and regulatory agencies.






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






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






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






35. Constitutional arrangement in which sovereign nations or states - by compact - create a central government but carefully limit its power and do not give it direct authority over individuals.






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






37. Constitutional requirement that governments act reasonably and that the substance of the laws themselves be fair and reasonable; limits what the government may do.






38. The principle of a two-house legislature.






39. Providing automatic increases to compensate for inflation.






40. Media that emphasize the news.






41. Something given with the expectation of receiving something in return.






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






43. A government entity that is independent of the legislative - executive - and judicial branches.






44. The desire to avoid international entanglement altogether.






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






46. 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.






47. Assigning police to neighborhoods where they walk the beat and work with churches and other community groups to reduce crime and improve relations with minorities.






48. A procedural practice in the Senate whereby a senator refuses to relinquish the floor and thereby delays proceedings and prevents a vote on a controversial issue.






49. Views the national government - 50 states - and thousands of local governments as competing with each other over ways to put together packages of services and taxes. Applies the analogy of the marketplace: we have some choice about which state and ci






50. 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.