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. 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.






2. The boost that candidates may get in an election because of the popularity of candidates above them on the ballot - especially the president.






3. The difference between the political opinions or political behavior of men and of women.






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






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






6. Directive issued by a president or governor that has the force of law.






7. 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.






8. Governance divided between the parties - especially when one holds the presidency and the other controls one or both houses of Congress.






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






10. An international trade organization with more than 130 members - including the United States and the People's Republic of China - that seeks to encourage free trade by lowering tariffs and other trade restrictions.






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






12. Constitutional requirement that governments proceed by proper methods; limits how government may exercise power.






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






14. A small political party that rises and falls with a charismatic candidate or - if composed of ideologies on the right or left - usually persists over time; also called a third party.






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






16. A company with a labor agreement under which union membership cannot be required as a condition of employment.






17. Committee appointed by the presiding officers of each chamber to adjust differences on a particular bill passed by each in different form.






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






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






20. Government in which the people elect those who govern and pass laws; also called a republic.






21. Conceives of federalism as a marble cake in which all levels of government are involved in a variety of issues and programs - rather than a layer cake - or dual federalism - with fixed divisions between layers or levels of government.






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






23. 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.






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






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






26. A minor party founded by Ross Perot in 1995. It focuses on national government reform - fiscal responsibility - and political accountability. It has recently struggled with internal strife and criticism that it lacks an identity.






27. The inclination to focus on national issues - rather than local issues - in an election campaign. The impact of the national tide can be reduced by the nature of the candidates on the ballot who might have differentiated themselves from their party o






28. Denial of export - import - or financial relations with the target country in an effort to change that nation's policies.






29. 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






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






31. 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.






32. Governance divided between the parties - as when one holds the presidency and the other controls one or both houses of Congress.






33. Established by Congress in 1978 as a flexible - mobile corps of senior career executives who worked closely with presidential appointees to manage government.






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






35. A PAC formed by an officeholder that collects contributions from individuals and other PACs and then makes contributions to other candidates and political parties.






36. Clause in the Fifth Amendment limiting the power of the national government; similar clause in the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits the state governments from depriving any person of life - liberty - or property without due process of law.






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






38. The drawing of legislative district boundaries to benefit a party - group - or incumbent.






39. Election system in which the candidate with the most votes wins.






40. Literacy requirements some states imposed as a condition of voting - generally used to disqualify black voters in the South; now illegal.






41. Constitutional arrangement that concentrates power in a central government.






42. 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.






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






44. A minor party dedicated to the environment - social justice - nonviolence - and the foreign policy of nonintervention. Ralph Nader ran as the Green party's nominee in 2000.






45. A tactic in which PACs collect contributions from like-minded individuals (each limited to $2000) and present them to a candidate or political party as a 'bundle -' thus increasing the PAC's influence.






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






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






48. A jury of 12 to 23 persons who - in private - hear evidence presented by the government to determine whether persons shall be required to stand trial. If the jury believes there is sufficient evidence that a crime was committed - it issues an indictm






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






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