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. Legislative act inflicting punishment - including deprivation of property - without a trial - on named individuals or members of a specific group.






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






3. An official who is expected to represent the views of his or her constituents even when personally holding different views; one interpretation of the role of legislator.






4. National Health Insurance program for the elderly and disabled.






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






6. The residents of a congressional district or state.






7. Federal program that provides medical benefits for low-income persons.






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






9. The desire to avoid international entanglement altogether.






10. A large body of people interested in a common issue - idea - or concern that is of continuing significance and who are willing to take action. Movements seek to change attitudes or institutions - not just policies.






11. 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.






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






13. 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






14. A formal writ used to bring a case before the Supreme Court.






15. Domination of an industry by a single company that fixes prices and discourages competition; also - the company that dominates the industry by these means.






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






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






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






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






20. Remedial action designed to overcome the effects of discrimination against minorities and women.






21. Initial proposal at the Constitutional Convention made by the Virginia delegation for a strong central government with a bicameral legislature dominated by the big states.






22. 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.






23. The reliance on diplomacy and negotiation to solve international problems.






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






25. A government that enforces recognized limits on those who govern and allows the voice of the people to be heard through free - fair - and relatively frequent elections.






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






27. Alternative means of health care in which people or their employers are charged a set amount and the HMO provides health care and covers hospital costs.






28. Election in which voters choose party nominees.






29. 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.






30. A tax on increased value of the product at each stage of production and distribution rather than just at the point of sale.






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






32. In a criminal action - the person or party accused of an offense.






33. A rising public approval of the president that follows a crisis as Americans 'rally 'round the flag' and the chief executive.






34. 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






35. Consumer tax on a specific kind of merchandise - such as tobacco.






36. 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.






37. Constitutional arrangement in which power is distributed between a central government and subdivisional governments - called states in the United States. The national and the subdivisional governments both exercise direct authority over individuals.






38. In this type of sample - every individual has unknown and random chance of being selected.






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






40. Presidential refusal to allow an agency to spend funds that Congress authorized and appropriated.






41. 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.






42. During the Great Society - the marble cake approach of intergovernmental relations.






43. Economic theory based on the principles of John Maynard Keynes stating that government spending should increase during business slumps and be curbed during booms.






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






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






46. The right to renounce one's citizenship.






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






48. Libel - obscenity - fighting words - and commercial speech - which are not entitled to constitutional protection in all circumstances.






49. An agency of Congress that analyzes presidential budget recommendations and estimates the cost of proposed legislation.






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