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 precise legal definition of how government will implement a policy.






2. 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.






3. Compromise agreement by states at the Constitutional Convention for a bicameral legislature with a lower house in which representation would be based on population and an upper house in which each state would have two senators.






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






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






6. The process of putting a law into practice through bureaucratic rules or spending.






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






8. Relationships among interest groups - congressional committees and subcommittees - and the government agencies that share a common policy concern.






9. 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






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






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






12. Those citizens who follow public affairs closely.






13. Voting based on what a candidate pledges to do in the future about an issue if elected.






14. Interpretation of the First Amendment that holds that the government cannot interfere with speech unless the speech presents a clear and present danger that it will lead to evil or illegal acts.






15. A decision made by a higher court such as a circuit court of appeals or the Supreme Court that is binding on all other federal courts.






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






17. 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.






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






19. An ideology that cherishes individual liberty and insists on minimal government - promoting a free market economy - a noninterventionist foreign policy - and an absence of regulation in moral - economic - and social life.






20. Special spending projects that are set aside on behalf of individual members of Congress for their constituents.






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






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






23. The clause of the Constitution (Article I - Section 8 - Clause 3) that gives Congress the power to regulate all business activities that cross state lines or affect more than one state or other nations.






24. The political arm of an interest group that is legally entitled to raise funds on a voluntary basis from members - stockholders - or employees to contribute funds to candidates or political parties.






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






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






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






28. 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.






29. Implies that although federalism provides 'a sharing of power and authority between the national and state governments - the state's share rests upon the permission and permissiveness of the national government.'






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






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






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






33. A combination of entitlement programs - paid for by employer and employee taxes - that includes retirement benefits - health insurance - and support for disabled workers and the children of deceased or disabled workers.






34. A formal decision to reject the bill passed by Congress.






35. 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






36. Loss of tax revenue due to Federal laws that provide special tax incentives or benefits to individuals or businesses.






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






38. A policy that emphasizes a united front and cooperation between the major political parties - especially on sensitive foreign policy issues.






39. Presidential custom of submitting the names of prospective appointees for approval to senators from the states in which the appointees are to work.






40. Programs such as unemployment insurance - disability relief - or disability payments that provide benefits to all eligible citizens.






41. 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.






42. These are broad state grants to states for prescribed activities—welfare - child care - education - social services - preventive health care - and health services—with only a few strings attached. States have greater flexibility in deciding how to sp






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






44. 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.






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






46. Procedure whereby a certain number of voters may - by petition - propose a law or constitutional amendment and have it submitted to the voters.






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






48. Engaging in activities aimed at influencing public officials - especially legislators - and the policies they enact.






49. Programs such as unemployment insurance - disaster relief - or disability payments that provide benefits to all eligible citizens.






50. Through different grant programs - slices up the marble cake into many different pieces - making it even more difficult to differentiate the functions of the levels of government.