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Test your basic knowledge |
AP Government
Start Test
Study First
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. A system of government in which the legislature selects the prime minister or president.
Parliamentary system
Marble cake federalism
Photo ops
Iron triangle
2. Candidate or party with the most votes cast in an election - not necessarily more than half.
Laissez-faire economics
Plurality
Soft power
Australian ballot
3. 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.'
Amicus curiae brief
Permissive federalism
Party convention
Socioeconomic status (SES)
4. Federal program that provides medical benefits for low-income persons.
Gerrymandering
Pluralism
Minority leader
Medicaid
5. A secret ballot printed by the state.
Delegate
Separation of powers
Australian ballot
The Federalist
6. Lawsuit brought by an individual or group of people on behalf of all those similarly situated.
Fighting words
Class action suit
Presidential election
Senatorial courtesy
7. A convention held in September 1786 to consider problems of trade and navigation - attended by five states and important because it issued the call to Congress and the states for what became the Constitutional Convention.
Interest group
Soft money
Annapolis Convention
Adversary system
8. 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.
Green party
Antitrust legislation
Fiscal policy
Police powers
9. A theory of international relations that focuses on the tendency of nations to operate from self-interest.
Initiative
Realism
Precedent
Three-fifths compromise
10. A formal agreement between the U.S. president and the leaders of other nations that does not require Senate approval.
Executive agreement
National party convention
Trustee
Clear and present danger test
11. Largely banned party soft money - restored a long-standing prohibition on corporations and labor unions for using general treasury funds for electoral purposes - and narrowed the definition of issue advocacy.
Competitive federalism
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA)
Constitutional Convention
Incumbent
12. Domination of an industry by a single company that fixes prices and discourages competition; also - the company that dominates the industry by these means.
Rider
National party convention
Monopoly
Linkage institutions
13. An agreement among two or more states. Congress must approve most such agreements.
Court of appeals
Permissive federalism
Public policy
Interstate compact
14. Authority given by Congress to the Federal bureaucracy to use reasonable judgment in implementing the laws.
Unemployment
State of the Union Address
Administrative discretion
Decentralists
15. Governance divided between the parties - as when one holds the presidency and the other controls one or both houses of Congress.
Realism
Divided government
Plea bargain
Take care clause
16. Procedure for submitting to popular vote measures passed by the legislature or proposed amendments to a state constitution.
Mandate
Union shop
Referendum
Normal trade relations
17. The tendency of presidents to learn more about doing their jobs over time.
American dream
Cycle of increasing effectiveness
Affirmative action
Executive order
18. In a criminal action - the person or party accused of an offense.
Deregulation
Theocracy
Defendant
Logrolling
19. A philosophy that encourages individual nations tacked together to solve international problems.
Economic sanctions
Criminal law
Double jeopardy
Multilateralism
20. Economic theory based on the principles of John Maynard Keynes stating that government spending should increase during business slumps and be curbed during booms.
Soft money
Faction
Keynesian economics
Extradition
21. The authority of a court to hear a case 'in the first instance.'
Mass media
Honeymoon
Public policy
Original jurisdiction
22. An election system in which the candidate with the most votes wins.
Treaty
Virginia Plan
Winner-take-all system
Impeachment
23. A belief that government can and should achieve justice and equality of opportunity.
Liberalism
Laissez-faire economics
Appellate jurisdiction
Caucus
24. The total output of all economic activity in the nation - including goods and services.
Gross domestic product (GDP)
Independent regulatory commission
Federal mandate
Gender gap
25. 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.
Primary election
Clear and present danger test
Antitrust legislation
Soft money
26. A committee composed of members of both the House of Representatives and the Senate; such committees oversee the Library of Congress and conduct investigations.
Joint committee
Free rider
Confederation
National debt
27. Theory that opposes governmental interference in economic affairs beyond what is necessary to protect life and property.
Laissez-faire economics
Libel
Mandate
Public choice
28. Conservative Christians who (as a group) have become more active in politics in the last two decades and were especially influential in the 2000 presidential election.
Project grants
Fundamentalists
Candidate appeal
Class action suit
29. A consistent pattern of beliefs about political values and the role of government.
Override
Express powers
Standing committee
Political ideology
30. A provision attached to a bill
Rider
Fiscal policy
Oversight
Judicial review
31. A belief that limited government insures order competitive markets and personal opportunity.
New Jersey Plan
Merit system
Crossover voting
Conservatism
32. A division of population based on occupation - income - and education.
Incumbent
Parliamentary system
Socioeconomic status (SES)
Candidate appeal
33. Tax levied on imports to help protect the nation's industries - labor - or farmers from foreign competition. It can also be used to raise additional revenue.
Court of appeals
Tariff
Independent agency
Trust
34. Established by Congress in 1978 as a flexible - mobile corps of senior career executives who worked closely with presidential appointees to manage government.
Gerrymandering
Senior Executive Service
Executive orders
Monetarism
35. The difference between the political opinions or political behavior of men and of women.
Natural rights
Gender gap
Open primary
Voter registration
36. Primary election in which only persons registered in the party holding the primary may vote.
Bicameralism
Unfunded mandates
Demographics
Closed primary
37. Powers the Constitution specifically grants to one of the branches of the national government.
Impoundment
Express powers
Theory of deterrence
Natural law
38. 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.
Establishment clause
Writ of certiorari
Labor injunction
Amicus curiae brief
39. 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
Issue advocacy
Dual federalism (layer cake federalism)
Political action committee (PAC)
Naturalization
40. 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.
Nongovernmental organization (NGO)
Fiscal federalism
Line item veto
Green party
41. Divisions within society that reinforce one another - making groups more homogenous or similar.
Reinforcing cleavages
Annapolis Convention
Clear and present danger test
Political socialization
42. A theory that is based on creating enough military strength to convince other nations not to attack first.
Bicameralism
Indexing
Theory of deterrence
Australian ballot
43. Established rules and regulations that restrain government officials.
Incumbent
Precedent
Direct orders
Due process
44. An informal and subjective affiliation with a political party that most people acquire in childhood.
Logrolling
Party identification
Class action suit
Express powers
45. A formal written statement from a grand jury charging an individual with an offense; also called a true bill.
Sound bites
Selective exposure
Indictment
Single-member district
46. Democratic party primary in the old 'one-party South' that was limited to white people and essentially constituted an election; ruled unconstitutional in Smith v. Allwright (1944).
Executive orders
White primary
Permissive federalism
Bipartisanship
47. 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.
Bad tendency test
Minor party
Whip
Electoral college
48. The total amount of money the Federal government has borrowed to finance deficit spending over the years.
National debt
Winner-take-all system
Winner-take-all system
Closed shop
49. The Federal government's primary intelligence officer - responsible for overseeing all national intelligence agencies and providing advice to the President on terrorist threats.
Bureaucracy
Judicial review
National Intelligence Director
Majority-minority district
50. The act of declaring party affiliation; required by some states when one registers to vote.
Criminal law
Party registration
National tide
Executive Office of the President