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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. Statement required by Federal law from all agencies for any project using Federal funds to assess the potential affect of the new construction or development on the environment.
Environmental impact statement
Rule
Executive agreement
Direct primary
2. A national meeting of delegates elected at primaries - caucuses - or state conventions who assemble once every four years to nominate candidates for president and vice president - ratify the party platform - elect officers - and adopt rules.
National party convention
Redistributive policy
Laissez-faire economics
Majority
3. The right to keep executive communications confidential - especially if they relate to National Security.
Executive privilege
Laissez-faire economics
Photo ops
Independent agency
4. Governance divided between the parties - especially when one holds the presidency and the other controls one or both houses of Congress.
Soft power
Divided government
Articles of Confederation
Candidate appeal
5. Constitutional requirement that governments proceed by proper methods; limits how government may exercise power.
Administrative discretion
General election
Single-member district
Procedural due process
6. A landmark case in United States law and the basis for the exercise of judicial review in the United States - under Article Three of the United States Constitution. The case resulted from a petition to the Supreme Court by William Marbury - who had b
Checks and balances
Nongovernmental organization (NGO)
Marbury v. Madison
Concurring opinion
7. The idea that a just government must derive its powers from the consent of the people it governs.
Public choice
Popular consent
Representative democracy
Entitlement programs
8. A court with appellate jurisdiction that hears appeals from the decisions of lower courts.
Party caucus
Court of appeals
Capitalism
Unilateralism
9. A nonprofit association or group operating outside of government that advocates and pursues policy objectives.
Senatorial courtesy
Monopoly
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
Nongovernmental organization (NGO)
10. An individual who does not to join a group representing his or her interests yet receives the benefit of the group's influence.
Free rider
Restrictive covenant
Women's suffrage
Cross-cutting cleavages
11. The reliance on diplomacy and negotiation to solve international problems.
Liberalism
Unitary system
Soft power
Independent agency
12. The widespread belief that the United States is a land of opportunity and that individual initiative and hard work can bring economic success.
Public policy
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
Attentive public
American dream
13. How groups form and organize to pursue their goals or objectives - including how to get individuals and groups to participate and to cooperate. The term has many applications in the various social sciences such as political science - sociology - and
Collective action
Lobbyist
Independent expenditures
Racial gerrymandering
14. A company with a labor agreement under which union membership can be a condition of employment.
Lobbyist
Popular consent
Closed shop
Initiative
15. An economic system characterized by private property - competitive markets - economic incentives - and limited government involvement in the production - distribution - and pricing of goods and services.
Property rights
Capitalism
Keynesian economics
Special or select committee
16. The dispensing of government jobs to persons who belong to the winning political party.
Iron triangle
Dissenting opinion
Appellate jurisdiction
Patronage
17. A permanent committee established in a legislature - usually focusing on a policy area.
Standing committee
Preemption
Selected perception
Unilateralism
18. Divisions within society that cut across demographic categories to produce groups that are more heterogeneous or different.
Coattail effect
Redistricting
Cross-cutting cleavages
Plea bargain
19. Something given with the expectation of receiving something in return.
Virginia Plan
Democratic consensus
Quid pro quo
Green party
20. An election during periods of expanded suffrage and change in the economy and society that proves to be a turning point - redefining the agenda of politics and the alignment of voters within parties.
Petit jury
Government corporation
Issue advocacy
Realigning election
21. Retroactive criminal law that works to the disadvantage of a person.
Pocket veto
Cycle of decreasing influence
Majority rule
Ex post facto law
22. Police targeting of racial minorities as potential suspects of criminal activities.
Affirmative action
Class action suit
Regulations
Racial profiling
23. The tendency in elections to focus on the personal attributes of a candidate - such as his/her strengths - weaknesses - background - experience - and visibility.
Referendum
Candidate appeal
Theocracy
Bill of attainder
24. The rights of all people to dignity and worth; also called human rights.
Natural rights
Bicameralism
Gender gap
Trade deficit
25. The act of declaring party affiliation; required by some states when one registers to vote.
Cross-cutting requirements
Party registration
Incumbent
Regulatory taking
26. The president's annual statement to Congress and the nation.
Selective exposure
State of the Union Address
Iron triangle
Dealignment
27. Engaging in activities aimed at influencing public officials - especially legislators - and the policies they enact.
Constitutional democracy
Lobbying
Standing committee
Bipartisanship
28. The tendency of presidents to learn more about doing their jobs over time.
Racial profiling
Impoundment
Demographics
Cycle of increasing effectiveness
29. The system created by Congress in 1913 to establish banking practices and regulate currency in circulation and the amount of credit available. It consists of 12 regional banks supervised by the Board of Governors. Often called simply the Fed.
Senatorial courtesy
Federal Reserve System
Adversary system
Coattail effect
30. Belief in the superiority of one's nation or ethnic group.
Proportional representation
Ethnocentrism
Party registration
Political culture
31. The reliance on economic and military strength to solve international problems.
Hard power
Right of expatriation
Monetarism
Entitlement programs
32. 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.
Checks and balances
Majority-minority district
Multilateralism
Tariff
33. Officer of the Senate selected by the majority party to act as chair in the absence of the vice president.
President pro tempore
Political predisposition
Double jeopardy
Unilateralism
34. The principle of a two-house legislature.
Federal Election Commission (FEC)
Constituents
Discharge petition
Bicameralism
35. The process - most notably in families and schools - by which we develop our political attitudes - values - and beliefs.
Political socialization
Constituents
Photo ops
Redistributive policy
36. A system of government in which the legislature selects the prime minister or president.
Bill of attainder
Joint committee
Parliamentary system
Closed rule
37. Synonymous with 'collective action -' it specifically studies how government officials - politicians - and voters respond to positive and negative incentives.
Nonpartisan election
Standing committee
Public choice
Indictment
38. Divisions within society that reinforce one another - making groups more homogenous or similar.
Party convention
Categorical-formula grants
Reinforcing cleavages
Creative federalism
39. A policy-making alliance that involves a very strong ties among a congressional committee - an interest group - and a Federal Department or agency.
Parliamentary system
Iron triangle
Crossover sanctions
Monetary policy
40. The right to vote.
National Intelligence Director
Suffrage
Whip
Libertarian party
41. An informal and subjective affiliation with a political party that most people acquire in childhood.
Deregulation
Party identification
Inherent powers
Liberalism
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
Implied powers
Merit system
Block grants
Exclusionary rule
43. The right of a federal law or a regulation to preclude enforcement of a state or local law or regulation.
Trust
Preemption
Oversight
Constituents
44. The drawing of legislative district boundaries to benefit a party - group - or incumbent.
Logrolling
Gerrymandering
Federalism
Public choice
45. A secret ballot printed by the state.
Party identification
Soft power
Australian ballot
Statism
46. The power of a court to refuse to enforce a law or government regulation that in the opinion of the judges conflicts with the U.S. Constitution or - in a state court - the state constitution.
Environmental impact statement
Trade deficit
Creative federalism
Judicial review
47. Congress appropriates funds for a specific purpose - such as school lunches or for building airports and highways. These funds are allocated by formula and are subject to detailed federal conditions - often on a matching basis; that is - the local go
Hard power
Unfunded mandates
Full faith and credit clause
Categorical-formula grants
48. The head of the White House staff.
Natural rights
Safe seat
Chief of staff
Bad tendency test
49. 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.
Public defender system
Majority
Virginia Plan
Annapolis Convention
50. Financial contributions by individuals or groups in the hope of influencing the outcome of the election and subsequently influencing policy.
Establishment clause
Revolving door
Socialism
Interested money