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. A committee composed of members of both the House of Representatives and the Senate; such committees oversee the Library of Congress and conduct investigations.






2. The act of declaring party affiliation; required by some states when one registers to vote.






3. Powers that grow out of the very existence of government.






4. A veto exercised by the president after Congress has adjourned; if the president takes no action for 10 days - the bill does not become law and does not return to Congress for possible override.






5. Requirement that evidence unconstitutionally or illegally obtained be excluded from a criminal trial.






6. Arrangement whereby public officials are hired to provide legal assistance to people accused of crimes who are unable to hire their own attorneys.






7. An official document - published every weekday - which lists the new and proposed regulations of executive departments and regulatory agencies.






8. How voters feel about a candidate's background - personality - leadership ability - and other personal qualities.






9. Money raised in unlimited amounts by political parties for party-building purposes. Now largely illegal except for limited contributions to state or local parties for voter registration and get-out-the-vote efforts.






10. Governance according to the expressed preferences of the majority.






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






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






13. A national meeting of delegates elected in 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.






14. Inherent powers of state governments to pass laws to protect the public health - safety - and welfare; the national government has no directly granted police powers but accomplishes the same goals through other delegated powers.






15. 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.






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






17. 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.






18. 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.






19. The tendency of presidents to lose support over time.






20. The drawing of election districts so as to ensure that members of a certain race are a minority in the district; ruled unconstitutional in Gomillion v. Lightfoot (1960).






21. An official who is expected to vote independently based on his or her judgment of the circumstances; one interpretation of the role of the legislator.






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






23. A court with appellate jurisdiction that hears appeals from the decisions of lower courts.






24. Divisions within society that cut across demographic categories to produce groups that are more heterogeneous or different.






25. Segregation imposed by law.






26. Programs that the Federal government requires States to implement without Federal funding.






27. 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






28. Mutual aid and vote trading among legislators.






29. Retroactive criminal law that works to the disadvantage of a person.






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






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






32. An agreement among two or more states. Congress must approve most such agreements.






33. The distribution of individual preferences or evaluations of a given issue - candidate - or institution within a specific population.






34. The list of potential cases that reach the Supreme Court.






35. The number of Americans who are out of work but actively looking for a job. The number does not usually include those who are not looking.






36. Elections held midway between presidential elections.






37. 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.






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






39. Holding incumbents - usually the president's party - responsible for their records on issues - such as the economy or foreign policy.






40. 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.






41. Advisory council for the president consisting of the heads of the executive departments - the vice president - and a few other officials selected by the president.






42. 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






43. Money spent by individuals or groups not associated with candidates to elect or defeat candidates for office.






44. Governance according to the expressed preferences of the majority.






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






46. 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.






47. A procedural rule in the House of Representatives that prohibits any amendments to bills or provides that only members of the committee reporting the bill may offer amendments.






48. The rights of an individual to own - use - rent - invest in - buy - and sell property.






49. Interest groups organized under section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code may advertise for or against candidates. If their source of funding is corporations or unions - they have some restrictions on broadcast advertising. 527 organizations were impo






50. The difference between the revenues raised annually from sources of income other than borrowing and the expenditures of government - including paying the interest on past borrowing.