Government and Society Exam Practice Tests
Course Introduction
This course explores the complex relationship between government institutions and society, examining how political systems, public policies, and governance structures impact social dynamics and individual lives. Students will analyze the roles and functions of government, the influence of public opinion, civil society, and advocacy groups, as well as the processes of policy-making and implementation. The course also addresses contemporary issues such as equality, justice, and public participation, fostering a critical understanding of how governments respond to societal needs and how citizens interact with political power.
Recommended Textbook
American Government Brief 14th Edition by Stephen Ansolabehere
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14 Chapters
1549 Verified Questions
1549 Flashcards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Five Principles of Politics
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63 Verified Questions
63 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) What are the two fundamental questions that allow us to find patterns and order in the chaos of politics?
A)"Who governs?" and "How do they govern?"
B)"Who runs for office?" and "Who wins?"
C)"What do we observe?" and "Why?"
D)"What is government?" and "Who runs it?"
E)"Why do we need government?" and "Who runs it?"
Answer: C
Q2) When a small group of landowners,military officers,or wealthy merchants controls most of the governing decisions,the government is said to be a(n)
A)theocracy.
B)oligarchy.
C)autocracy.
D)meritocracy.
E)democracy.
Answer: B
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3
Chapter 2: The Founding and the Constitution
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103 Verified Questions
103 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The issue of counting slaves for purposes of representation was settled by the
A)Great Compromise.
B)Virginia Plan.
C)Three-Fifths Compromise.
D)Seventh Amendment.
E)Franklin Proviso.
Answer: C
Q2) Which set of amendments provides important safeguards against the arbitrary exercise of governmental power,especially within the judicial branch?
A)First
B)Ninth and Tenth
C)Second,Third,and Fourth
D)Fifth,Sixth,Seventh,and Eighth
E)Second and Eleventh
Answer: D
Q3) Under the Articles of Confederation,the central government was based entirely in Congress.
A)True
B)False Answer: True
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Chapter 3: Federalism and the Separation of Powers
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121 Verified Questions
121 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Morton Grodzins,a noted scholar of federalism,characterized the shift to post-New
Deal cooperative federalism as a move from
A)"unrestricted federalism" to "regulated federalism."
B)"regulated federalism" to "unrestricted federalism."
C)"regulated federalism" to "layer cake federalism."
D)"layer cake federalism" to "marble cake federalism."
E)"marble cake federalism" to "layer cake federalism."
Answer: D
Q2) Grant programs in which state and local governments submit proposals to federal agencies and for which funding is provided on a competitive basis are known as __________ grants.
A)contest
B)formula
C)project
D)community redevelopment
E)tax remuneration
Answer: C
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights
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151 Verified Questions
151 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Contrast the role of the courts in nationalizing the commerce clause with the role of the courts in nationalizing the Bill of Rights.
Q2) The free exercise clause of the First Amendment protects those who do not believe in God.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Prior to Lawrence v.Texas,some states criminalized homosexual behavior.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Which of the following outlawed discrimination by all private and public employers on the basis of race,religion,and sex (for those that employ more than fifteen workers)?
A)the Brown decision
B)the Milliken decision
C)Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act
D)Title IX of the 1960 Civil Rights Act
E)Title I of the 1957 Civil Rights Act
Q5) State legislatures currently have the authority to make homosexuality a crime.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 5: Congress: the First Branch
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114 Verified Questions
114 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Explain how the ambition of legislators influences congressional policy making.
Q2) The agency conception of representation works because of the ambition of politicians (as agents) and the capacity of constituents (as principals) to A)contribute significantly to campaign funds.
B)be aware of specific deals made by politicians on their behalf.
C)reward and punish on the basis of the legislator's performance and reputation.
D)acquiesce to legislative initiative that may counter citizens' immediate interests. E)become fully informed about policy debates before Congress.
Q3) The incumbency advantage makes it harder for women to increase their numbers in Congress.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Do members of Congress represent the wishes of their constituencies? Why or why not?
Q5) The president pro tempore is the most powerful member of the Senate.
A)True
B)False
Q6) How does Congress organize itself to carry on the public's business?
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Chapter 6: The Presidency
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123 Verified Questions
123 Flashcards
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Sample
Questions
Q1) Since it was established by law in 1947,some presidents have relied on an "inner cabinet" composed of the president;vice president;secretaries of state,defense,and treasury;and attorney general.What is this "inner cabinet" known as?
A)the kitchen cabinet
B)the Executive Office of the President
C)the Office of Management and Budget
D)the National Security Council
E)the Office of Legislative Affairs
Q2) Which of the following is one of the president's expressed powers?
A)suspend writ of free press
B)select candidates for Congress in his or her political party
C)nominate federal judges
D)declare war
E)raise taxes
Q3) A political strategy whereby the president makes the case to the people of the country that a certain policy needs to be enacted is known as "going public."
A)True
B)False
Q4) In what ways do presidents expand their power?
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Chapter 7: The Executive Branch
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114 Verified Questions
114 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which two agencies take center stage among agencies for external national security?
A)the State Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation
B)the State Department and the Department of Defense
C)the Department of Defense and the Federal Bureau of Investigation
D)the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security
E)the Department of State and the Department of International Affairs
Q2) What is a bureaucracy?
A)the place where bureaus are made
B)the loose network of presidential staffers and political consultants who sets the course of the nation
C)all the people who work for the government
D)the partnership between congressional committees,agencies,and organized interests
E)the complex structure of offices,tasks,rules,and principles of organization that are employed by all large-scale institutions to coordinate the work of their personnel
Q3) Do bureaucratic agencies make public policies,or do they simply implement executive orders and laws made by Congress? Explain your answer.
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Chapter 8: The Federal Courts
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118 Verified Questions
118 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) In 2002,Justice David Souter wrote a 34-page dissent that upheld the use of government-funded school vouchers to pay for parochial school tuition.Why might Supreme Court justices decide to write a long,dissenting opinion such as this one?
A)It might help justices clarify their arguments for a more knowledgeable public.
B)It might help them convince a swing justice to join their side on the next round of cases dealing with a similar topic.
C)It may help justices deal with any confusion they might have about the facts of a case.
D)It will allow justices to craft a superior legal argument.
E)Justices can ensure greater respect from their colleagues.
Q2) According to stare decisis,judges are significantly influenced by A)federal statutes.
B)the Constitution.
C)prior judicial decisions.
D)administrative rules and regulations.
E)the original intent of the documents they interpret.
Q3) In the United States,how do the courts work as political institutions?
Q4) Describe the process and politics surrounding the appointment of federal judges.
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Page 10
Chapter 9: Public Opinion and the Media
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107 Verified Questions
107 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is the most common form of communication between citizens and legislators?
A)telegram
B)telephone
C)office visit
D)e-mail
E)Snapchat
Q2) Per broadcast hour,radio stations usually devote how much time to coverage of the news?
A)5 minutes
B)11 minutes
C)17 minutes
D)25 minutes
E)55 minutes
Q3) The U.S.government shies away from trying to influence public opinion.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Individuals have many identities.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 10: Elections
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92 Verified Questions
92 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The wide use of elections is thought to keep government policy close to the preferences and interests of its constituents.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Some countries legally require their citizens to vote.
A)True
B)False
Q3) An electorate that is allowed to elect only one representative from each district is called a(n)
A)one-man show.
B)one-person,one-vote district.
C)single-member district.
D)equilateral district.
E)unirepresentational district.
Q4) Do elections promote accountability from political leaders? Why or why not?
Q5) In the United States,the proportion of eligible voters actually going to the polls was considerably smaller in the nineteenth century than it is today.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 11: Political Parties
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105 Verified Questions
105 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Third-party candidates often emerge to represent issues that were not given voice by the major parties.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which of the following is true about political party labels and parties' ability to simplify electoral choice in the general election?
A)Party labels tend to simplify choice in the general election among Republican voters but not voters who think of themselves as Democrat.
B)Party labels do not simplify choice among independents because Democrats and Republicans pursue similar policy goals.
C)Many independents do not derive value from the party labels.
D)Because government can never get anything done,most Americans do not attach themselves to any party label.
E)Though most Americans identify with one of the two major parties,party labels simplify choice among independent voters.
Q3) How do political parties help to shape and organize policy making at the national level?
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Chapter 12: Groups and Interests
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101 Verified Questions
101 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Many businesses bring lawsuits to influence government policy.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Interest groups work primarily by trying to get candidates elected.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following is a way in which interest groups may enhance democracy?
A)Interest groups provide life insurance.
B)Interest groups educate their members.
C)Interest groups rent office space in Washington,D.C.
D)Interest groups organize camping trips.
E)Interest group members may date each other.
Q4) The formation of many interest groups in the 1930s came about because of
A)the dramatic expansion of the national government.
B)a sharp uptick in the number of political entrepreneurs.
C)the leftist movement that gained hold during the Great Depression.
D)federal deregulation of interest-group formation.
E)the development of radio and broadcast media.
Q5) What challenges might prevent a latent group from organizing into a political group? How do effective interest groups solve these problems?
Page 14
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Chapter 13: Introduction to Public Policy
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131 Verified Questions
131 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Noncash goods and services provided to needy individuals and families by the federal government are called
A)virtual benefits.
B)in-kind benefits.
C)direct benefits.
D)commodity assortments.
E)product assortments.
Q2) What challenges does the current Social Security system face? How should these problems be addressed?
Q3) During the nineteenth century,the national government was a promoter of A)markets.
B)monopolies.
C)deregulation.
D)categorical grants-in-aid.
E)Keynesian policies.
Q4) Describe the government's role in creating the foundation for a market economy.
Q5) Up to now the Social Security system has never run a surplus. A)True
B)False
Q6) Why has the Affordable Care Act (or Obamacare) been controversial?
Page 15
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Chapter 14: Foreign Policy
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106 Verified Questions
106 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is a major bureaucratic actor in American foreign policy?
A)Department of State
B)Department of Veterans Affairs
C)Securities and Exchange Commission
D)Organization of American States
E)Environmental Protection Agency
Q2) The American program to aid in the reconstruction of war-torn Europe following World War II was the European Recovery Program,popularly known as the
A)MacArthur Mandate.
B)Roosevelt Plan.
C)MacArthur Plan.
D)Truman Doctrine.
E)Marshall Plan.
Q3) Is there a substitute for war?
Q4) What is the supreme body of the United Nations (UN)?
A)UN General Assembly
B)UN Peacekeeping Taskforce
C)UN Security Council
D)UN Charter Group
E)International House of Delegates
Page 16
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