Question 1

Which of the following is the most likely consequence of divided government?

Accepted Answer

Delays in the confirmation of federal court nominees

Answer

Elimination of the seniority rule in Congress

Answer

Conflicts between national government and the states

Answer

Reorganization of the federal bureaucracy

Question 2

Which of the following is an example of congressional oversight?

Accepted Answer

Holding hearings for review of an executive agency's activities

Answer

Reporting campaign contributions to the Federal Election Commission

Answer

Conducting Ethics investigations of congressional leadership

Answer

Assisting constituents with particular problems

Question 3

The voting patterns of members of Congress correlate most strongly with

Accepted Answer

their party affiliation

Answer

the population density of their districts

Answer

their education level

Answer

the location of their districts

Question 4

The Constitution and its amendments expressly prohibit all of the following EXCEPT

Accepted Answer

sex discrimination in employment

Answer

double jeopardy

Answer

cruel and unusual punishment

Answer

unreasonable searches and seizures

Question 5

Which of the following statements about gerrymandering is true?

Accepted Answer

It can be used by a political party to draw boundary lines to control as many districts as possible

Answer

It was used traditionally to maintain urban control of the House of Representatives

Answer

It guarantees greater constituency control over elected representatives

Answer

It has been severely limited by Supreme Court decisions beginning with Baker v Carr.

Question 6

All of the following are true about the relationship between regulatory agencies and the industries they regulate EXCEPT

Accepted Answer

Agencies usually make decisions without consulting the regulated industry

Answer

Agency employees are often recruited from the regulated industry and employed by the regulated industry once they leave the agency

Answer

Agencies often rely on support from regulated industries in making budget requests before Congress

Answer

An agency's relationship with a regulated industry may change when a new president takes office

Question 7

The Americans with Disabilities Act, which provides protections for people with a wide range of physical, mental and emotional needs, is an example of

Accepted Answer

a federal mandate

Answer

state supremacy

Answer

dual federalism

Answer

affirmative action

Question 8

When independent regulatory agencies make rules, enforce those rules, and adjudicate disputes arising under those rules, they risk violating the constitutional concept of

Accepted Answer

separation of powers

Answer

checks and balances

Answer

due process of the law

Answer

federalism

Question 9

In Brown v Board of Education, the Supreme Court established which of the following principles?

Accepted Answer

Separation by race, even in equally good schools, is unconstitutional

Answer

A moment of silent prayer at the beginning of the school day is allowable under the First Amendment

Answer

Tuition for private schools cannot be tax deductible

Answer

A school official can search a student for drugs

Question 10

Which of the following statements best describes the organization of the two major political parties in the United States?

Accepted Answer

Separate and largely independent party organizations exist at national, state and local levels

Answer

Parties are organized much like a large corporation, in that decisions flow from national to state to local levels

Answer

Parties have no organization except at the national level

Answer

Parties are centrally organized to provide a smooth transition from one national campaign to the next.

Question 11

All of the following were concerns with the Articles of Confederation that led to the calling of the Constitutional Convention EXCEPT

Accepted Answer

dissatisfaction over safeguards of individual rights and liberties

Answer

fear for the stability of the central government

Answer

dissatisfaction with the central government's ability to provide for national defense

Answer

desire to promote trade among states

Question 12

A member of the House of Representatives who wishes to be influence in the House itself would most likely seek a place on which of the following committees?

Accepted Answer

Rules

Answer

Agriculture

Answer

Veterans Affairs

Answer

International Relations

Question 13

The primary election system of selecting presidential candidates has had which of the following effects?

Accepted Answer

It has loosened the hold of party leader over the nomination process

Answer

It has led to the decline in the importance of party voter-registration drives

Answer

It has increased the importance of state party organizations

Answer

It has lowered the cost of running for office

Question 14

Considering all elections at all levels of government, which of the following best describes electoral behavior in the United States

Accepted Answer

The majority of the electorate does not vote in most elections

Answer

Adult citizens under the age of 30 tend to have the highest rate of voter turnout

Answer

Voters with strong party identification vote less regularly than do independents

Answer

Primary elections tend to elicit higher voter turnout than do general elections

Question 15

In the United States, which of the following is a rule on voting found in the Constitution or its Amendments?

Accepted Answer

No person eighteen years of age or older may be denies the right to vote on account of age

Answer

No person may be denied the right to vote merely for lack of either state or federal citizenship

Answer

A state may require a person to pay a poll tax

Answer

No person may be denied the right to vote merely because he or she has previously served a prison sentence

Question 16

Which of the following describes a fundamental difference between political parties and interest groups?

Accepted Answer

Political parties represent a broad array of issues, whereas interest groups are more likely to focus on narrow sets of issues

Answer

Political parties are more likely to focus on national politics, whereas interest groups focus on local politics

Answer

Political parties are prohibited from sponsoring campaign advertisements and interest groups are not

Answer

Political parties are required to disclose their campaign finance activities where as interest groups are not

Question 17

In the process  and structure of public policymaking, "iron triangles" refer to the

Accepted Answer

networks of congressional committees, bureaucratic agencies, and interest groups that strongly influence the policy process

Answer

interrelationship among federal, state and local levels of government in the policy process

Answer

dominance of corporate power in setting the national policy agenda for economic expansion

Answer

group of presidential advisers who formulate the President's foreign policy agenda

Question 18

Which of the following is argued by James Madison in the Federalist paper number 10?

Accepted Answer

a system of republican representation helps limit the excesses of factionalism

Answer

small republics are better able to ensure individual liberty than are large republics

Answer

participatory democracy is the surest way to prevent tyranny

Answer

the elimination of the causes of factionalism is the best protection against tyranny

Question 19

Which of the following is true of amicus curiae briefs?

Accepted Answer

they are used by interest groups to lobby courts

Answer

they are used exclusively by liberal interest groups

Answer

they are used exclusively by conservative interest groups

Answer

they are the means by which a litigant seeks Supreme Court review of a lower court decision

Question 20

Federal spending for which of the following is determined by laws that lie outside the regular budgetary process?

Accepted Answer

Entitlement programs such as Social Security

Answer

educational assistance such as student loans

Answer

military procurement

Answer

regulatory agency funding

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