AP U.S.

GOVERNMENT
UNIT 5 TEST
1. All of the following are commonly used by
interest groups to influence the political process 4. Which of the following best characterizes the
EXCEPT influence of the news media on public opinion in
the United States?
A. lobbying
B. contributing money to candidates A. they alter the public’s views on issues
C. nominating candidates B. they affect which issues the public
D. filing lawsuits thinks are important
E. appealing to public opinion C. they determine how citizens will vote
D. they are most able to influence people
2. with the highest level of education
E. they are most able to influence the
urban sectors of society
3. Which of the following factors best accounts
for the rise of interest groups and the decline of
political parties in recent years?

A. national parties have become too

closely identified with controversial
issues
B. court decisions have restricted the
political parties’ abilities to recruit new
members
C. it is less expensive to join an interest
group than to join a political party
D. interest groups have been more
successful in avoiding negative press
coverage than have political parties
E. interest groups are better able to
articulate specific policy positions than
are political parties
 AP U.S. GOVERNMENT
UNIT 5 TEST

5. The table above supports which of the following statements about partisanship and the 1984 presidential
election?

A. Democrats were more likely to vote their party identification than were Republicans
B. The number of strong Democrats was less than the number of strong Republicans
C. Independent Democrats and independent Republicans were the two groups most likely to vote for
candidates of the other party
D. Partisanship was a good predictor of the way a person voted
E. Independents were less likely to vote than were party identifiers

6.

7. The primary reason for the current existence of only two major political parties in the U.S. is that

A. the Constitution puts severe restrictions on other parties

B. third parties are usually far to the right or left, and Americans are moderates
C. a winner-take-all electoral system makes it difficult for new parties to emerge and survive
D. voters naturally think of themselves as either liberals or conservatives
E. presidential electors can vote for only two candidates

8. An interest group would likely have the greatest influence on policy matters involving

A. narrow issues, only a few interest groups, and technical information

B. broad, highly visible national issues
C. broad foreign policy issues
D. major constitutional questions about civil rights and liberties
E. areas in which members of Congress have considerable expertise and commitment

9.

10. Which of the following is the most important

influence on the choice made by voters in
presidential elections?
 AP U.S. GOVERNMENT
UNIT 5 TEST

A. partisan identification A. Parties increasingly identify themselves

B. party platform adopted at the national with coherent ideologies to attract large
convention blocs of voters
C. vice-presidential running mate B. The percentage of voters identifying
D. endorsement by political incumbents themselves as either Democrats or
E. appeal of the candidates spouses Republicans has been declining since
the 1970s
11. C. National party organizations are
generally the strongest party
12. Public monies are used to help finance which organizations
of the following campaigns? D. It is increasingly difficult for third
parties to gain more than two percent of
I. Presidential the popular vote
II. Congressional E. Most candidates prefer to run as
III. Gubernatorial independents rather than as Democrats
or Republicans
A. I only
B. II only 15.
C. I and II only
D. II and III only
E. I, II, and III

13. The largest amount of political coverage in

newspapers during presidential campaigns is
devoted to 16.

A. day-to-day campaign activities 17. One reason for the persistence of a two-party
B. the platforms of the major parties system in the U.S. is
C. candidates’ policy stands on domestic
issues A. the lack of divisive issues in the U.S.
D. candidates’ stands on foreign policy politics
issues B. the separation of powers
E. candidates’ experience and C. the single-member district electoral
qualifications system
D. the lack of a strong labor movement
14. Which of the following is the most accurate E. low voter turnout in most elections
statement about political parties in the United
States? 18.

19.

20. Which of the following describes a fundamental difference between political parties and interest
groups?
 AP U.S. GOVERNMENT
UNIT 5 TEST
A. political parties are prohibited from sponsoring campaign advertisements, and interest groups are
not
B. political parties represent broad arrays of issues, whereas interest groups are more likely to focus
on narrow sets of issues
C. political parties are more likely to focus on national politics, whereas interest groups focus on
local politics
D. political parties tend to have strength in particular regions, whereas the power of interest groups is
more consistent across states
E. political parties are required to disclose their campaign finance activities, whereas interest groups
are not

21.

22.
23. Which of the following is a result of the A. The election was formally decided in
electoral college system? the House of Representatives
B. The election was formally decided in
A. The winner of the presidency often the Senate
lacks a majority of the popular vote C. The winning candidate took office after
B. Candidates focus on one-party states in receiving less than 50% of the popular
which they can win the most of the votes cast
electoral votes D. The electoral college votes cast by
C. The House of Representatives independents were critical in
frequently chooses the President from determining the winner
the top three candidates E. The results of the popular voted
D. Candidates focus on the states with the necessitated a runoff
largest population
E. Campaign spending increases because
candidates emphasize television
advertising 26. Which of the following is generally true of
the gerrymandering of congressional districts?
24. Which of the following statements best
describes the organization of the two major A. It results in more Democrats being
political parties in the United States? elected to the House
B. It results in more Republicans being
A. parties have no organization except at elected to the House
the national level C. It guarantees that all minority parties
B. parties are centrally organized to will be equally represented
provide a smooth transition from one D. It creates districts that favor one
national campaign to the next political party over another
C. parties are organized much like a large E. It violates the principle of one-person,
corporation, in that decisions flow from one-vote
national to state and local levels
D. local and state parties have virtually no
power in the party system 27. Lobbyists try to influence legislators mainly
E. separate and large independent party through
organizations exist at national, state,
and local levels A. “wining and dining” legislators
B. Orchestrating petition drives and letter-
25. Which of the following took place after writing campaigns
presidential candidates Truman in 1948, Nixon C. Placing persuasive advertisements in
in 1968, and Clinton in 1992 won only pluralities the media
of the popular vote? D. Threatening to help the legislator’s
opponent in the next election
 AP U.S. GOVERNMENT
UNIT 5 TEST
E. Providing legislators with information 33. The concept of “critical elections” is most
on technical issues closely associated with

28. A. The electoral college process

B. Elections during wartime
C. The nomination process
D. Economic recession
E. Party realignment

34.
29.
35. Many scholars argue that categorical grants-
30. Which of the following is a provision of in-aid do which of the following?
federal election laws?
A. Give states far too much power over
A. A small fee must be paid by persons national monies
voting in federal elections B. Broaden state power beyond that
B. On-site registration to vote must be outlined in the Constitution
permitted on the day of any federal C. Strengthen the impact of the Tenth
election Amendment
C. Electoral districts must be apportioned D. Give new life to the idea of dual
to equalize the numbers of Democratic federalism
and Republican voters wherever a E. Weaken the power of state governors
historic imbalance exists and legislators
D. Citizens must be automatically
registered to vote on their eighteenth
birthday
E. In areas with significant populations of
linguistic minorities, voting materials
must be made available in the preferred
languages of the population

31. Of the following, the most important role in

the political socialization of children is played by

A. their peer groups

B. their places of worship
C. the family
D. the media
E. the school

36.
32. Which of the following is NOT a core value
of United States political culture? 37. The agenda-setting function of the media
refers to the power to
A. Legal equality
B. Political equality A. Endorse specific candidates for political
C. Economic equality office
D. Freedom of religion B. Favor the position of one interest group
E. Freedom of speech over another
 AP U.S. GOVERNMENT
UNIT 5 TEST
C. Counter the censorship activities of C. State adoption of direct primary
media watch groups elections
D. Mobilize economic interests in favor of D. The loss of party patronage power
a particular candidate E. The splitting of the two major parties
E. Decide which issues are important into a multiparty system
enough to bring public attention
42. Candidates for political office use public
38. One of the best strategies that interest groups opinion polls for all of the following purposes
can use to achieve their goals is EXCEPT to

A. Pressing for changes in high-profile A. Assess recognition of the candidate’s

public policies name
B. Lobbying members of Congress to B. Measure voters’ support for the
make small changes in existing policy candidate’s issues
C. Using the judiciary to invalidate federal C. Bring the opposition’s opinions into
legislation alignment with those of the candidate
D. Encouraging states to use their Tenth D. Fine-tune policy stands
Amendment rights and ignore federal E. Identify key issues among the voters
law
E. Running candidates for office

43. Which of the following situations best

illustrates the meaning of divided government in
39. All of the following are examples of a the United States political system?
linkage institution influencing the policy process
EXCEPT A. The majority of Supreme Court justices
are from one party, but the president is
A. The president delivering the State of the from another
Union speech B. The majority of governors are from one
B. The Sierra Club lobbying the party, but the president is from another
Environmental Protection Agency C. The president and a majority of
C. The outcome of a congressional election members of Congress are from one
D. An expose by the national media on the party, but the majority of governors are
housing crisis from another
E. The Republican Party pursuing a D. The majority of senators and the
balanced budget amendment majority of representatives are from one
party, by the president is from another
40. Since the 1960s, support for the Democratic E. The majority of Supreme Court justices
Party has declined the most among which of the are from one party, but the majority of
following groups? senators and representatives are from
another
A. Labor union members
B. Business leaders
C. African Americans
D. Native Americans
E. White southerners
44. The development and persistence of the two-
41. Which of the following is LEAST party system in the United States is best
characteristic of the history of political parties in accounted for by
the United States during the twentieth century?
A. The Twelfth Amendment
A. An increase in the number of organized B. Proportional representation
interest groups C. Multimember legislative districts
B. An increase in the influence of political D. Single-member legislative districts
action committee (PAC) money in E. Strong party loyalty of elected
congressional elections representatives
 AP U.S. GOVERNMENT
UNIT 5 TEST

45. The concept of realignment refers to changes

in

A. The United States system of

international alliances
B. The social bases of the parties’ voting
support
C. The media’s criticism of the president
and Congress
D. Spending priorities in the federal budget
E. The rate of voter participation
 AP U.S. GOVERNMENT
UNIT 5 TEST
1. C
2.
3. E
4. B
5. D
6.
7. C
8. A
9.
10. A
11.
12. A
13. A
14. B
15.
16.
17. C
18.
19.
20. B
21.
22.
23. D
24. E
25. C
26. D
27. E
28.
29.
30. E
31. C
32. C
33. E
34.
35. E
36.
37. E
38. B
39. A
40. E
41. E
42. C
43. D
44. D
45. B