AP Gov MC Set #1
20 questions, aim for 29 minutes
1.Where do people obtain most of their political values from
the most?
a)teachers
b)family
c)media
d)friends
2.While voting, you go down the ballot and vote for everyone
in your political party. This is called:
a)retrospective voting
b)prospective voting
c)straight-ticket voting
d)party preferred voting
3.In a public opinion poll, surveyors asked a representative
sample a question to help with their study. Which of these
questions would lead to a skewed response?
a)should the government focus more on reducing or
increasing taxes for the wealthy?
b)do you support increasing military spending?
c)do you agree that the government should prioritize
forgiving student loan debt to relieve financial
pressure on recent graduates burdened by loans?
d)should the government invest more in infrastructure
development?
4.Your senator only uses her own judgment to vote on bills,
which is most similar to which model of representation:
a)delegate
b)trustee
c)politico
d)discretionary
5.The War Powers Act is an example of:
a)a court curbing measure
b)judicial activism
c)judicial restraint
d)checks and balances
6.Which of the following is an accurate comparison between
the Congress and President?
Congress President
a) approves introduces
Presidential legislation to
legislation Congress
b) nominates federal confirms
judges nomination of
federal judges
c) impeaches and signs or vetoes
removes president bills passed by
Congress
d) does an annual passes a federal
state of the union budget
address
7.Which of the following is an accurate comparison between
the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution?
AOC Constitution
a) established a established a weak
strong central central government
government
b) supported by supported by
federalists anti-federalists
c) could not be can be amended
amended
d) did not have had judicial
judicial branch branch
8.Which of the following would fall under precedent of the
SCOTUS case Wisconsin v. Yoder?
a)a student in Louisiana withdrew from school in high
school for religious reasons
b)a student wore a shirt at school to protest against a
law that Congress just passed
c)a student writes a newspaper article on a teacher that
was grading unfairly
d)a student shares an angry message on social media
about their coach when they don’t make a sports team
Questions 9-11 refer to the passage below:
There is an idea, which is not without its advocates, that a
vigorous Executive is inconsistent with the genius of republican
government. The enlightened wellwishers to this species of
government must at least hope that the supposition is
destitute of foundation; since they can never admit its truth,
without at the same time admitting the condemnation of their own
principles. Energy in the Executive is a leading character in
the definition of good government. It is essential to the
protection of the community against foreign attacks; it is not
less essential to the steady administration of the laws; to the
protection of property against those irregular and high-handed
combinations which sometimes interrupt the ordinary course of
justice; to the security of liberty against the enterprises and
assaults of ambition, of faction, and of anarchy.
- Alexander Hamilton, Federalist 70
9.Which of the following arguments is most consistent with
the passage?
a)a weak Executive is necessary to maintain the balance
of power within a republican government
b) an energetic and sole Executive is crucial for
ensuring the protection of the community from both foreign
and domestic threats
c) a powerful Executive undermines the principles of
good government and leads to tyranny and oppression.
d) there is no need for a single Executive because it is
inconsistent with the principles of republican government
10. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage as
a reason for the necessity of an energetic Executive?
a)protection against foreign attacks
b)protection of property rights
c)protection against economic decline
d)protection against factions
11. An example today of an Executive embodying the principles
described by Hamilton in Federalist 70 is:
a)the president signs a bill into law, expanding access
to healthcare for citizens
b)the president enacts policies that only benefit
corporations and ignores the public’s frustrations
c)the president makes their annual State of the Union
address
d)the president calling for military action to defend
against terrorist threats
12. You join the Sierra Club to fight for environmental
policies. You go to Congress to advocate for legislation
involving your environmental concerns. This is called:
a)lobbying
b)electioneering
c)agenda-setting
d)political socialization
13. Which of the following could the executive branch do to
limit the power of the judicial branch?
a)decrease funding of the judicial branch
b)passing a law to limit their power
c)add more justices to the supreme court
d)decide not to enforce their rulings
“I deny, therefore, that it has been the "unmistakable holding
of this Court for almost 50 years" that "students" and
"teachers" take with them into the "schoolhouse gate"
constitutional rights to "freedom of speech or expression." Even
Meyer did not hold that. It makes no reference to "symbolic
speech" at all.”
- Justice Black
14. This is most likely the dissent for which SCOTUS case?
a)Tinker v. Des Moines
b)Schenck v. US
c)Wisconsin v. Yoder
d)Citizens United v. FEC
15. Ernesto Miranda was arrested for a crime, and confessed
to the police without being informed of his rights against
self-incrimination and right to legal counsel. The Supreme
Court ruled that the Fifth Amendment's protection against
self-incrimination requires law enforcement to inform
suspects of their rights before custodial interrogation.
These rights became known as "Miranda rights". “Miranda
rights” are a type of:
a)exclusionary rights
b)due process rights
c)19th amendment rights
d)property rights
16. In 2013, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas did a 21 hour long
speech on the Senate floor in order to keep the Senate from
restoring funding on Obamacare. This tactic is known as:
a)cloture
b)hold
c)discharge petition
d)filibuster
17. Why is the 17th amendment significant?
a)gave voters more direct influence over who represents
them in the Senate
b)gave women more political rights
c)banned poll taxes, therefore creating more equity in
voting
d)it involves one of the due process rights
18. Despite winning the popular vote, Hillary Clinton still
lost the election to Donald Trump in 2016. This is because:
a)Trump had more electoral college votes than Clinton
b)there was a low voter turnout
c)Trump benefited from more donations from PACs
d)Clinton campaigned too much in swing states
Use this information for questions 19-20:
“President Richard Nixon agreed to a national speed limit of 55
mph for all states in 1974. After this law went into effect,
America saw its traffic fatality rate drop from 4.28 per million
miles traveled in 1972 to 2.73 in 1983.
However, the availability of fuel and the cost of fuel became
less of an issue in the 1980s, and the national maximum speed
limit on interstates was increased to 65 mph.
Since the days of the early automobile, there has been a debate
about the freedom versus regulation in regards to speed limits.
Some states, such as Montana and Nevada, have historically
opposed restrictive speed limit laws and imposed minimal fines
for noncompliance.
In 1995, the U.S. Congress handed speed limit laws back over to
the individual states and allowed each state to decide its
maximum speed to drive. Since then, 35 states increased their
limits to 70 mph or higher.”
Excerpt from The American Safety Council
19. This passage is most closely related to which concept:
a)checks and balances
b)judicial review
c)federalism
d)separation of powers
20. If the federal government is concerned about the lack of
uniformity in speed limits across states, which of the
following is the BEST way the federal government could
influence states to adopt a national maximum speed limit?
a)launch a public awareness campaign about driving
safety
b)attaching a national minimum speed limit as a
condition for receiving federal highway funds
c)appointing officials who favor national speed limits
to key positions in state governments
d)requiring states to conduct annual studies on the
safety impacts of their speed limits
