AP Gov Practice Test 2

Which of the following is an accurate comparison of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate?

House of Representatives, Senate, Debate on bills is limited, Debate on bills can be unlimited. In the House of Representatives, debates are limited by time, while in the Senate there is no limit on debate.

Which of the following is true of an executive agreement made between a United States President and another head of state?

It does not require Senate approval, but may require congressional allocation of funds for implementation.

Which of the following best explains the principle of stare decisis?

It encourages judges to follow precedent when deciding cases.

Which of the following is an example of presidential use of informal powers?

President Bill Clinton advocating for public policy reform on his Health Security Express bus

Which of the following describes the ruling in Shaw v. Reno (1993) ?

Racial gerrymandering was ruled unconstitutional.

Which of the following statements accurately summarizes the reasoning for the decision in Baker v. Carr(1962) ?

The reasoning in Baker v. Carr was about how the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment applied to redistricting, allowing federal courts to intervene but not stipulating the characteristics of the districts themselves.

Which of the following best defines the term "judicial activism"?

The tendency of judges to interpret the Constitution according to their own views

All of the following serve as checks on the power of the federal courts EXCEPT:

The voters can oust federal judges in national elections.

f legislation passes in both the House of Representatives and the Senate but each version is slightly different, the conflicting bills are sent to

a conference committee for review and compromise

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service will spend money appropriated by Congress to maintain wildlife refuges. This action is an example of

bureaucratic implementation of law

The constitutional powers of the president include all of the following EXCEPT

declaring war

Those who believe that the Supreme Court in its rulings should defer to the elective institutions of government are advocating

judicial restraint

Supreme Court justices were given tenure subject to good behavior by the framers of the Constitution in order to ensure that

justices are free from direct political pressures

The framers of the Constitution designed which of the following to be LEAST responsive to public opinion?

the courts

Which of the following Supreme Court cases involved the principle of "one person, one vote"?

Baker v. Carr

A committee chair in the House of Representatives is always

a member of the majority party in the chamber

The United States Constitution says that Congress has the power to coin money. This is an example of

an enumerated power

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are examples of

independent agencies

All of the following have contributed to an increase in presidential power in the post-1945 era EXCEPT

legislation granting the President the power to impound funds appropriated by Congress

Congress adopted the War Powers Resolution to

limit the president's authority to commit troops overseas

The practice in Congress whereby Representative A promises to vote for Representative B's legislation, provided that Representative B will support Representative A's legislation, is referred to as

logrolling

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

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

Congressional legislative powers include all of the following EXCEPT

pardoning felons

The term "pork barrel" refers to legislation specifically designed to

provide funding for local projects that are intended to benefit constituents

The Supreme Court's power of judicial review permits the Court to overrule all of the following EXCEPT

the bill of rights

When a bill passes the House and the Senate in different versions, the bill is resolved by which of the following types of committee?

Conference

Which of the following is empowered to create new federal courts and specify the number of judges who will sit on them?

Congress

The President can do which of the following without seeking the consent of either the House or the Senate?

Deploy troops.

The Supreme Court's decision in Marbury v. Madison (1803) relates to foundational documents in which of the following ways?

The Federalist 78 is about the power and role of the federal courts, and in Marbury v. Madison, Madison expands that role by giving the courts the power to determine whether laws or executive actions conflict with the Constitution.

Which of the following scenarios best illustrates delegated discretionary authority?

The action that is described is a congressional action, not delegated discretionary authority. Delegated discretionary authority are actions that belong to the bureaucracy.

Which of the following is true of the seniority system of Congress in relation to committee leadership and committee staffing?

The chairs of congressional committees tend to be senior members of the body's majority party.

Which of the following is most likely an effect of the trend in the line graph?

The overall trend of fewer days of congressional hearings does not directly relate to the length of regulatory bills passed by Congress. The overall trend of fewer days of congressional hearings shown in the graph likely has resulted in a decrease in bureaucratic accountability.

Which of the following best describes gerrymandering?

The party in control of the state legislature draws district boundaries in such a way as to favor its own candidates in subsequent elections.

A fundamental source of power for the federal bureaucracy lies in its

ability to set specific guidelines after receiving a general mandate from Congress

The difference between an appellate court and a district court is that an appellate court

reviews previous court decisions

Which of the following committees of the House of Representatives sets the conditions for debate and amendment of most legislation?

rules

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

separation of powers

The boundary lines of congressional districts are drawn by

state legislatures

Fiscal policies refer to the government's power to

tax and spend