Civics Exam Practice Tests
Course Introduction
Civics is the study of the rights and responsibilities of citizens in a society, focusing on the structures, functions, and processes of government at the local, state, and national levels. The course explores foundational concepts such as democracy, rule of law, citizenship, and civil participation, as well as the roles of various institutions and individuals in shaping public policy and maintaining social order. Students will develop critical thinking skills to analyze contemporary civic issues, understand their societal impact, and participate effectively in civic life through informed decision-making and community engagement.
Recommended Textbook
Government By the People 2014 Elections and Updates Edition 25th Edition by David
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Page 2
B. Magleby
Chapter 1: Constitutional Democracy
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Sample Questions
Q1) Most delegates to the Constitutional Convention accepted the idea of __________.
A)state supremacy
B)direct democracy
C)republican government
D)executive hegemony
Answer: C
Q2) Which of the following is true in a balanced government?
A)No single interest dominates.
B)The president and Congress have no shared powers.
C)State governments can veto laws of the national government.
D)The people must approve constitutional amendments by popular vote.
Answer: A
Q3) Self-determination means that all individuals have the opportunity to realize their own goals.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q4) __________-the principle of the two-house legislature-reflected delegates' belief in the need for balanced government.
Answer: Bicameralism
3
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Chapter 2: Constitutional Foundations
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Sample Questions
Q1) Define judicial review,and explain its origins and development.
Answer: An ideal response will:
1.Describe judicial review as the power of the judiciary to decide whether laws and other governmental actions are constitutional.
2.Recognize that the Constitution does not explicitly reference the power of judicial review.
3.Explain that the power of judicial review was first asserted in Marbury v.Madison and gained legitimacy over time.
Q2) Which of the following is an example of an executive order?
A)President Obama's order raising the minimum wage of federal contractors
B)President Obama's proposal to reform health care policy
C)President Bush's order to send troops to Afghanistan
D)President Nixon's order to hold back funding for the Clean Water Act
Answer: A
Q3) __________ is a strong allegiance to one's own political party,often leading to unwillingness to compromise with members of the opposing party.
Answer: Partisanship
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Chapter 3: American Federalism
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is a power specifically denied the states by the Constitution?
A)conducting elections
B)maintaining a militia
C)providing for public health,safety,and morals
D)regulating interstate commerce
Answer: D
Q2) Which type of federalism is being practiced when a state is forced to operate a program without funding from the U.S.government?
A)new
B)cooperative
C)coercive
D)competitive
Answer: C
Q3) The most important purpose of national grants is to solve national problems while minimizing growth in national agencies.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Page 5
Chapter 4: The American Political Landscape
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Sample Questions
Q1) Define the gender gap and discuss how it has been a factor in electoral politics in the United States.
Q2) __________ are conservative Christians who have become an important force in the Republican Party and in some local governments.
A)Fundamentalists
B)Mormons
C)Baptists
D)Catholics
Q3) What is urbanization? When did it begin? Is it continuing?
Q4) Define race and ethnicity and provide examples of groups in your city or community that fit these definitions.
Q5) Compared to the white population,the African American population is much __________.
A)more geographically concentrated
B)more geographically dispersed
C)younger
D)older
Q6) More than half of the names of states in the United States are derived from __________ languages.
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Chapter 5: Interest Groups
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Q1) How is a Super PAC different from a PAC?
A)PACs operate on the state level,while Super PACs are involved in politics on a national scale.
B)Unlike PACs,Super PACs are allowed to endorse candidates.
C)Super PACs are formed when two or more PACs join together to raise funds for a particular candidate.
D)Unlike PACs,Super PACs may accept donations of any size.
Q2) Discuss the advantages of contributing to a political action committee (PAC)over making an individual contribution to a political candidate.
Q3) Discuss the technique of bundling and explain what purpose it serves.
Q4) By 1900,the __________,a confederation of unions representing craft workers,was the dominant labor union in the United States.
A)Congress of Industrial Organizations
B)International Brotherhood of Teamsters
C)American Federation of Labor
D)Change to Win Federation
Q5) Membership in labor unions has increased over the last several decades.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 6: Political Parties
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Sample Questions
Q1) The __________ is the site for the writing of the party platform every four years.
Q2) In between party conventions,the body in charge of the national party is the
A)national committee
B)campaign committee
C)national caucus
D)party in government
Q3) How do party committees typically allocate independent expenditures in campaigns?
A)They focus on a few competitive races.
B)They spend funds equally across races.
C)They focus on candidates who are behind in the polls.
D)They focus on reelecting incumbents.
Q4) For citizens in most states,"party" has a particular legal meaning.What is it?
A)party constitution
B)party government
C)party registration
D)party organization
Q5) What is divided government,and how prevalent is it in the United States?
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Chapter 7: Public Opinion, ideology, participation, and Voting
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Sample Questions
Q1) People tend to belong to the same political party as __________.
A)their parents
B)their peers
C)their neighbors
D)their close friends
Q2) The lowest rate of voter turnout is among __________.
A)Independent-leaning Democrats
B)Pure Independents
C)Independent-leaning Republicans
D)Libertarians
Q3) Why are latent opinions important?
A)These opinions help to explain low rates of political participation in the United States.
B)These opinions are highly salient and thus influence people's political attitudes and behaviors.
C)These opinions are formed early in life and comprise people's core values.
D)Politicians can make these opinions salient to voters and can use them to build public support for their policies.
Q4) Define salience.Using several examples from history,explain why it varies over time.
Page 9
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Chapter 8: Campaigns and Elections
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Q1) Which of the following could have a serious impact on whether a close presidential election could actually be decided on Election Day?
A)absentee voting
B)the number of candidates on a ballot
C)efforts to ensure that all counties in a state use the same voting technology
D)voter registration laws
Q2) Which of the following would be a likely disadvantage of regional primaries in the nomination of presidential candidates?
A)They would retain the current emphasis on money and media.
B)They would create an even more complicated nominating process.
C)They would put small states at a significant disadvantage in the nominating process.
D)They would likely lead to lower voter turnout in the primaries.
Q3) Competition in congressional elections is most likely when __________.
A)both candidates have adequate funding
B)Super PACS spend money on campaign advertising
C)both candidates accept federal matching funds
D)electoral districts have been subject to partisan gerrymandering
Q4) What is soft money,and how did the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act affect it?
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Page 10
Chapter 9: The Media and Uspolitics
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Sample Questions
Q1) Image making in politics has resulted in an increased number of what?
A)journalists
B)CEOs
C)political contributions
D)media consultants
Q2) U.S.public opinion is not influenced by the images and events covered by television.
A)True
B)False
Q3) What are two criticisms of mass media? Choose a political topic in the news today.Drawing on the coverage of the topic and what you've learned,are these criticisms justified,in your opinion?
Q4) What are three factors that limit media influence on public opinion? Focus on one or more of these factors and give an example of how they affected the media's influence on you.
Q5) More than any other invention,__________ has changed U.S.politics.
A)the printing press
B)Facebook
C)television
D)radio
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Chapter 10: Congress
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Sample Questions
Q1) Define gerrymandering and describe its origins.Use examples to explain how it works.
Q2) How is ideology in Congress measured?
A)by surveying members on their political views
B)by studying actual votes
C)by surveying voters in congressional districts
D)by studying transcripts of floor debates
Q3) Founder James Madison wrote,"to control the legislative authority,you must divide it." When it came to Congress,the Constitution did just that.Explain how the bicameral design of Congress works as a check on congressional power.Be sure to include terms of office,timing of elections,and age and residency requirements in your discussion.
Q4) The true leader of the Senate is the __________,elected by the majority party.
A)majority leader
B)president pro tempore
C)Senate chair
D)Speaker
Q5) The level of party-line voting is the lowest it's been in decades.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 11: The Presidency
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Sample Questions
Q1) What distinguishes modern presidents from early presidents?
A)Modern presidents are much more liberal than early presidents.
B)Modern presidents are much less active in the formulation of policy than early presidents.
C)Modern presidents are much more active in the formulation of policy than early presidents.
D)Modern presidents are much less prone to engage in international conflicts than early presidents.
Q2) The president can be defeated after serving one term and still return for a second term after a future election.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Congress can remove a president through __________.
A)override
B)executive order
C)impeachment
D)filibuster
Q4) The secretary of state is part of the president's __________.
Q5) The __________ scandal involved Richard Nixon invoking executive privilege.
Q6) What makes a great/successful president?
Page 13
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Chapter 12: The Federal Bureaucracy and the Public Policy Process
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is a redistributive policy?
A)an increase in defense spending to build more ships
B)an improvement program for national parks
C)an educational program for poor minority high school students
D)funding to build a new interstate highway
Q2) Presidential appointees in the federal bureaucracy __________.
A)may remain in office until there is a new party majority in Congress
B)generally leave their post at the end of the president's term in office
C)often remain in office despite political changes
D)serve fixed terms of office lasting two years
Q3) You are a federal employee who has recently learned that a newly hired staff member in your agency may have been chosen based on criteria other than qualifications for the position.What body should you take this information to?
A)the Department of Labor
B)the Merit Systems Protection Board
C)Congress
D)the Government Accountability Office
Q4) Under __________,jobs in the federal bureaucracy are awarded on the basis of skills and expertise.
Page 14
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Chapter 13: The Judiciary: the Balancing Branch
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Sample Questions
Q1) The president and the Senate often appoint justices whose decisions reflect their values.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Federal judges decide only __________ disputes,or disputes that grow out of actual cases or controversies that are capable of settlement by legal methods.
Q3) Which of the following is true of the philosophy of judicial restraint?
A)It is the favored approach of legal scholars.
B)It is the favored approach of conservatives.
C)It is the favored approach of liberals.
D)It has been advocated by both liberals and conservatives.
Q4) Under the Judiciary Act of 1789,the federal judiciary was divided into a three-tiered system that exists to this day.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Only the Supreme Court can review the decisions of state courts.
A)True
B)False
Q6) What are the opposing viewpoints regarding diversifying the federal judiciary?
Page 15
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Chapter 14: Civil Liberties
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which Supreme Court case applied the exclusionary rule to the states?
A)New York Times Co.v.Sullivan
B)Mapp v.Ohio
C)Wolf v.Colorado
D)Gideon v.Wainwright
Q2) Miranda rights include the right to which of the following?
A)due process
B)a jury trial
C)freedom from search and seizure
D)counsel
Q3) One prong of the __________ test is that the law has a legitimate secular purpose.
Q4) Under the bad tendency test,which of the following would be prohibited?
A)withholding of information from grand juries
B)speech advocating the use of illegal drugs
C)published defamation or false statements
D)government entanglement with religion
Q5) Why does the plight of the Guantanamo detainees raise concerns about civil liberties?
Q6) Compare the different tests the courts use when assessing free speech rights.
Page 16
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Chapter 15: Civil Rights
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Sample Questions
Q1) How do the rational basis and the quasi-suspect or heightened scrutiny standards of review differ?
A)The rational basis standard requires an important governmental objective for classification;the quasi-suspect standard requires a compelling governmental interest.
B)The rational basis standard applies only to racial classifications;the quasi-suspect standard applies to age and sexual orientation classifications.
C)The quasi-suspect standard of review is applied to a broader array of classifications than the rational basis standard.
D)It is easier for the government to demonstrate that there is a rational basis for a law than to meet the requirements of the quasi-suspect standard.
Q2) The case of Fisher v.Texas concerned which of the following?
A)the use of race as a factor in college admissions
B)sexual harassment in the workplace
C)same-sex marriage
D)accessibility of facilities to people with disabilities
Q3) In 1964,Congress passed the __________ to help keep the promise of the Fourteenth Amendment.
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Chapter 16: Making Economic Policy
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Sample Questions
Q1) The size of the national debt is __________.
A)declining
B)rising
C)marginal
D)unchanged
Q2) What is the purpose of deregulation in the American political economy?
A)Deregulation seeks to increase the political power of labor unions.
B)Deregulation seeks to increase the power of large economic monopolies.
C)Deregulation seeks to remove inefficient barriers in the collection of taxes.
D)Deregulation seeks to remove inefficient barriers to productivity and growth.
Q3) What portion of the federal government is responsible for monetary policy,and how does it affect the economy?
Q4) U.S.monetary policy involves which of the following?
A)import and export policies
B)interest rates and the money supply
C)supply-side economics
D)the national debt and the budget deficit
Q5) What is the difference between budget deficits and the national debt?
Q6) What are the proposed benefits of deregulation,and who in general supports this position?
Page 18
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Chapter 17: Making Social Policy
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following group of Americans has a larger proportion of people within that group living in poverty than do other groups?
A)whites
B)African Americans and Hispanics
C)Cubans and Puerto Ricans
D)Asians
Q2) President Lyndon Johnson avoided addressing problems of poverty.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following is most accurate regarding the future of Medicare?
A)Medicare will likely need adjustments to meet future demands.
B)The Medicare trust fund is expected to run out of money by 2016.
C)Medicare is expected to be financially stable for the next 50 years.
D)Medicare will be replaced by a private investment program beginning in 2015.
Q4) The food stamp program began during what event or period?
A)the Great Society
B)World War II
C)the Great Depression
D)the Vietnam War
Q5) The federal government enforces its laws primarily through the __________.
Page 19
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Chapter 18: Making Foreign and Defense Policy
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Q1) Given the changing nature of war,which of the following changes to defense policy would best prepare the United States for future conflict?
A)The military should increase the numbers of armed forces personnel and weaponry,since terrorism focuses on military targets and future wars will bring far more casualties and destruction to the military.
B)The military should reduce the number of armed services personnel but increase the number of stealth bomber and fighter pilots,since less face-to-face combat will be required in future wars.
C)The military should increase defense spending to build a stronger arsenal of nuclear weapons,since nuclear war will be inevitable.
D)The military should reduce the number of armed forces personnel and weaponry,given that armed conflict is becoming less of a threat in the twenty-first century.
Q2) Compare and contrast hard power and soft power.Give an example of each.
Q3) The president does not have absolute authority to act on foreign and defense policy matters,even in troubled times.
A)True
B)False
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