Introduction to Political Science
Mock Exam
Course Introduction
Introduction to Political Science explores the fundamental concepts, theories, and structures that define political systems both historically and in the contemporary world. Students will examine the nature of political authority, the functions of governments, democratic and non-democratic systems, political ideologies, electoral systems, and public policy processes. The course encourages critical thinking about power distribution, citizen participation, human rights, and the impact of political decisions on society, providing a foundational understanding essential for further studies in political science and related disciplines.
Recommended Textbook
American Politics Today Essentials 5th Edition by William T. Bianco
Available Study Resources on Quizplus
11 Chapters
952 Verified Questions
952 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/study-set/2462
Page 2
Chapter 1: Understanding American Politics
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
71 Verified Questions
71 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/48893
Sample Questions
Q1) Which one of the following is an important issue to values voters?
A)the growing gap between the rich and the poor
B)the teaching of evolution in public schools
C)improving health care for seniors by strengthening Medicare
D)protecting collective-bargaining rights for teachers, police, and firefighters
Answer: B
Q2) ________ said that life in the "state of nature" would be "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."
A)James Madison
B)George Washington
C)Thomas Hobbes
D)King George III
Answer: C
Q3) To the founders of the American republic,
A)equality was the central principle of government.
B)commerce was the central principle of government.
C)liberty was the central principle of government.
D)all people should own the same amount of property.
Answer: C
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Page 3
Chapter 2: The Constitution and the Founding
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
88 Verified Questions
88 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/48894
Sample Questions
Q1) The Three-Fifths Compromise referred to
A)giving states with small populations three-fifths of the number of representatives as large-population states.
B)allowing three slave states into the Union for every five nonslave states allowed to enter.
C)counting large states as equal to small states in the Senate but not the House.
D)counting slaves as three-fifths of a person when determining a state's population.
Answer: D
Q2) Which one of the following addressed Antifederalist concerns about the absence of limits on national governing power?
A)Three-Fifths Compromise
B)separation of powers
C)Ninth Amendment
D)Tenth Amendment
Answer: D
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
4
Chapter 3: Federalism
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
91 Verified Questions
91 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/48895
Sample Questions
Q1) Thomas Jefferson was an advocate of the doctrine of states' rights.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) ________ espoused the doctrine of states' rights in the early years of the republic.
A)Thomas Jefferson
B)John Adams
C)Alexander Hamilton
D)George Washington
Answer: A
Q3) The Seventeenth Amendment gave women the right to vote.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q4) The United Nations is an example of a confederation.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Page 5
Chapter 4: Civil Liberties
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
82 Verified Questions
82 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/48896
Sample Questions
Q1) Have all gun tragedies led to more gun control legislation in U.S.history? Be sure to use specific examples by way of response.
Q2) Speech that is offensive or abusive, particularly in terms of race, gender, or sexual orientation, is called
A)symbolic speech.
B)hate speech.
C)slanderous speech.
D)expressive speech.
Q3) The Miller test is a set of rules for determining whether
A)something is obscene.
B)the government can prevent the press from publishing something.
C)Congress can regulate speech about the U.S.government.
D)a public figure has been slandered.
Q4) Why was Gitlow v.New York (1925) such an important case?
Q5) The Pentagon Papers case balanced what two considerations?
A)freedom of the press and national security
B)content-neutrality standards and national security
C)the public's right to know and content-neutrality standards
D)freedom of the press and the public's right to know
Q6) What is the clear and present danger test and who created it?
Page 6
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 5: Civil Rights
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
85 Verified Questions
85 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/48897
Sample Questions
Q1) According to the Supreme Court ruling in 1971, employment tests NOT related to job performance are a violation of
A)the commerce clause.
B)the supremacy clause.
C)the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
D)the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
Q2) Because of laws passed during the past 50 years, there are almost no differences between the objective conditions of racial minorities and whites.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Poverty
A)is distributed equally in the United States.
B)is concentrated in Caucasian America.
C)is concentrated in areas where the minority population is the highest.
D)has largely been eradicated in the United States.
Q4) What are the three landmark civil rights laws passed by Congress in the 1960s and what protections were provided for Americans in each law?
Q5) What is the Americans with Disabilities Act and why is it important?
Q6) What is the rational basis test and why is it important?
Page 7
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 10: Congress
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
90 Verified Questions
90 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/48898
Sample Questions
Q1) Differentiate between closed, open, and modified rules in the legislative process.
Q2) In the 2010 midterm elections,
A)the Democrats picked up seats in both chambers of Congress.
B)the Republicans made the largest gains in the U.S.House of Representatives since 1948.
C)a majority of incumbents in the U.S.House of Representatives were defeated for reelection.
D)the Democrats had historic gains in the U.S.Senate going back to 1966.
Q3) The term substantive representation refers to ________, while the term descriptive representation refers to ________.
A)representing constituents from a distance; having a mandate directly from voters
B)shared traits between members and constituents; members serving constituent interests
C)members serving constituent interests; shared traits between members and constituents
D)having a mandate directly from voters; representing constituents from a distance
Q4) What is logrolling in the U.S.Congress?
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 11: The Presidency
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
88 Verified Questions
88 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/48899
Sample Questions
Q1) What does the vesting clause in the Constitution stipulate?
A)The most powerful branch of government is vested in the executive branch.
B)The president is the head of government and head of state.
C)The president's actions are limited to what is explicitly outlined in the Constitution.
D)The president can dissolve the Congress in the event of a crisis.
Q2) Members of Congress often resist taking action to limit presidential power because A)taking such action would be declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court justices. B)it would create a constitutional crisis if the president ignored the limits.
C)they understand that taking such action would be harmful to the efficient functioning of the federal government.
D)colleagues from the president's party may want the president to have the authority because they hold similar policy objectives.
Q3) Presidents are NOT in a very good position to communicate with the American people.
A)True
B)False
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
9
Chapter 12: The Bureaucracy
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
90 Verified Questions
90 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/48900
Sample Questions
Q1) The main difference between fire alarm oversight and police patrol oversight is whether a legislator actively monitors a bureaucracy or simply responds to problems.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which one of the following events occurred during the presidency of George W.Bush?
A)less prescription drug benefits for seniors
B)increased federal control over local school districts
C)less financial reporting requirements for corporations
D)passage of the Affordable Care Act
Q3) The federal civil service was created by
A)the Reagan Revolution.
B)Andrew Jackson's reforms.
C)the New Deal.
D)the Pendleton Act.
Q4) What is red tape?
Q5) How can members of Congress or the president correct bureaucratic drift?
Q6) What is the Senior Executive Service (SES)?
Q7) Why are bureaucrats attentive to pressures from elected officials?
Page 10
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 13: The Courts
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
86 Verified Questions
86 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/48901
Sample Questions
Q1) Although appeals courts are between the district courts and the Supreme Court, in actuality it is in the appeals courts where the final decision is rendered in most federal appellate cases.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Most proponents of strict constructionism argue that if the text of the Constitution is ambiguous, then a judge should
A)use his or her best judgment to make a ruling that seems fair and just.
B)take into account evolving national attitudes and circumstances.
C)side with the defendant because of insufficient information.
D)figure out what the words generally meant to people at the time they were written.
Q3) Common law is a system by which a court
A)ensures that both parties to a case have lawyers and share evidence.
B)makes legal decisions on the basis of earlier decisions by other courts.
C)provides a detailed codification of the law.
D)hears special cases involving enemy combatants and matters related to national security.
Q4) What is senatorial courtesy and why is it important?
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Page 11
Chapter 14: Economic and Social Policy
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
95 Verified Questions
95 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/48902
Sample Questions
Q1) What can be concluded from reading this passage?
A)The controversy over grazing rights and environmental policy in the Western United States has been resolved.
B)Ranchers tend to forge alliances with the activist environmental groups in the United States.
C)Free market environmentalism may be a way to forge a working compromise between those espousing grazing rights versus those who advocate for environmental protection.
D)It is likely that federal officials will give back millions of acres to the states to sell to their citizens.
Q2) Defining a problem as an issue that requires the federal government's attention is the second stage of the policy-making process.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Social Security is the least popular social program in the United States.
A)True
B)False
Q4) What do we know about the elderly and poverty over the last three generations?
Q5) How does regulation impact the economy?
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 12
Chapter 15: Foreign Policy
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
86 Verified Questions
86 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/48903
Sample Questions
Q1) Trace the evolution of foreign policy in U.S.history.
Q2) What is the difference between Gross Domestic Product and Gross National Income? Explain.
Q3) The U.S.economy relies heavily on trade with other nations.What is a negative consequence of this?
A)It usually leads to increased taxes and regulation on businesses.
B)It slows the flow of capital because investments are less secure and more volatile in the global market.
C)It can lead to consumers paying higher prices for goods because of higher labor costs.
D)It becomes more difficult to shield the U.S.economy from the effects of another nation's hard times.
Q4) The rise of internationalism as a guiding principle in U.S.foreign policy can be evidenced in U.S.efforts to create the United Nations in 1945.
A)True
B)False
Q5) What are the various tools that are available when it comes to making U.S.foreign policy? Explain.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 13