Political Science 101
Mock Exam
Course Introduction
Political Science 101 provides an introduction to the fundamental concepts, theories, and institutions that shape political systems and governance. The course explores the foundations of political thought, the structure and function of government, the role of citizens, political parties, and interest groups, as well as key issues in domestic and international politics. Students will analyze the processes by which policies are formed and implemented, compare different governmental systems, and critically assess the impact of politics on society. The course aims to develop students analytical skills and foster an informed and active approach to political participation.
Recommended Textbook
We the People 11th Essentials Edition by Benjamin Ginsberg
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14 Chapters
1101 Verified Questions
1101 Flashcards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Introduction: the Citizen and Government
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73 Verified Questions
73 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) What do Americans expect from the government? Which of the following is a service or a program people expect the government to provide?
A) national security
B) primary education
C) a safe food supply
D) all of these are correct
Answer: D
Q2) Immigrants from Asian countries were
A) allowed to enter the country in unlimited numbers by a 1924 Supreme Court decision.
B) not mentioned in any federal law prior to 1973.
C) strongly recruited to the United States by the federal government between 1882 and 1943.
D) largely prohibited from entering the United States prior to the 1940s.
Answer: D
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Chapter 2: The Founding and the Constitution
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102 Verified Questions
102 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which statement about amendments to the Constitution is most accurate?
A) No amendment to the Constitution has ever been successfully repealed.
B) One amendment to the Constitution has been successfully repealed.
C) Five amendments to the Constitution have been successfully repealed.
D) Congress has officially proposed 29 amendments throughout American history and 27 have been added to the Constitution.
Answer: B
Q2) In order for the Constitution to be formally adopted, ____ of the ____ states in the Union had to agree to its terms.
A) 7; 13
B) 9; 13
C) 13; 13
D) 34; 50
Answer: B
Q3) According to Article II of the U.S. Constitution, the president has the power to
A) officially recognize other nations.
B) overrule federal judges.
C) regulate commerce in the states.
D) convene Congress in special session.
Answer: A
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Chapter 3: Federalism
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94 Verified Questions
94 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following statements best summarizes President Herbert Hoover's views on federal action during the Great Depression?
A) It was the federal government's responsibility to alleviate the misery caused by the depression and Congress should finance public works projects to put people back to work.
B) The federal government was directly responsible for causing the Great Depression and should, therefore, pay reparations to state governments.
C) State governments were directly responsible for causing the Great Depression and should, therefore, pay reparations to the federal government.
D) The federal government could do little to alleviate the misery caused by the depression and state and local governments should be responsible for responding to the crisis.
Answer: D
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Chapter 4: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights
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131 Verified Questions
131 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The text of the Fourteenth Amendment says
A) "the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."
B) "no person shall . . . be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb."
C) "no soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law."
D) "nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
Q2) The DREAM Act would
A) provide federal scholarships and student loans for all undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as young children.
B) provide a route to permanent residency for undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as young children via military service or college attendance.
C) prohibit undocumented immigrants from receiving benefits from any federal government education program.
D) increase the number of student visas available to foreigners by 50 percent.
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6
Chapter 5: Public Opinion
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59 Verified Questions
59 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Research into public opinion and public policy has shown that
A) every citizen has an equally strong influence over politics and public policy decisions.
B) more affluent and more educated citizens have a disproportionate influence over politics and public policy decisions.
C) less affluent and less educated citizens have a disproportionate influence over politics and public policy decisions.
D) nonvoters have a disproportionate influence over politics and public policy decisions.
Q2) Some contend that while Americans may be divided by ideology or opinion, they are united by fundamental political values. Describe these core values and discuss a specific example of how their practical interpretations might conflict.
Q3) ________ generally support abortion rights and oppose state involvement with religious institutions.
A) Liberals
B) Conservatives
C) Socialists
D) Internationalists
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Chapter 6: The Media
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51 Verified Questions
51 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Journalists exhibit selection biases in favor of news stories they view as
A) favorable to leaders and issues they support.
B) having a great deal of dramatic or entertainment value.
C) sympathetic to the government as a whole.
D) critical of leaders and issues they oppose.
Q2) What is "niche journalism"?
A) news reporting targeted for a demographic of readers based on content or ideological presentation
B) journalism that is uncritical of government officials and the status quo
C) journalism that is highly critical of government officials and the status quo
D) any political reporting that can only be found online
Q3) The First Amendment assigns a special role for the media by providing for freedom of speech and a free press. What are the responsibilities of the media in a democratic society? What are some of the challenges the American media faces in fulfilling its democratic responsibilities? How have government actions helped or hurt the media's ability to fulfill its democratic responsibilities in the last 50 years?
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Chapter 7: Political Parties, Participation, and Elections
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101 Verified Questions
101 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) A proposed law or policy change that is placed on the ballot by citizens or interest groups for a popular vote is called a
A) ballot initiative.
B) grassroots amendment.
C) people's compact.
D) popular directive.
Q2) Throughout its history, American politics has been dominated by ________ major political party/parties.
A) one
B) two
C) three
D) four
Q3) As a third-party candidate, Ross Perot captured approximately ________ percent of the popular vote in the 1992 presidential election.
A) 10
B) 20
C) 30
D) 40
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9
Chapter 8: Interest Groups
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75 Verified Questions
75 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Why is it important for interest groups to offer selective benefits?
A) It is necessary to limit the extent of the free-rider problem.
B) If they do not, people will join political parties instead.
C) Selective benefits are the only way to measure the success of an interest group.
D) If they do not, people will accuse the groups of being antidemocratic.
Q2) How do interest groups use litigation as a strategy of influence?
A) They file amicus curiae briefs, finance lawsuits, and bring a suit on behalf of the group.
B) They directly lobby judges, use direct-mail solicitations, and make campaign contributions to members of Congress.
C) They engage in institutional advertising, activate issue networks, and directly lobby judges.
D) They work with 527 committees, directly lobby judges, and engage in institutional advertising.
Q3) Describe some of the different strategies that interest groups use to gain influence on public policy. In your answer, be sure to give specific examples of each of the strategies you discuss.
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Chapter 9: Congress
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75 Verified Questions
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Sample Questions
Q1) The frequency with which they must seek reelection makes members of the U.S. House of Representatives
A) more responsive to the needs of the elites in the states they represent.
B) less responsive to the needs of the elites in the states they represent.
C) less responsive to the needs of local interest groups in the districts they represent.
D) more responsive to the needs of local interest groups in the districts they represent.
Q2) Most members of the House attempt to stay on good terms with the Speaker of the House because the Speaker
A) has the authority to call all party unity votes.
B) possesses the power of recognition.
C) approves all requests for logrolling.
D) makes all decisions regarding how leadership PACs will distribute their funds.
Q3) ________ bills are one of Congress's favorite vehicles for pork-barrel spending.
A) Education
B) Veteran's affairs
C) Health care
D) Highway
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11
Chapter 10: The Presidency
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62 Verified Questions
62 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) An informal group of advisers to the president is often called the
A) Kitchen Cabinet.
B) plumbers.
C) round table.
D) inner cabinet.
Q2) The Council of Economic Advisers
A) negotiates foreign trade treaties on behalf of the federal government.
B) regulates all stock market transactions and enforces federal antitrust laws.
C) sets interest rates for the federal government.
D) analyzes the economy and economic trends in order to help the president anticipate economic events.
Q3) The powers of Congress have declined dramatically in which of the following areas over the last 50 years?
A) national defense and the federal budget
B) health care and education
C) law enforcement and oversight
D) national defense and environmental protection
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Chapter 11: Bureaucracy
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62 Verified Questions
62 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The creation of the U.S. Northern Command was important because it
A) ultimately led to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security.
B) unified, for the first time in American history, the Air Force, the Navy Department, and the War Department.
C) breached the long-standing line between domestic law enforcement and foreign military operations for the first time.
D) was the first time the Department of Defense had taken such an action without congressional approval.
Q2) Which of the following is an agency created by Congress to assist in overseeing the federal bureaucracy?
A) the Congressional Budget Office
B) the Congressional Office on Legislative Affairs
C) the Office of Management and Budget
D) the Congressional Oversight Office
Q3) Describe the organizational structure of the federal bureaucracy. Specifically, what are the differences between departments, agencies, and bureaus, and what are the lines of authority within the executive branch? How is the federal bureaucracy staffed, and how has this changed since the nineteenth century?
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Chapter 12: The Federal Courts
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64 Verified Questions
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Sample Questions
Q1) The U.S. Supreme Court has been composed of
A) nine justices throughout American history.
B) nine justices since 1869.
C) nine justices since 1937.
D) seven justices throughout American history.
Q2) In what type of law is the government always the plaintiff?
A) public
B) criminal
C) common
D) tort
Q3) A writ of habeas corpus declares that
A) the government must show a legal cause for holding someone in detention.
B) the government cannot send a defendant to stand trial in a geographically distant jurisdiction.
C) a defendant in a felony trial must receive assistance from legal counsel.
D) capital punishment can be neither cruel nor unusual.
Q4) Analyze the exercise of judicial review. What is judicial review, what are its origins, and why has it remained an unquestioned power of the courts for so long? Provide some examples of notable uses of judicial review in Supreme Court history.
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Chapter 13: Domestic Policy
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84 Verified Questions
84 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) In most states, unemployment benefits last for a maximum of ________ weeks.
A) 4
B) 26
C) 36
D) 52
Q2) Monthly Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits
A) exceed the amount of the federal poverty line in every state.
B) exceed the amount of the federal poverty line in all but 10 states.
C) exceed the amount of the federal poverty line in only 20 states.
D) do not exceed the amount of the federal poverty line in any state.
Q3) Currently, the average monthly Social Security payment is ________ per month.
A) $325
B) $757
C) $1,000
D) $1,335
Q4) The U.S. Public Health Service was founded in
A) 1798.
B) 1866.
C) 1936.
D) 1942.
Page 15
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Chapter 14: Foreign Policy
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68 Verified Questions
68 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Dispute arbitration occurs when a(n)
A) dispute turns into a military conflict but is not officially declared a war by the legislative branch.
B) international disagreement is referred to a neutral third party for resolution.
C) treaty is made between two or more nations.
D) agreement is made between the presidents of two countries but the terms are not legally binding.
Q2) The policy of deterrence and containment pursued by the United States during the Cold War can be viewed as
A) an early version of the Bush Doctrine.
B) no different than a policy of isolationism.
C) no different than a policy of appeasement.
D) midway between aggression and appeasement.
Q3) Congress has exercised its power to declare war ________ times in American history.
A) 2
B) 5
C) 8
D) 12
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Page 16