Political Science 101
Test Questions
Course Introduction
Political Science 101 provides an introduction to the fundamental concepts, theories, and institutions that shape political systems and government practices around the world. Students will explore topics such as the nature of political power, state structures, democratic and authoritarian regimes, political ideologies, policy-making processes, and the roles of citizens and political actors. The course also emphasizes critical analysis of current events and key issues at both the national and global levels, equipping students with the analytical tools necessary to understand and evaluate political developments and debates.
Recommended Textbook
Government in America People Politics and Policy Brief Edition 11th Edition by George C. Edwards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Introducing Government in America
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Sample Questions
Q1) According to Michael Delli Carpini and Scott Keeter,political knowledge is important because it
A)fosters civic virtues.
B)helps citizens identify policies that would benefit them.
C)promotes active participation in politics.
D)All of the above are true.
E)None of the above is true.
Answer: D
Q2) Pluralism is a political philosophy supporting the rights of average citizens in their struggle against privileged elites.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) The institutions and processes through which public policies are made for a society are collectively known as government.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Chapter 2: The Constitution
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Q1) A form of government in which the people select representatives to govern them and make laws is called a republic.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) __________ was proposed by William Patterson,in which each state was to be equally represented in the new Congress.
A)The New Jersey Plan
B)The Connecticut Compromise
C)The Virginia Plan
D)The Federalist Papers
E)The Articles of Confederation
Answer: A
Q3) The Seventeenth Amendment provided for A)women's suffrage.
B)direct election of senators.
C)direct election of members of the House of Representatives.
D)African American suffrage.
E)suffrage for all citizens age 18 and older.
Answer: B
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Chapter 3: Federalism
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Q1) Describe the constitutional basis of federalism.
Answer: The constitutional basis of federalism in the United States is primarily found in the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which states that powers not delegated to the federal government nor prohibited by the Constitution to the states are reserved to the states or to the people. This division of powers between the federal government and the states forms the foundation of the federalist system. Additionally, the Constitution outlines specific powers granted to the federal government, such as the power to regulate commerce, declare war, and establish a postal system, while reserving other powers, such as regulating intrastate commerce and overseeing public education, to the states. This division of powers is meant to ensure a balance between a strong central government and the autonomy of the individual states. The Supremacy Clause, which establishes the Constitution as the "supreme law of the land," further reinforces the federalist system by delineating the authority of the federal government over state laws in cases of conflict. Overall, the constitutional basis of federalism in the United States is a system of shared powers and responsibilities between the national government and the states, aimed at promoting a balance of authority and protecting the rights of both the federal and state governments.
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Chapter 4: Civil Liberties and Public Policy
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Sample Questions
Q1) On what basis has the Court permitted state restraints on the legal right to abortion? In your estimation,are state restraints on abortion constitutional?
Q2) Obscenity is not within the realm of constitutionally protected speech or press. A)True B)False
Q3) The Supreme Court recently ruled that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia. A)True
B)False
Q4) How have issues like prayer and Bible reading in public schools been settled by the Supreme Court,and why? How high would you construct the "wall of separation" between church and state,and why?
Q5) The Supreme Court has generally not upheld campus speech codes that limit certain forms of speech,including hate speech,on college and university campuses.Do you agree or disagree with the Court's rulings? Should colleges and universities be permitted to regulate student speech in the interest of protecting individuals from the harms associated with hearing racist,hateful,or otherwise injurious speech?
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Chapter 5: Civil Rights and Public Policy
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Sample Questions
Q1) Historically,equality in American society has tended to emphasize equal results.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The United States Supreme Court has handed down each of the following decisions concerning gender discrimination in employment and business activity EXCEPT
A)requiring the federal government to give women equal pay for jobs of comparable worth.
B)prohibiting gender discrimination in private business and service clubs.
C)voiding laws and rules barring women from jobs through arbitrary height and weight requirements.
D)protecting women from being required to take mandatory pregnancy leaves from their jobs.
E)None of the above; the court has handed down each of the decisions above.
Q3) The Fourteenth Amendment forbids the states from denying anyone equal protection of the laws.
A)True
B)False
Q4) What are the purposes of affirmative action? How have the courts ruled on affirmative action? Give examples.
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Chapter 6: Public Opinion and Political Action
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Sample Questions
Q1) The "paradox of mass politics" refers to the fact that
A)the American political system works fairly well despite Americans' lack of political knowledge.
B)more Americans can name the three stooges than can name the three branches of government.
C)young Americans score poorly on measures of knowledge of world geography.
D)Americans distrust public opinion polls but expect their elected leaders to be responsive to them.
E)politicians distrust public opinion polls but nonetheless rely on them to develop campaign and policy strategies.
Q2) The process of relocating seats in the House of Representatives every 10 years on the basis of the census is called reapportionment.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Explain what is meant by "sampling error."
Q4) The study of public opinion is the science of population changes.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Are we in the midst of a political culture war? Explain.
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Chapter 7: The Mass Media and the Political Agenda
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Q1) Media events are carefully scripted to maximize politicians' ability to control the political agenda.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Explain how the news media affect the scope of government and American individualism.How have they helped and hindered the growth of democracy in the United States?
Q3) In many other countries,major television outlets are owned by the government.
A)True
B)False
Q4) An intentional news leak for the purpose of assessing the political reaction to that news is called a(n)
A)talking head.
B)press conference.
C)media event.
D)trial balloon.
E)investigative journalism event.
Q5) Policy entrepreneurs are people who invest "political capital" in an issue.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 8: Political Parties
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Sample Questions
Q1) Describe the impact of third parties in American elections.What are the different types of third parties? How successful have they been? What role do they serve in the system? Would you prefer to see more parties to choose from on the ballot? Why,or why not?
Learning Objectives: 8.6
Q2) The largest component of political parties is the party as an organization.
A)True B)False
Q3) The supreme power within each of the parties is the A)state party organizations. B)president.
C)national chairperson.
D)national convention.
E)national committee.
Q4) Describe the responsible party model and explain why its advocates believe it would make for a more democratic government in the United States.Do you agree? What do you think are its strengths and weaknesses? Explain.
Q5) The "three-headed political giant" refers to the three branches of government. A)True B)False
Page 10
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Chapter 9: Campaigns and Voting Behavior
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Sample Questions
Q1) Suffrage refers to
A)a type of election unique to the United States.
B)the right to vote.
C)a voter registration system.
D)voter turnout rates.
E)voting procedures in the Electoral College.
Q2) Evaluate the Supreme Court's decision in Buckley v.Valeo (1973).Do you agree with the Court that limiting the amount of money an individual can spend from his or her own pocket on his or her own campaign would be an unconstitutional violation of free speech? Does the Court's free speech ruling serve the purposes of the First Amendment and of democracy?
Q3) According to your textbook,most political scientists subscribe to the mandate theory of elections,which accepts that citizens vote for the candidate whose policy promises they favor; thus the winner has a policy mandate from the people to carry out his or her promised policies.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Describe and evaluate the factors that influence a voter's decision to choose a particular candidate.
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Chapter 10: Interest Groups
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Sample Questions
Q1) Class action lawsuits
A)consist of written arguments submitted to the courts in support of one side of a case.
B)consist of lawsuits brought to the courts by one particular social class in society.
C)enable a group of similarly situated plaintiffs to combine similar grievances into a single suit.
D)enable organized interest groups to sue the federal government over a particular issue.
E)ask a court to take action against a particular group to stop them from injuring another group financially.
Q2) Compare and contrast the different types of economic interest groups in the United States.What type of economic interest group has been most successful and why?
Q3) Right-to-work laws are most strongly supported by
A)unemployed citizens.
B)business groups.
C)union officials.
D)the feminist and civil rights movements.
E)illegal immigrants.
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Chapter 11: Congress
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Sample Questions
Q1) What impact does increasing polarization in Congress have on the lawmaking process?
Q2) An example of casework by a member of Congress is
A)writing a newsletter to send out to constituents.
B)helping a constituent gain citizenship.
C)voting for a bill desired by constituents.
D)working with a caucus on a public policy that affects his or her constituents.
E)All of the above are true.
Q3) Individual members of the House of Representatives have substantial opportunities for influence on policymaking as individuals.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Temporary or permanent committees that have a focused responsibility,such as the House and Senate committees on intelligence,are called select committees.
A)True
B)False
Q5) The first woman to serve as Speaker of the House was Hillary Clinton.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 12: The Presidency
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Sample Questions
Q1) Describe the impeachment process.
Q2) The Twenty-fifth Amendment,ratified in 1967,
A)created a means for selecting a new vice president when the office became vacant.
B)granted 18-year-olds the right to vote.
C)limited the president to two terms in office.
D)specifically forced Richard Nixon from office.
E)provided for the direct election of the president by the people.
Q3) Once the House votes to impeach a president,the case moves to the Supreme Court.
A)True
B)False
Q4) According to the Constitution,a president must be at least ________ years of age.
A)21
B)25
C)30
D)35
E)40
Q5) In what ways did the Twenty-second and Twenty-fifth Amendments alter the original institutional design of the American presidency?
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Chapter 13: The Federal Bureaucracy
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Q1) Creating new agencies,developing guidelines,and coordinating resources to achieve a policy goal is called
A)bureaucratization.
B)regulation.
C)implementation.
D)actualization.
E)policymaking.
Q2) Why is policy implementation left to the bureaucracy? What are some of the principal causes of implementation breakdown? What improvements do you think could be made to lessen the likelihood of such breakdowns? Explain.
Q3) The president creates bureaucratic agencies.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Following Weber,task specialization places experts,rather than amateurs,in technical jobs.
A)True
B)False
Q5) What is an executive order and why are they issued?
Q6) What is an iron triangle? Provide an example.
Page 15
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Chapter 14: The Federal Courts
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Sample Questions
Q1) Explain the process through which cases reach the Supreme Court through the Court's handing down of a decision.
Q2) Explain the importance of amicus curiae briefs.
Q3) There are 10 associate justices and one chief justice on the U.S.Supreme Court.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The Supreme Court's unwillingness to settle disputes about the constitutionality of the War Powers Act is an example of the doctrine of _____,used as a means to decide cases involving conflict between the president and Congress.
A)statutory construction
B)judicial restraint
C)political questions
D)judicial activism
E)judicial implementation
Q5) In what ways has the judiciary made our political system more democratic? Less democratic?
Q6) What is a class action suit? Why are class action suits important? Provide an example.
Q7) What is the difference between criminal cases and civil cases?
Page 16
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Politics of Taxing and Spending
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Sample Questions
Q1) Spending on the defense currently makes up approximately what proportion of all federal expenditures?
A)One-tenth
B)One-fifth
C)One-quarter
D)One-third
E)One-half
Q2) What was the purpose of the Sixteenth Amendment? Why was it necessary?
Q3) The term "military-industrial complex" was coined by President George W.Bush.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The fastest growing source of federal revenue has been
A)fees for services.
B)social insurance taxes.
C)personal income taxes.
D)borrowing.
E)corporate income taxes.
Q5) How have federal expenditures changed over the course of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first?
Q6) What are the challenges facing the future of Social Security? Page 17
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Chapter 16: Social Welfare Policymaking
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Sample Questions
Q1) Poor families pay a higher percentage of their incomes in state sales taxes than well-to-do families.
A)True
B)False
Q2) A sales tax is a progressive tax.
A)True
B)False
Q3) How do Americans view responsibility for social welfare?
Q4) Most social scientists believe that the official poverty count actually overestimates the number of individuals who are living in poverty.
A)True
B)False
Q5) The ratio of workers to beneficiaries of Social Security has been declining for several decades and is projected to continue to fall in the future.
A)True
B)False
Q6) The average recipient family received about $1,000 per month on TANF. A)True
B)False
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Chapter 17: National Security Policymaking
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Sample
Questions
Q1) International politics involves
A)primarily the interaction of nations.
B)primarily individuals traveling the world.
C)primarily international organizations like the U.N.
D)primarily regional organizations like NATO.
E)some combination of all of these.
Q2) NATO was created in 1949 to counter the threat of Nazi Germany.
A)True
B)False
Q3) How has United States foreign policy contributed both to the nuclear arms race and to efforts to reduce nuclear weapons? Does it appear that we are heading for further reductions or for a new arms race?
Q4) The president's principal civilian adviser on the military is the
A)national security adviser.
B)secretary of state.
C)secretary of defense.
D)director of the CIA.
E)chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Q5) What is the doctrine of containment?
Q6) Describe the multiple ways that the United States distributes foreign aid.
Page 20
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