Course Introduction
Political Science Study Guide
Questions
Political Science is the systematic study of government, political institutions, processes, and behavior. This course provides an overview of key concepts such as power, authority, sovereignty, political ideologies, public policy, and civil rights. Students will explore the structures and functions of various political systems, from democracies to authoritarian regimes, and analyze the roles of political parties, interest groups, and the media. Through critical analysis of both historical and contemporary issues, students develop foundational skills to understand political dynamics on local, national, and global levels.
Recommended Textbook
Understanding Public Policy 14th Edition by Thomas R. Dye
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16 Chapters
477 Verified Questions
477 Flashcards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Policy Analysis
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Sample Questions
Q1) Studying the impact of the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment is an example of A) policy description.
B) policy advocacy.
C) policy implementation.
D) policy evaluation.
Answer: D
Q2) One problem that researchers have in their attempt to find solutions for public problems is
A) an inability to quantify data.
B) a lack of understanding of the scientific method.
C) a disagreement about what the problems are.
D) the lack of understanding of the social and economic environment.
Answer: C
Q3) Policy advocacy is essentially persuasion in favor of a given public policy.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Page 3
Chapter 2: Models of Politics
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Sample Questions
Q1) Public choice theory views policy as
A) similar to the decisions made in marketplaces.
B) driven by the desires of the few who have power.
C) the outcome of conflict between self-interested groups.
D) rational choice made in competitive situations.
Answer: A
Q2) Public choice theory
A) views individuals as reacting very differently in politics than in the marketplace.
B) does not agree with Locke's social-contract view as to the origin of government.
C) helps explain why political parties and candidates do not like to offer clear policy alternatives.
D) does not examine the economic cost of externalities.
Answer: C
Q3) Agenda setting is the first step in the policy process.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Chapter 3: The Policymaking Process
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Sample Questions
Q1) "Proximate policymakers" include
A) the White House staff.
B) the mass media.
C) corporations.
D) ambassadors.
Answer: A
Q2) Deciding what issues will be decided and what problem will be addressed by Government is part of the
A) policy legitimization
B) policy evaluation
C) agenda setting
D) policy implementation
Answer: C
Q3) The Is generally portrayed as the arbiter of policy proposals.
A) Supreme Court
B) president
C) Congress
D) judiciary
Answer: C
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Policy Evaluation
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Sample Questions
Q1) The use of hearings and reports for program evaluation has what drawback?
A) Testimonies and reports are generally provided by those with little direct knowledge of programs.
B) This kind of information is generally biased against programs.
C) A high level of deception has been found in these hearings and reports.
D) Those giving testimony and providing reports administer the programs being evaluated.
Q2) The agency responsible for making sure that tax dollars are spent honestly and wisely is the
A) Office of Management and Budget.
B) General Accountability Office.
C) Congressional Budget Office.
D) Council of Economic Advisors.
Q3) In policy evaluation, policy impact, not policy output should be measured.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Comparisons between jurisdictions can be addressed by pre- and post-program comparisons.
A)True
B)False
Page 6
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Chapter 5: Federalism and State Policies
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Q1) The conflict over legalizing marijuana for medical use centers on federal preemption of states' rights.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The largest amount of federal grants-in-aid money goes for
A) welfare.
B) education.
C) health programs.
D) transportation and highways.
Q3) The federal model that dominated from the writing of the Constitution to the Civil War was
A) dual federalism.
B) state-centered federalism.
C) cooperative-mandated federalism.
D) new federalism.
Q4) Federalism was a concept rejected by the Founders.
A)True
B)False
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Page 7
Chapter 6: Criminal Justice
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Sample Questions
Q1) The goal of deterrence is rehabilitation of criminals.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The cases of Gideon v.Wainwright and Escobedo v.Illinois both deal with
A) the right to own a firearm.
B) the right to legal counsel.
C) the right to medicinal marijuana.
D) the Fourth Amendment guarantee against unreasonable searches and seizures.
Q3) The rate of victimization, compared to the official crime rate, reflects
A) the decline in the U.S. crime rate.
B) little difference between the two measures.
C) the high rate of unreported crimes.
D) the low impact of deterrence as applied in the U.S.
Q4) The major responsibility for law enforcement in the U.S.rests with
A) federal law enforcement agencies.
B) the CIA.
C) state and local government.
D) county governments.
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Chapter 7: Health and Welfare
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Q1) The human capital theory addresses the issue of poverty as a racial issue.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which of these DOES NOT apply to Medicaid?
A) means-tested
B) supplies health services
C) social insurance
D) only for the elderly
Q3) Human capital theory relates to the problem of poverty in theorizing that the poor
A) have little to offer in the job market.
B) are poor because of economic disruptions.
C) will remain poor.
D) should not receive entitlements.
Q4) Most of the major entitlement programs in the United States were established under the leadership of president
A) Kennedy and Johnson.
B) Carter and Reagan.
C) Clinton and George H.W. Bush.
D) Franklin Roosevelt and Johnson.
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Chapter 8: Health Care
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Sample Questions
Q1) The public option is the centerpiece of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Combined, Medicare and Medicaid provide health insurance to one-quarter of the U.S.population.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The United States is tenth in health care spending among industrialized nations.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The agency primarily responsible for administering the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is
A) the Department of the Interior.
B) the Department of Health and Human Services.
C) the IRS.
D) HUD.
Q5) Medicaid is designed to provide health insurance to the aged.
A)True
B)False
Page 10
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Chapter 9: Education
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Sample Questions
Q1) Presidents of higher education institutions are best seen as
A) directors of curricula.
B) spokespersons.
C) trustees.
D) legal advisors.
Q2) The Test is a three-part test for determining whether a particular state Law constitutes "establishment" of religion and thus violates the First Amendment.
A) clear-and-present-danger
B) Lemon
C) no-establishment
D) strict-scrutiny
Q3) SAT scores reached a low point in the period from 1980 to 1990.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Federal funding to higher education has traditionally NOT been directly to higher education institutions.
A)True
B)False
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Page 11
Chapter 10: Economic Policy
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Sample Questions
Q1) GDP, unemployment, and inflation are all measures of a nation's economic health.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The government takes about Of the GDP, but we (as a nation) still owe the Equivalent of
A) 25 percent; $45,000
B) 20 percent; $25,000
C) 15 percent; $20,000
D) 10 percent; $15,000
For every person in the U.S.
Q3) Supply-side economists argue for all of the following EXCEPT
A) lower tax rates.
B) less government involvement in the economy.
C) concentration of long-term growth.
D) no tax incentives to encourage investing.
Q4) The Federal Reserve Board's main task is to regulate the money supply.
A)True
B)False
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Page 12
Chapter 11: Tax Policy
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Sample Questions
Q1) The federal income tax is
A) regressive.
B) proportional.
C) progressive.
D) subjective.
Q2) George W.Bush moved to
A) lower the top marginal tax rate.
B) raise the top marginal tax rate.
C) raise the top marginal rate but lower the capital gains tax.
D) lower the top marginal rate and lower the capital gains tax.
Q3) The greatest barrier to simplification of the tax code come from A) Congress.
B) the Supreme Court.
C) the Federal Reserve Board.
D) interest groups.
Q4) The provisions of the tax package passed in 2010 will expire in 2012.
A)True
B)False
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Page 13
Chapter 12: International Trade and Immigration
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Sample Questions
Q1) The purpose of the International Monetary Fund is to A) provide aid to countries during natural disasters.
B) stabilize international currency speculation.
C) provide assistance for international environmental-protection efforts.
D) facilitate international trade.
Q2) The World Trade Organization has the authority to
A) eliminate tariffs on medicines and food.
B) increase tariffs to promote trade.
C) adjudicate commercial disputes among member countries.
D) impose economic boycotts.
Q3) Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment protections of due process apply only to legal immigrants and citizens.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Arizona immigration law has been challenged on the grounds that it violates A) human rights.
B) the Commerce Clause.
C) the Supremacy Clause.
D) current U.S. immigration law.
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Chapter 13: Energy and the Environment
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Sample Questions
Q1) The Comprehensive Environmental Response Act of 1980 targets what kind of environmental hazards?
A) old sites
B) nuclear waste
C) water pollution
D) carbon dioxide emissions
Q2) Nuclear power plants in the U.S.cluster in
A) the Northwest.
B) the Southwest.
C) eastern states.
D) western states.
Q3) The most common way to measure water pollution is the
A) use of the hydro-toxic barometer.
B) use of the safe-water-interval calculator.
C) use of biochemical oxygen demand measurements.
D) water barometer.
Q4) The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 focused on carbon dioxide emissions.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 14: Civil Rights
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Sample Questions
Q1) The right to an abortion was first announced in A) Webster v. Reproductive Health Services.
B) Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
C) Regents of U.C. v. Bakke.
D) Roe v. Wade.
Q2) By the 1950s, segregation was against the law in most states.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Major protection for the rights of the disabled has come about because of A) Furman v. Georgia.
B) the Disabled Americans Protection Act of 1995.
C) the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
D) Reed v. Reed.
Q4) The Bakke case challenged the use of racial quotas in higher education admissions. A)True B)False
Q5) Implementation of Brown v.Board of Education included the use of military force. A)True B)False
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Chapter 15: Defense Policy
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Sample Questions
Q1) Conventional warfare has usually involved asymmetrical warfare.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which of the following is not one of the major ethnic or religious groups that make up Modern Iraq?
A) Kurds
B) Shiites
C) Sunnis
D) Taliban
Q3) The Taliban has been the target of U.S.military action in Afghanistan.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Deterrence relies on
A) nuclear weapons.
B) superior weaponry.
C) large armies than the attacker.
D) second-strike ability.
Q5) The Powell Doctrine centers on the notion of peacekeeping and nation-building.
A)True
B)False
Page 17
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Chapter 16: Homeland Security
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Sample Questions
Q1) The Smith Act was aimed at American communists.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The supervision of all secret activities supporting the national interest of the U.S.is the main responsibility of the
A) FBI.
B) CIA.
C) DEA.
D) NRO.
Q3) Most covert actions taken by the CIA involve A) weapons transfers.
B) aid, including economic aid and training.
C) return of U.S. prisoners.
D) information collection.
Q4) The USA PATRIOT Act included increased protections of civil liberties.
A)True
B)False
Q5) The main area of activity of the FBI is overseas.
A)True
B)False
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