5 Steps to a 5: 500 AP U.S. Government and Politics - Brian Stevens, William Madden 2022
Diagnostic quiz answers
Diagnostic Quiz
1. (Unit 1: Foundations of American Democracy)
ANSWER: (B) James Madison’s quote from Federalist #47 lists the three branches of government whereby power is prohibited from being “in the same hands” to prevent tyranny. Separating powers of the branches helps prevent tyranny.
2. (Unit 1: Foundations of American Democracy)
ANSWER: (D) All of the answers, checks and balances, bicameral legislature, and the ability of the federal courts to interpret the Constitution, prevent tyranny.
3. (Unit 1: Foundations of American Democracy)
ANSWER: (D) Popular election of members of the House of Representatives is one of the few examples of a participatory democracy. The other examples listed are examples of elite democracy.
4. (Unit 2: Interactions Among Branches of Government)
ANSWER: (C) Congress could use the power of the purse (although it is rarely used but sometimes threatened) as a method of affecting war-making policy. High defense budgets are popular, and denying funds in time of war would most likely be a public opinion nightmare for Congress.
5. (Unit 2: Interactions Among Branches of Government)
ANSWER: (C) Acting as presiding officer of the Senate and breaking ties are the only formal powers the vice president has in the Senate. Thus the position has become largely ceremonial, and vice presidents rarely preside over the Senate.
6. (Unit 2: Interactions Among Branches of Government)
ANSWER: (B) Through tradition, the chief justice assigns the Court opinion to himself or herself or to another justice on the winning side. However, this is an important power. How an opinion is crafted directly affects how it is interpreted and enforced.
7. (Unit 2: Interactions Among Branches of Government)
ANSWER: (C) Courts interpret the law. Because of their oath to uphold the Constitution, both federal and state courts interpret constitutional law. However, state courts do not hear cases involving federal law—federal courts do.
8. (Unit 3: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights)
ANSWER: (C) Civil liberties are rights guaranteed to citizens by the Constitution. The codification of those rights is found in the federal Bill of Rights.
9. (Unit 3: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights)
ANSWER: (D) Civil rights are rights that prevent citizens from being discriminated against. All the rights listed in this question are antidiscriminatory; thus, all are correct.
10. (Unit 4: American Political Ideologies and Beliefs)
ANSWER: (D) Although all the answers are correct, the most common way for citizens to participate in government is by voting. Running for office is rare, and joining an interest group or making a donation is less common than voting.
11. (Unit 5: Political Participation)
ANSWER: (C) The focus of Federalist #10 is factions and how the new Constitution and government mitigate the impact of factions. Modern-day factions include political parties and interest groups. Madison’s discussion here focuses on a pluralist democracy: the creation and interaction of these groups are pivotal in a democracy.
12. (Unit 5: Political Participation)
ANSWER: (A) A participatory democracy calls for large numbers of citizens participating in government, largely through voting. Neither elite nor pluralist democracies call for this.
13. (Unit 5: Political Participation)
ANSWER: (C) Based on the U.S. Census map, the region on the map that saw the highest population growth was the West. More states had population growth in the West than in any other region.
14. (Unit 1: Foundations of American Democracy)
ANSWER: (D) All the examples could be a result of changing population shifts. States with rising populations could see more money in the form of federal grants. States that decrease in population could lose congressional seats and thus electoral votes. And Texas, already a big player on the national political stage, could see this political clout increase.
15. (Unit 5: Political Participation)
ANSWER: (A) States with rising population rates may see additional congressional seats added to their state, whereas stagnating or declining states may see a loss of congressional seats.
16. (Unit 2: Interactions Among Branches of Government)
ANSWER: (B) The struggle to become the majority party in the House or Senate has a huge effect on policy making in Congress. The majority party controls key leadership positions and maps out legislative strategy. If one party controls the legislative and executive branches (unified government), it is considered to be a huge advantage for that party in legislative policy making.
17. (Unit 5: Political Participation)
ANSWER: (D) Most congressional elections are not competitive. Congressional incumbents, members in office seeking reelection, have a distinct advantage. In both the House and the Senate, incumbents are reelected over 80 percent of the time. Presidential elections are much closer; rarely does a candidate of a major party get more than 52 percent of the popular vote, although the Electoral College vote may reflect a larger majority.
18. (Unit 5: Political Participation)
ANSWER: (D) All the examples are either political parties or interest groups—all considered to be factions by Madison’s definition.
19. (Unit 5: Political Participation)
ANSWER: (B) The Constitution allows each state to determine how it allocates its electoral votes. In fact, 48 of the 50 states choose to give all their electoral votes to the candidate who wins a plurality of the popular vote of that state. So voting in the presidential election affects the Electoral College.
20. (Unit 4: American Political Ideologies and Beliefs)
ANSWER: (B) Linkage institutions act as the medium, or bridge, between the people and policy institutions such as Congress and the presidency. How a linkage institution behaves may have a direct effect on a policy institution, such as an interest group lobbying a member of Congress.