AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
UNIT 2 PRACTICE TEST
Interactions Among Branches of Government
25 questions — modeled on official AP question styles and stimulus formats.
Give yourself 30 minutes. Answers and explanations begin on a separate page after the questions.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of the following is a structural consequence of Congress's bicameral design, in which the House is
apportioned by population and the Senate gives each state equal representation?
A) All revenue bills must originate in the Senate
B) A coalition representing a minority of the national population can control a majority of Senate seats
C) House members serve six-year terms, identical to senators
D) The House alone ratifies treaties
E) Senators are apportioned according to state population
2. Which of the following is a power held by the Senate but NOT the House of Representatives?
A) Initiating articles of impeachment
B) Originating revenue bills
C) Confirming presidential nominations to the federal judiciary and executive branch
D) Electing the Speaker
E) Serving on the House Rules Committee
3. A senator holds the floor for over twelve hours, reading unrelated material aloud to prevent a vote on a bill.
Supporters of the bill are unable to secure 60 votes to end debate. This scenario illustrates:
A) A pocket veto
B) A successful filibuster resulting from a failed cloture vote
C) A discharge petition
D) The germaneness rule
E) A conference committee deadlock
4. A member of Congress votes against a popular bill in their district because they believe, after careful study, that it
would harm the nation's long-term interests. This behavior most directly reflects:
A) The delegate model of representation
B) The trustee model of representation
C) Descriptive representation
D) The franking privilege
E) Pork-barrel legislating
5. Which of the following best distinguishes the delegate model of representation from the trustee model?
A) Delegates vote according to their own independent judgment; trustees vote according to constituent wishes
B) Delegates vote according to constituent wishes; trustees vote according to their own independent judgment
C) The two models are functionally identical, differing only in name
D) Only trustees face reelection
E) Delegates represent states; trustees represent congressional districts
, 6. “The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy... he shall have Power, by and with the Advice
and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur.” This excerpt from
Article II describes which category of presidential power?
A) Informal powers developed through custom and precedent
B) Formal powers explicitly enumerated in the Constitution
C) Powers delegated entirely to the vice president
D) Powers requiring House approval rather than Senate approval
E) Powers that were later stripped by constitutional amendment
7. Based on the excerpt in Question 6, which of the following best illustrates a constitutional check on the president's
treaty power?
A) A treaty automatically takes effect once the president signs it
B) The Senate must approve a treaty by a two-thirds vote before it takes effect
C) The House can unilaterally block any treaty
D) The Supreme Court must pre-approve treaty language
E) State legislatures vote on ratification
8. A president directs federal agencies to change enforcement priorities for an existing statute, without asking
Congress to pass new legislation. This action is best classified as:
A) A treaty
B) An executive order — an informal power exercised through unilateral action
C) A veto override
D) A signing statement with the force of law identical to a statute
E) A power requiring prior Senate confirmation
9. Which of the following most accurately distinguishes an executive agreement from a treaty?
A) An executive agreement requires two-thirds Senate ratification; a treaty does not
B) An executive agreement does not require Senate approval to take effect, while a treaty requires two-thirds Senate
ratification
C) Executive agreements are only made with domestic state governments
D) Treaties are informal powers; executive agreements are formal powers
E) There is no meaningful legal distinction between the two
10. Divided government — in which the presidency and at least one chamber of Congress are controlled by different
parties — most often leads presidents to:
A) Rely more heavily on unilateral, informal tools such as executive orders to advance policy goals
B) Lose all formal constitutional authority
C) Automatically face a successful impeachment
D) Gain the constitutional power to dissolve Congress and call new elections
E) Forfeit the veto power for the remainder of the term
11. “The complete independence of the courts of justice is peculiarly essential... The standard of good behavior for
the continuance in office of the judicial magistracy is certainly one of the most valuable of the modern improvements
in the practice of government.” This argument from Federalist No. 78 is most directly used to justify:
A) Popular election of federal judges
B) Life tenure for federal judges, contingent on good behavior
C) Fixed four-year judicial terms tied to presidential elections
D) Senate removal of judges without cause
E) Mandatory judicial retirement at age 65
UNIT 2 PRACTICE TEST
Interactions Among Branches of Government
25 questions — modeled on official AP question styles and stimulus formats.
Give yourself 30 minutes. Answers and explanations begin on a separate page after the questions.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of the following is a structural consequence of Congress's bicameral design, in which the House is
apportioned by population and the Senate gives each state equal representation?
A) All revenue bills must originate in the Senate
B) A coalition representing a minority of the national population can control a majority of Senate seats
C) House members serve six-year terms, identical to senators
D) The House alone ratifies treaties
E) Senators are apportioned according to state population
2. Which of the following is a power held by the Senate but NOT the House of Representatives?
A) Initiating articles of impeachment
B) Originating revenue bills
C) Confirming presidential nominations to the federal judiciary and executive branch
D) Electing the Speaker
E) Serving on the House Rules Committee
3. A senator holds the floor for over twelve hours, reading unrelated material aloud to prevent a vote on a bill.
Supporters of the bill are unable to secure 60 votes to end debate. This scenario illustrates:
A) A pocket veto
B) A successful filibuster resulting from a failed cloture vote
C) A discharge petition
D) The germaneness rule
E) A conference committee deadlock
4. A member of Congress votes against a popular bill in their district because they believe, after careful study, that it
would harm the nation's long-term interests. This behavior most directly reflects:
A) The delegate model of representation
B) The trustee model of representation
C) Descriptive representation
D) The franking privilege
E) Pork-barrel legislating
5. Which of the following best distinguishes the delegate model of representation from the trustee model?
A) Delegates vote according to their own independent judgment; trustees vote according to constituent wishes
B) Delegates vote according to constituent wishes; trustees vote according to their own independent judgment
C) The two models are functionally identical, differing only in name
D) Only trustees face reelection
E) Delegates represent states; trustees represent congressional districts
, 6. “The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy... he shall have Power, by and with the Advice
and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur.” This excerpt from
Article II describes which category of presidential power?
A) Informal powers developed through custom and precedent
B) Formal powers explicitly enumerated in the Constitution
C) Powers delegated entirely to the vice president
D) Powers requiring House approval rather than Senate approval
E) Powers that were later stripped by constitutional amendment
7. Based on the excerpt in Question 6, which of the following best illustrates a constitutional check on the president's
treaty power?
A) A treaty automatically takes effect once the president signs it
B) The Senate must approve a treaty by a two-thirds vote before it takes effect
C) The House can unilaterally block any treaty
D) The Supreme Court must pre-approve treaty language
E) State legislatures vote on ratification
8. A president directs federal agencies to change enforcement priorities for an existing statute, without asking
Congress to pass new legislation. This action is best classified as:
A) A treaty
B) An executive order — an informal power exercised through unilateral action
C) A veto override
D) A signing statement with the force of law identical to a statute
E) A power requiring prior Senate confirmation
9. Which of the following most accurately distinguishes an executive agreement from a treaty?
A) An executive agreement requires two-thirds Senate ratification; a treaty does not
B) An executive agreement does not require Senate approval to take effect, while a treaty requires two-thirds Senate
ratification
C) Executive agreements are only made with domestic state governments
D) Treaties are informal powers; executive agreements are formal powers
E) There is no meaningful legal distinction between the two
10. Divided government — in which the presidency and at least one chamber of Congress are controlled by different
parties — most often leads presidents to:
A) Rely more heavily on unilateral, informal tools such as executive orders to advance policy goals
B) Lose all formal constitutional authority
C) Automatically face a successful impeachment
D) Gain the constitutional power to dissolve Congress and call new elections
E) Forfeit the veto power for the remainder of the term
11. “The complete independence of the courts of justice is peculiarly essential... The standard of good behavior for
the continuance in office of the judicial magistracy is certainly one of the most valuable of the modern improvements
in the practice of government.” This argument from Federalist No. 78 is most directly used to justify:
A) Popular election of federal judges
B) Life tenure for federal judges, contingent on good behavior
C) Fixed four-year judicial terms tied to presidential elections
D) Senate removal of judges without cause
E) Mandatory judicial retirement at age 65
