AP U.S. Government and Politics · 39 questions
Past multiple-choice questions
Public sample multiple-choice questions from College Board for AP U.S. Government and Politics, sorted by the unit and topic each one tests in the current course. Each one opens College Board's own page beside its answer choices, and tells you right away whether your pick matches College Board's answer key.
Public samples from three official PDFs, mapped to the current course. Two flawed items are set aside. We read 3 source PDFs; each question links to its source. A question printed in more than one is listed once, from the newest PDF that prints it. We also left out 2 whose printed answer does not fit the question as asked. Your picks stay in this browser and are never sent anywhere.
Unit 1: Foundations of American Democracy
- Topic 1.2 · Question 7 Democratic models Read an excerpt about group politics and pick the summary of the author's argument about forms of democracy.
- Topic 1.3 · Question 2 Federalist 10 and Brutus 1 compared Match two founding essays to the arguments each one actually makes.
- Topic 1.3 · Question 20, Effective Fall 2014 Madison’s argument Pick the argument Madison makes in a required founding document.
- Topic 1.4 · Question 12, Effective Fall 2014 Confederation weaknesses Find the one item that was not a reason for calling the Constitutional Convention.
- Topic 1.6 · Question 8, Effective Fall 2014 Agency powers Name the constitutional principle at risk when one agency writes rules, enforces them and settles disputes over them.
- Topic 1.7 · Question 5 Who can tax Classify the constitutional power behind taxation by both the national and state governments.
- Topic 1.7 · Question 7, Effective Fall 2014 Disability law and federalism Classify a national disability rights law as a federalism concept.
Unit 2: Interactions Among Branches of Government
- Topic 2.2 · Question 10 Revenue legislation Recall what the Constitution requires of every bill that raises revenue.
- Topic 2.2 · Question 13, Effective Fall 2014 Influence in the House Choose the committee seat that gives a House member the most power in the chamber.
- Topic 2.3 · Question 1 Voting against the district's wishes A House member votes for a bill her constituents object to; name the model of representation her reasoning fits.
- Topic 2.3 · Question 1, Effective Fall 2014 Divided government Predict a likely result when different parties control the presidency and Congress.
- Topic 2.3 · Question 3, Effective Fall 2014 Congressional voting patterns Identify the trait that best predicts how members of Congress vote.
- Topic 2.3 · Question 5, Effective Fall 2014 District boundaries Pick the true statement about drawing district lines for political advantage.
- Topic 2.4 · Question 25, Effective Fall 2014 Presidential vetoes Pick the true statement about a presidential veto.
- Topic 2.11 · Question 6 Presidential response to a court ruling Pick the step a president could actually take to limit a Supreme Court decision's effect.
- Topic 2.12 · Question 6, Effective Fall 2014 Regulatory relationships Find the one false statement about how regulatory agencies relate to the industries they regulate.
- Topic 2.12 · Question 19, Effective Fall 2014 Iron triangles Recall what the term iron triangle refers to in policymaking.
- Topic 2.14 · Question 2, Effective Fall 2014 Congressional oversight Pick the activity that counts as congressional oversight.
Unit 3: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights
- Topic 3.1 · Question 3 Shared priorities Read a survey chart comparing how people who own guns and people who do not rate five rights, and pick the statement true of both groups.
- Topic 3.1 · Question 4, Effective Fall 2014 Constitutional prohibitions Sort a list of protections by whether the Constitution or its amendments expressly provide them.
- Topic 3.3 · Question 1, Current public overview Student protest Apply the precedent from a required First Amendment case to four actions by public school students.
- Topic 3.6 · Question 4 Survey data on gun ownership and rights Use the same chart to choose the best explanation of how respondents see gun ownership and personal freedom.
- Topic 3.12 · Question 9, Effective Fall 2014 A landmark education case Recall the principle the Supreme Court set in a required case about public schools.
Unit 4: American Political Ideologies and Beliefs
- Topic 4.1 · Question 11, Effective Fall 2014 American political culture Pick the value that is not among the core beliefs of US political culture.
- Topic 4.2 · Question 14, Effective Fall 2014 Policy attitudes Read a table of opinions on a policy, split by sex and age, and name the pattern it shows.
- Topic 4.2 · Question 24, Effective Fall 2014 Political socialization Choose the definition of political socialization.
- Topic 4.9 · Question 11 Economic ideology Pick the economic policy that a person with liberal views would most likely support.
Unit 5: Political Participation
- Topic 5.1 · Question 17, Effective Fall 2014 Voting rules in the Constitution Identify which voting rule the Constitution or its amendments actually contain.
- Topic 5.2 · Question 16, Effective Fall 2014 Turnout patterns Choose the best description of voter turnout across all elections at every level.
- Topic 5.3 · Question 10, Effective Fall 2014 Party structure Choose the best description of how the two major parties are organized.
- Topic 5.3 · Question 18, Effective Fall 2014 Political organizations Pick what most basically sets parties apart from organized groups that lobby.
- Topic 5.6 · Question 8 Unequal access Infer the excerpt author's likely view of interest groups.
- Topic 5.6 · Question 9 Group activity the author would fear Pick the interest group activity the excerpt's critique of group politics would find most troubling.
- Topic 5.6 · Question 21, Effective Fall 2014 Interest groups in Congress Decide when an interest group has the most sway in Congress.
- Topic 5.6 · Question 23, Effective Fall 2014 Friend of the court briefs Pick the true statement about amicus curiae briefs.
- Topic 5.8 · Question 14 Electoral institutions Choose the argument that best supports the claim that the Electoral College falls short of democratic principles.
- Topic 5.8 · Question 15, Effective Fall 2014 Nomination rules Pick an effect that primary elections have had on how presidential candidates are chosen.
- Topic 5.11 · Question 12 Senators in a political cartoon Interpret the cartoonist's point about senators on their way to the Capitol.
- Topic 5.11 · Question 13 Supreme Court case behind a cartoon Connect the same cartoon's topic to a required Supreme Court case.
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