Political Science 001 – Exam #3 – The Final Exam Study Guide - Interest Groups, The Congress,
The Presidency, The Courts, Bureaucracy, U.S. Foreign Policy, and California Politics
Format of the Exam – Total amount of points available is 100.
1st Section – Multiple Choice
There will be 25 multiple choice questions worth 2 points each for a total of 50 points. Each of the
questions will have 4 possible answers to choose from. To get practice at multiple choice questions,
please to go the “We the People” website at http://www.wwnorton.com/college/polisci/we-thepeople8/shorter/welcome.aspx and take the practice quizzes for chapters 11 – 15.
2nd Section – True or False
There will be 25 true or false questions worth 2 points each for a total of 50 points, which you will
answer each statement you see as either true or false to the best of your knowledge.
What to study per lecture.
Interest Groups
You should study the following from the Interest Groups lecture notes and/or “American Government
and Politics” book:
 Different kinds of interest groups
 Key organizational components of interest groups
 The importance of interest groups
 The iron triangle relationship
 Interest group politics and upper class bias
 Examples of labor interest groups
 Do interest groups proliferate at times when government is shrinking?
 The New Politics Movement
 Do interest groups give material benefits to increase enrollment and membership?
The Congress
You should study the following from the Congress lecture notes and/or “American Government and
Politics” book:
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Who is the Speaker of the House? (The description of the position, not the person)
Tasks that congressional party leaders are responsible for
The majority and minority leaders in the Senate and their power
The definition of a Conference committee
Representation of women and minorities in Congress and its proportion in the general
population
Overriding a presidential veto with a two thirds vote in both houses of Congress
The vice president’s role as President of the Senate
The legislative check of oversight on the executive branch
How many members are there in the House of Representatives and the Senate?
The Presidency
You should study the following from the Presidency lecture notes and/or “American Government and
Politics” book:
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The president’s position as head of state as defined in the Constitution in military, judicial, and
diplomatic powers
The War Powers Resolution
Why is the president’s State of the Union Address important?
What is required for Congress to override a presidential veto
The War Powers Resolution: has it been obeyed closely by most presidents over the past thirty
years?
The State of the Union address: Is it mandated by the Constitution
Does the vice president break tie votes in the Senate?
The Founding Fathers and their concern of a directly elected president would be too powerful
Was George W. Bush was the 1st president to use signing statements?
The Courts
You should study the following from the Courts lecture notes and/or “American Government and
Politics” book:
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How jurisdiction for each federal court is derived
What is original jurisdiction?
How many justices are there on the Supreme Court?
The Supreme Court and Article III of the U.S. Constitution
The federal appellate court system
The process of judicial confirmations in the U.S. Senate
The Bureaucracy
You should study the following from the Bureaucracy lecture notes and/or the “American Government
and Politics” book.
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What are the major roles of bureaucracies?
What is the origin of most federal bureaus?
The Federal Reserve and its power to set interest rates and regulate lending activities for the
banks.
Has the ratio of federal employees to the total U.S. work force gone up in the last half century?
Was the Department of Homeland Security created in response to the 9/11 attacks?
The U.S. Mint and the responsibility of printing U.S. currency.
U.S. Foreign Policy
You should study the following from the U.S. Foreign Policy lecture notes and/or the “American
Government and Politics” book.
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The policy of deterrence and the arms race during the Cold War
What is the policy of preemption?
The Presidency and its importance to establishing U.S. foreign policy
The U.S. Senate and its power in reviewing and approving foreign treaties
The Cold War and the policy of deterrence in U.S. foreign policy
Is promoting human rights a primary priority of U.S. foreign policy?
Is the creation of a better world one of the three main goals of U.S. foreign policy?
What is the most important institution in formulating and executing U.S. foreign policy?
California Politics
You should study the following from the California Politics lecture notes.
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What is an initiative?
What is a referendum?
What is a recall?