Three Branches Study Guide
Name: _____________________
Period: ________
Part One: Matching
All in a Day’s Work, Electoral Process, Congress in a FLASH!, Judicial Branch in a FLASH!
On your test, you will be asked to match a role in the government to its correct descriptor. For each of the
roles listed below, be able to identify the requirements for election/holding the position, their main duty in
government, and any checks they may have over other branches. There are eight questions in this portion of your
test for a total of eight points.
 President – nominates Supreme Court
 House Representative – 435 total, must be
judges, elected by the Electoral College
25 to hold office, serves 2 year terms
 Senator – must be 30 years old to hole
 Supreme Court Justice – declares laws
office, serves a 6 year term, advises and
unconstitutional, appointed to a life term
consents on judicial nominations
Part Two: Fill in the Blank
A Very Big Branch
On your test, you will be given a word bank and asked to complete a sentence describing the different
executive departments. There are seven questions in this portion of your test for a total of seven points.
 Department of Interior – manages and
 Department of Defense – manages the
protects the nation’s public lands
armed forces and conducts wars overseas
 Department of Justice – fights crime and
 Department of Transportation – oversees
runs the federal court system
highway safety and air, rail, and sea travels
 Department of State – manages our
 Department of Homeland Security –
relationships with foreign countries
protects against terrorists and other threats
 Department of Labor – helps workers get
fair wages and working conditions
Part Three: Sequencing
Congress in a FLASH!
On your test, you will be asked to put the steps in order for how a bill becomes a law. There are seven
steps, so this section will be worth seven points.
 How a bill becomes a law
1. The proposal: a representative writes a bill and gets support from others in the house
2. The introduction: the bill is assigned a number and is read aloud to the other Representatives. Then it
is sent to a committee for close review
3. The report: if the committee likes it, it will be sent to the whole House for debate
4. The floor debate: all of the representatives get a chance to read the bill and debate whether it should
be supports or opposed. The bill is read again and changes are suggested.
5. The vote: if changes are made, the bill is read again, and the whole House is called to vote on the bill.
They can vote yes, no, or present (if they don’t want to vote on that particular bill).
6. The delivery: the bill arrives at the Senate, where it goes through the same debate, if changes are
made, then another vote is held before it can move on.
7. To the President: if both chambers of Congress approve, the bill lands on the president’s desk. If it is
signed, it becomes a law. If it is vetoed, it doesn’t.
Part Four: Matching
The Supreme in Supreme Court
On your test, you will need to match up influential Supreme Court Cases with the correct descriptor.
There are five court cases listed, so this section will be worth five points.
 Marbury v. Madison – the Supreme Court
 Brown v. Board of Education – Overruled
and other courts have the right to decide
Plessy vs. Ferguson. Separate schools for
whether something is unconstitutional
students of different races are not equal
Three Branches Study Guide


Gideon v. Wainwright – It is
unconstitutional to deny a person a lawyer
just because they are poor
Tinker v. Des Moines School District – It’s
unconstitutional to deny students the right
to free speech at school, unless the
students’ speech disrupts school activities
Name: _____________________
Period: ________

New Jersey v. T.L.O. – said it’s
unconstitutional for principals and teachers
to search students and their belongings,
unless there is good reason (like safety and
discipline) and the search doesn’t go too far
Part Five: Multiple Choice
Walk-in Questions
On your test, you will have three multiple choice questions that deal with all three branches. Each
question is worth one point, making this section worth three points.
Part Six: Short Answer
All Activities!
On your test, you will be given six short answer questions; you have to choose three to answer – one from
each branch of government. Each answer must be in a complete sentence with the question in the answer.
Spelling, grammar, and writing conventions COUNT FOR POINTS. Be sure to explain each prompt thoroughly; act
like I don’t know anything about our government!
 How is the Senate and the House of Representatives different? How are they similar? Give three examples
of each.
o Senate: serves six year terms, must be 30 to hold office, 100 total senators
o House of Representatives: two year terms, must be 25 to hold office, 435 total representatives
o Both: elected to Congress, able to write and pass laws, can override vetoes, etc.
 How does the legislative branch maintain checks and balances over the other branches? Provide three
examples.
o Judicial Branch – can impeach justices
o Executive Branch – can override vetoes, must consent on appointments
 How does the Electoral College work? How is a president elected?
o Citizens first vote for their desired candidate (popular vote)
o Electors from the Electoral College will cast all of the state’s votes (AZ has 11) in favor of the
winner of the popular vote (electoral vote)
o Candidate must receive a total of 270 electoral votes to be elected to office
 What powers does the president possess? What are four examples?
o Hold executive power over the country
o Commander in Chief of the armed forces
o Can grant reprieves or pardons
o Can make treaties (with the consent of the Senate)
 What is the different between a civil and criminal court case?
o Civil court case is between two citizens or civilians (example: divorce case)
o Criminal court case occur when a crime has been committed (example: theft)
 What are the different levels of the court system? How does that process work?
o Cases first go to the trial courts. Juries review evidence to decide who is right.
o Case can be appealed to the Court of Appeals where the panel of judges will review the trial
court decision for error. Any decisions made at this level must be followed by all trial courts.
o Case can again be appealed to the Supreme Court which will review the appeals court decision
for error. Any decisions made must be followed by all lower courts.