AP Gov Final Exam Study Guide - 2021
AP Gov Exam Scale - 120 Total Pts - 2 hours
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96-120/120 = A
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82-95/120 = B
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65-81/120 = C
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42-64/120 = D
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>41 = F
MPQ - 55 minutes
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55 questions (60pts)
FRQ section - 2 FRQs - 40 minutes
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Argumentative Essay - 40pts
Other FRQ (Scenario/SCOTUS/Quantitative) - 20pts
(AP Exam normally FOUR FRQs)
Vocab:
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Unit 1 - Foundations of American Democracy
○ Concurrent Powers
○ Limited Government
○ Popular Sovereignty
○ Social Contract
○ Natural Rights
○ Federalism
○ Articles of Confederation
○ US Constitution
○ Article I
○ Article II
○ Article III
○ Article V
○ Ratification
○ Supremacy Clause
○ Necessary and Proper Clause
○ Commerce Clause
○ Participatory Democracy
○ Elitist Democracy
○ Pluralist Democracy
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Unit 2 - Branches of Government
○ Checks and Balances
○ Checks on Legislative
○ Checks on Presidency
○ Checks on SCOTUS
○ Congress (Article I)
○ House of Representatives
○ Senate
○ Gridlock
○ Partisanship
○ Legislative Branch (Article II)
○ Executive Branch (Article III)
○ Judicial Branch (Article III)
○ Pork Barrel legislation
○ Congressional (bureaucratic) Oversight
○ Delegate
○ Trustee
○ Politico
○ Issue Network
○ Iron Triangle
○ Bureaucracy
○ Discretionary authority
○ Rule-making authority
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Unit 3 - Civil Liberties and Civil Rights
○ Strict/Loose Constitutional Constructionist
○ Selective incorporation
○ Precedent
○ Stare Decisis
○ Prior Restraint
○ Bill of Rights
○ First Amendment
○ 5 Freedoms
○ Establishment Clause
○ Free-exercise Clause
○ Second Amendment
○ Fifth Amendment
○ Sixth Amendment
○ Tenth Amendment
○ Exclusionary Rule
○ Letter from Birmingham Jail - MLK
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Unit 4 - American Political Ideologies
○ American Core Values
○ Political Polling/Public Opinion Data (measuring and evaluating)
○ Political Ideology
○ Conservative
○ Liberal
○ Political Parties
○ Democrat
○ Republican (GOP)
○ Libertarian
○ Supply-side Economics
○ Keynesian Economics
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Unit 5
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Campaign Finance
Super PACs
Interest Group - Linkage Institution
Political Parties - Linkage Institution
Media - Linkage Institution
Two-Party System
Third Parties
Professional Political Consultants
Voter Turnout
Demographic Gaps
Voter choice
Rational choice
Prospective Choice
Retrospective Choice
Party-line Choice
Political Efficacy
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Candidate-centered electoral campaign
Horse Race Media Coverage
SCOTUS Cases
US v Lopez
McCullough v Maryland
New York Times v. United States
Tinker v. Des Moines
Schenk v US
McDonald v. Chicago
Brown v. Board of Education
Citizens United v Federal Elections Commission
FRQs - given 3 (I’ll choose 1), 20pts + Argumentative Essay, 40pts, will be on Final
1. In May 2017 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced a proposal to repeal
net neutrality rules that govern how Internet service providers treat Internet traffic. Under net
neutrality rules, companies that sell Internet services to customers must provide access to all
Web sites at the same speed. Without net neutrality, Internet service companies can charge
consumers or Web sites a premium for high-speed access to certain sites. As required by
statute, the FCC opened up the proposed rule for public comment. The rule received an
astonishing 21 million comments. However, a study of the comments by Pew Research
showed that only 6% of the comments were unique, suggesting that the comments were part
of organized campaigns and possibly generated by computer bots. For example, on nine
different occasions, more than 75,000 comments were submitted within the same second. Many
of the commenter names and e-mail addresses also appeared to be fake.
A. Referencing the scenario, describe the function being carried out by the FCC.
B. Explain how interest groups can affect the process described in part A.
C. In December of 2017, the FCC created the rule ending net neutrality. Explain how
Congress could respond to the decision made by the FCC if it opposes the new rule.
2. Use the chart to answer the following questions.
A. Identify the issue that the greatest percentage of Democrats believe should be a top
priority in 2019.
B. Describe a difference between Democrats and Republicans on which issues they
believe should be a top priority.
C. Draw a conclusion about why the parties differ on the issues shown on the chart.
D. Explain how the information in the chart could be used by candidates running for
office.
This question requires you to compare a Supreme Court case you studied in class with one
you have not studied in class. A summary of the Supreme Court case you did not study in
class is presented below and provides all of the information you need to know about this case
to answer the prompt.
San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez (1973)
3. In 1968, members of the Edgewood Concerned Parent Association filed a lawsuit in a Texas
District Court challenging that the system of using property taxes as the main source of revenue for
school districts discriminated against poorer school districts. They provided evidence showing that
wealthier schools serving primarily white students spent more money per pupil than poorer schools,
especially those with minority populations. Without a wealthy tax base to fund their schools, they
argued that poorer students’ Fourteenth Amendment rights were being violated. The case was brought
before the Supreme Court in San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez (1973). In a 5-4
decision, which was divided along ideological lines, the Supreme Court ruled that the students’
constitutional rights were not violated by the Texas school funding plan. In writing the majority
opinion, Justice Powell stated that “the Texas plan is not the result of hurried, ill-conceived legislation.
It certainly is not the product of purposeful discrimination against any group or class. On the contrary,
it is rooted in decades of experience in Texas and elsewhere, and, in major part, is the product of
responsible studies by qualified people.”
A. Identify the clause of the Fourteenth Amendment that is common to both Brown v. Board
of Education of Topeka (1954) and San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez
(1973).
B. Explain how the difference in facts led to a different decision in both Brown v. Board of
Education of Topeka and San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez.
C. Explain how the outcome in San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez
demonstrates how public policy regarding equality of opportunity is affected by federalism in the
United States.
4. As part of the blueprint for checks and balances, the United States Constitution outlines a
procedure for Congress to impeach and remove public officials, including the president of the United
States. Develop an argument on whether the congressional procedure outlined in the Constitution for
impeachment and removal is an effective check on the president, too weak a check on the president,
or too strong a check on the president. Use at least one piece of evidence from one of the following
foundational documents:
• Brutus 1
• The Federalist 51
• The Federalist 70
In your response you should do the following:
✓ Respond to the prompt with a defensible claim or thesis that establishes a line of reasoning.
✓ Support your claim with at least TWO pieces of specific and relevant evidence.
• One piece of evidence must come from one of the foundational documents listed above.
• A second piece of evidence can come from any other foundational document not used as
your first piece of evidence, or it may be from your knowledge of course concepts.
✓ Use reasoning to explain why your evidence supports your claim or thesis.
✓ Respond to an opposing or alternate perspective using refutation, concession, or rebuttal.