AP Practice Exam #4
30. Which of the following concepts are mentioned in the Preamble to the Constitution?
I. Establish Justice
III. Secure the blessings of education
II. Provide for the common defense
IV. Promote the general welfare
a. All of the above
d. I, II, and IV
c. I, III, and IV
b. I and IV only
e. III and IV only
15. The individual rights listed in the Bill of Rights were later extended to apply to states,
due mostly to the Supreme Court interpretation of which Constitutional amendment?
a. 18th
b. 12th
c. 14th
d. 10th
e. 16th
12. Which of the following sources contributes most to the workload of the Supreme
Court?
a. cases from its appellate jurisdiction
c. cases referred by regulatory commissions
e. cases referred from the executive branch
b. cases referred by Congress
d. cases arising from original jurisdiction
9. The formal writ used to bring a case before the Supreme Court is called a
a. writ of habeas corpus
d. writ of mandamus
b. writ of theocracy
c. writ of certiorari
e. writ of court consent
21. Which of the following Supreme Court decisions dealt with the exclusionary rule and
evidence being obtained by illegal means?
a. Korematsu v. United States
b. Mapp v Ohio
d. Plessy v Ferguson
e. Munn v. Illinois
c. Bakke v. Board of Regents
23. Which of the following definitions best describes the term iron triangle?
a. Cooperation among the military, executive branch, and the legislative branch when planning
and financing a military action.
b. the relationship among diplomats, the president, and the Senate in treaty negotiations
c. the close relationship between a federal agency, a congressional committee, and an interest
group that often becomes a mutually advantageous alliance
d. the cooperation among federal, state, and local governments
e. the close working relationship among the three levels of the judicial branch.
24. Important industries experiencing extreme problems might expect government help in
all of the following ways except.
a. the government might set prices
b. the government might guarantee loans to assist the industry through the difficult period.
c. the government might fund product research and development
d. the government might intervene with subsidies.
e. the government might pass tax break legislation
29. The overwhelming majority of criminal cases in the United States are tried in
a. state appellate courts
d. state and local courts
b. federal appellate courts
e. federal military courts
c. federal district courts
31. Which of the following was the most immediate effect of the Supreme Court decision in
Brown v. Board of Education (1954)?
a. there was a national show of support for this long-overdue Supreme Court decision
b. Bussing of inner-city students to suburban schools was established voluntarily
c. there was a rapid grown in private schools in the South.
d. a constitutional amendment was passed to strengthen the ruling
e. surprisingly, an almost immediate end to segregated education took place
33. Which of the following conditions would most benefit retired persons on fixed incomes?
a. a period of low inflation
b. a period of high unemployment c. a period of high inflation
d. a period of low unemployment e. a period of stagnant unemployment
34. The largest single purchaser of health care in the United States is
a. private citizens b. doctor-owned HMOs
d. the federal government
e. charities
c. private insurance companies
43. Which of the following Supreme Court decisions reversed the earlier decision in Plessy
v. Ferguson?
a. Korematsu v. US
d. Marbury v Madison
b. Mapp v Ohio
e. Gideon v Wainwright
c. Brown v Board of Education
45. Which of the following theories encourages the government to increase spending
during a recession to stimulate consumer demand?
a. Reaganomics
b. Monetarism
c. Marxist economics
d. supply-side economics
e. Keynesian economics
55. A progressive income tax can best be described as a(n)
a. equitable tax because only those who are wealthy pay a tax
b. tax where those with more income pay a higher rate of tax on their income
c. regressive tax, because as a person’s salary increases annually, his or her tax rate decreases,
encouraging investment.
d. system of taxation that is considered more fair because it taxes all citizens at the same rate.
e. innovative form of taxation that incorporates sales taxes and tariffs.
51. Which of the following is the Latin term for “let the decision stand” the principle of
using precedents in the judicial system?
a. habeas corpus b. writ of certiorari c. pluribus principalus
d. en loco parentis
e. stare decisis