STUDY GUIDE FOR GOVERNMENT FINAL EXAM
This is a study guide. You do not have to write this out and turn anything in. Use it
however you like to perform for your final. You should have learned this material during the
semester and there’s no way to put everything we’ve done on here and be able to keep it under
50 pages. So, I would tell you to spend most of your time focusing on what is on these pages but
also go back through your notes, quizzes, and old study guides/vocabulary. There are about 150
questions on the scantron and 8 fill-in-the blank questions. No one ever has trouble finishing this
test in the time given. Good luck.
UNIT 1 (CHAPTERS 2-4): THE CONSTITUTION AND AMENDMENTS
1. Identify strengths and weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.
2. Differentiate between the New Jersey and Virginia Plans.
3. Identify and give the significance of major compromises at the Constitutional
Convention.
Constitution
Be able to classify statements as true or false as to how our government works based on
the Constitution. Study your quizzes and know Articles I-VII inside out.
Constitution Amendments
Be able to match the following amendments with their descriptions
1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 13, 14, 15, 19, 22, 25, 26
UNIT 2 (CHAPTERS 11-13, 15: JUDICIAL BRANCH AND CIVIL LIBERTIES)
OBJECTIVES
1. Explain the structure of the American judicial/court system.
2. Know the order of how a case is handled by the US Supreme Court from it being put
on the docket to being decided by the Court.
3. Define key judicial branch terms.
a. statute
f. felony
k. writ of mandamus
b. misdemeanor
g. petit jury
l. precedent
c. mediation
h. grand jury
m. de facto segregation
d. slander
i. tort
e. seditious speech
j. writ of certiorari
p. jurisdiction
q. ex post facto law
4. Match key Supreme Court decisions with their outcomes.
1. Dred Scott v. Sanford
9. Abington School District v.
2. Engel v. Vitale
Schempp
3. Roe v. Wade
10. Plessy v. Ferguson
4. Baker v. Carr
11. CA Regents v. Bakke
5. Mapp v. Ohio
12. Miller v. California
6. Brown v. Board of Education
13. New York Times v. United
7. Marbury v. Madison
States
8. Miranda v. Arizona
UNIT 3 (CHAPTERS 5-7, 8-10, 22): CONGRESS AND EXECUTIVE
1. Differentiate between the different types of House and Senate Committees and their
purposes.
2. Identify the top leadership positions in both the House and the Senate.
3. Discuss the process of how a bill becomes a law.
4. Differentiate between the different roles played by the president: chief of state, chief of
party, chief citizen, chief diplomat, chief administrator, chief executive, commander-inchief, chief legislator.
5. Describe the powers of the president when it comes to criminal cases involving others
and powers relating to other countries.
UNIT 4 (CHAPTERS 16-19): POLITICAL PARTIES/ELECTIONS/
CIVIC PARTICIPATION
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Differentiate between splinter and ideological parties.
Differentiate between conservatives and liberals.
Identify which groups of people traditionally vote Republican or Democratic.
Differentiate between open, closed, and runoff primaries and caucuses.
Classify statements as types of propaganda: plain folks, spin, bandwagon, transfer,
labeling, testimonial, card-stacking.
6. Differentiate between the different types of public opinion polls.
7. Discuss the roles of the FEC and the FCC.