AP Gov Unit 4

A member of Congress is arrested and convicted of failing to pay the proper amount of income tax. Which of the following core American values is most relevant to this case?

• Limited Government

• Equality of Opportunity

• Free Enterprise

• The rule of Law

Answer explanation

The rule of law is a core American value that guarantees that American laws apply to all us citizens, regardless of race, gender, class, or occupation.

The idea of having a constitution, which establishes the powers of the government to enact and enforce legislation, is most closely aligned with which of the following core American values?

• Equality of opportunity

• Free enterprise

• The rule of law

• Individualism

Answer explanation

The rule of law is a core American value that guarantees that American laws apply to all us citizens, regardless of race, gender, class, or occupation.

Which of the following examples describes the core value of equality of opportunity?

• A student gains admittance to a university without the hindrance of racial discrimination

• A person is hired at a workplace because the hiring manager prefers younger employees.

• A business owner receives a loan from a bank as a result of growing up with the bank manager

• A citizen is appointed to a school board through political connections with the mayor.

Answer explanation

A student gaining admin to a university without hindrance of racial discrimination is an example of the core value of equality of opportunity. Preventing this type of discrimination does not guarantee equality of outcome but preventing this type of discrimination guarantees equality of opportunity.

Which of the following statements are supported by the data in the table?

• Conservatives are more likely than liberals to believe that global warming is a crisis

• Moderates are more likely than conservatives to agree that global warming is not a problem

• Liberals are more likely than moderates to agree that global warming is a crisis.

• Conservatives are more likely than moderates to say that global warming is a major problem.

Answer explanation

A total of 29 percent of liberals believe that global warming is a crisis, which is highest among the three groups.

Which of the following public policies would Democrats be most likely to support?

• Reducing taxes on American businesses and corporations

• Increasing the age of eligibility for social security benefits

• Reducing the size of the federal government by eliminating an executive department

• Increasing taxes on the wealthiest Americans

Answer explanation

Democrats would be most likely to support a tax increase on the wealthiest Americans. Democrats are more likely to believe than Republicans that those who make the most money should pay the most in taxes

Which of the following public policies would Republicans be most likely to support?

• Placing more regulations on businesses

• Increasing national government involvement in the public health care system

• Creating a less restrictive marketplace environment

• Creating additional education policies at the national level rather than at the state level.

Which of the following parties would be most likely to support little to no national or state involvement in policymaking?

• The Democratic Party

• The Libertarian Party

• The Green Party

• The Republican Party

Answer explanation

Libertarian ideologies generally favor little national or state government involvement except when national or state government is protecting private property or individual liberty.

A large national survey of young Americans recently released by CIRCLE shows young Obama and Romney voters had strikingly similar levels of political knowledge. The survey also shows a clear relationship between respondents’ high school civics education experiences and their knowledge of campaign issues and political participation in the 2012 presidential election. However, taking high school civics had little or no relationship with young adults’ choice between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. “Young people who recalled experiencing more high-quality civic education practices in schools were more likely to vote, to form political opinions, to know campaign issues, and to know general facts about the US political system,” said Peter Levine, director of CIRCLE. “Civics education was not related to partisanship or choice of candidate. These results should allay political concerns about civic education being taught in schools.” Source: CIRCLE, 2013

Which of the following concepts is most closely related to the passage?

• Public opinion polling

• Partisanship

• Political socialization

• Ideology

Answer explanation

The passage relates to the concept of political socialization and how students develop political knowledge and attitudes about governmental process

Which of the following best explains how the format affected the polls?

• The closed-ended format limited respondents to fewer options, which forced respondents to focus on the most important issue of those options.

• The closed-ended format decreased participation because it was more difficult for respondents to think of a response.

• The open-ended format increased the number of respondents who mentioned energy policy because the poll reminded them of the issue.

• The open-ended format limited the number of potential responses, which affected the accuracy of the poll.

Answer explanation

Limiting the options available increases the chances of one of the five options being selecting

The polling in the summer of 2016 shows a sharp increase in popular support for Clinton, followed by a sharp increase in popular support for Trump. Which of the following factors most likely accounts for these increases in popular support?

• A change in the use of sampling techniques employed by polling organizations

• The timing of political events covered by the news which temporarily influenced preferences

• The effect of political socialization on individuals responding to poll questions

• Sampling errors that affected polling results

Answer explanation

The timing of certain campaign events or news stories can usually be detected in poll results. For example, the sharp increases in preferences, as shown in the graph, can be heavily influenced by events covered by the media, such as announcements of vice-presidential picks, the introduction of new public policy proposals, the coverage of political scandal, or, in this case, party conventions.