WorksheetsThe Legislative Branch
Total questions: 51
Worksheet time: 34mins
Name
Class
Date
1.
What is the job of the Legislative Branch?
a)
To make laws
b)
To enforce laws
c)
To interpret laws
d)
To be bossy
2.
Name the 2 parts of Congress.
a)
President & Supreme Court
b)
House of Representatives & Senate
c)
Supreme Court & Senate
d)
House of Representatives & Supreme Court
3.
What are the 3 requirements to get into the House of Representatives?
a)
30 years old, citizen for 9 years, live in the state you represent
b)
30 years old, citizen for 7 years, live in the state you represent
c)
25 years old, citizen for 9 years, live in the state you represent
d)
25 years old, citizen for 7 years, live in the state you represent
4.
If elected to the House of Representatives, how many years is a term?
a)
2
b)
4
c)
6
d)
8
5.
How many members are there in the House of Representatives?
a)
135
b)
235
c)
335
d)
435
6.
What are 2 powers ONLY the House of Representatives can do?
a)
Approve treaties & presidential appointments
b)
Impeach & start money Bills
c)
Impeach and hold impeachment trial
d)
Start money Bills & approve treaties
7.
What are the 2 requirements to get elected to the Senate?
a)
25 years old & citizen for 7 years
b)
25 years old & citizen for 9 years
c)
30 years old & citizen for 7 years
d)
30 years old & citizen for 9 years
8.
How many representatives do states get in the Senate?
a)
Based on population
b)
Every state gets 1
c)
Every state gets 2
d)
Only some states get into the Senate
9.
How many representatives does each state get in the House of Representatives?
a)
Every state gets 2
b)
Based on population
c)
Every state gets 1
d)
Only certain states get into the House
10.
How many members are there in the Senate?
a)
100
b)
200
c)
300
d)
400
11.
How many total members of Congress are there?
a)
100
b)
435
c)
535
d)
635
12.
If elected to the Senate, how many years is a term?
a)
2
b)
4
c)
6
d)
8
13.
What are 3 powers only the Senate can do?
a)
Impeach, approve treaties, approve appointments
b)
Impeachment trial, approve treaties, approve appointments
c)
Start money Bills, approve treaties, approve appointments
d)
Start money Bills, approve treaties, impeach
14.
Which of these are powers of Congress
a)
Raise & spend revenue,borrow money,print money,regulate trade,punish counterfeiting,decide rules for bankruptcy
b)
Declare war,create armed forces, rules for armed forces, protect from pirates
c)
Create post office, create Federal courts, create National capital, create copyrights/patents
d)
all of the above
15.
What are two things Congressmen must balance?
a)
National Interests & Constituents
b)
Bills & Laws
c)
House & Senate
d)
Constituents & Citizens back home
16.
After a bill is introduced in either the House or Senate, what is the next step?
a)
It goes to the President to be signed into law.
b)
It goes to the Standing Committee.
c)
It goes to the Conference Committee.
d)
It goes to the other chamber of Congress for a vote.
17.
To pigeonhole a bill means the committee has...
a)
used it to hold bird seed.
b)
approved the bill and sent it back for a vote.
c)
rejected the bill.
d)
refused to act on the bill.
18.
Where can a bill be filibustered?
a)
The President
b)
The House
c)
The Senate
d)
The Wild West
19.
Reapportionment of house seats is based on what?
a)
State Size
b)
State Population
c)
Number of Political Districts
d)
The number of chairs in the room
20.
Gerrymandering changes political districts to favor who?
a)
Political Parties
b)
Senators
c)
Citizens
d)
Gerry
21.
Who creates the boundaries of US Congressional districts?
a)
State Representatives
b)
State Legislature using Census info.
c)
State Governors
d)
The President
22.
What happens after the President vetoes a bill?
a)
The Supreme Court can vote the bill into law
b)
The bill becomes law
c)
The bill is dead
d)
Congress can override it with a 1/3 vote
23.
Why must the Senate approve the President's Supreme Court Justice nominations?
a)
It allows part of the Legislative branch to check the power of the Executive branch
b)
So the Senate can filibuster the President's nomination
c)
It is required that all Executive decisions go through the Senate
d)
The Senate wants to feel involved in the government
24.
Which of the following is currently NOT true about Congressional Term Limits?
a)
Unconstitutional - Congressmen have a right to serve as long as they want
b)
Unconstitutional - Constituents have a right to be represented by their Congressman for as long as they keep electing them
c)
Unconstitutional - There would be nothing would hold Congressmen responsible their last term
d)
Constitutional - Congressmen may only serve 3 terms
25.
What is one thing that does not happen in the Standing Committee?
a)
A bill can be voted into law
b)
A bill can be killed
c)
A bill can be accepted and sent to floor action
d)
A bill can be accepted with changes and sent to floor action
26.
What happens in the Rules Committee?
a)
It sets the rules for how the bill will be discussed in the Senate
b)
It sets the rules for how the bill will be discussed in the House
c)
The two chambers come together to discuss the House and Senate versions of the bill
d)
It vetos bad bills
27.
What is the purpose of the Conference Committee?
a)
House and Senate members conference over whether killed bills should return to floor action
b)
It sets the parameters for floor debate on a bill in the House
c)
Members of the House and Senate come together to determine a compromise between the House and Senate versions of a bill
d)
Members determine whether or not a bill is worthy of floor action
28.
Who is the presiding officer in the Senate?
a)
President
b)
Vice President
c)
Speaker of the House
d)
Oldest Senator
29.
What is a Filibuster?
a)
When someone talks for a long time in order to prolong a decision.
b)
When all the members of the Senate leave and take a break.
c)
The brand of fireworks that Fred and George Weasley use in Harry Potter.
30.
How is the number of state's representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives determined?
a)
By population based on the U.S. Census.
b)
By population based on a state report.
c)
By the Constitution, which specifies two representatives for each state.
d)
By each state according to their number of state legislators.
31.
Who is the presiding officer of the U.S. House of Representatives?
a)
The majority party leader.
b)
The minority party leader.
c)
The vice president of the United States.
d)
The Speaker of the House.
32.
Who must sign a bill before it becomes a law?
a)
President
b)
Vice President
c)
Head of the Supreme Court
d)
Speaker of the House
33.
What is a veto?
a)
When the president accepts a bil
b)
When the president does not accept a bil
c)
When the president overturns a law
d)
When the Supreme Court upholds the law
34.
T/F: A bicameral legislature has two houses.
a)
true
b)
false
35.
Congress's main function is to
a)
enforce the laws.
b)
make laws.
c)
decide whether or not laws are constitutional.
d)
impeach high government officials.
36.
Gerrymandering is
a)
legislation passed in southern states to limit African American participation in elections.
b)
the drawing of legislative district boundary lines to give the dominant party an advantage.
c)
known to give the minority party an electoral advantage at the expense of the dominant party.
d)
a process that attempts to limit debate on a bill in the Senate.
37.
What is a proposed law called?
a)
Amendment
b)
Legal ease
c)
Bill
d)
Contract
38.
This committee is made up of members of both houses
a)
Conference Committee
b)
Joint Committee
c)
Standing Committee
d)
Select or Special Committee
39.
How long does a term of Congress last?
a)
1 year
b)
2 years
c)
6 months
d)
4 years
40.
Which chamber requires you to be at least 25 years old to run for office?
a)
House
b)
Senate
41.
Which branch requires you to be at least 30 to run for office?
a)
House
b)
Senate
42.
In which branch do revenue (tax) and budget bills begin?
a)
House
b)
Senate
43.
Another name for the Elastic Clause is the...
a)
Rubberband clause
b)
Inelastic Clause
c)
Necessary and Proper Clause
d)
Full Faith Clause
44.
True or False: Seats in the senate are based on population.
a)
True
b)
False
45.
Congress belongs to which branch of government?
a)
Executive Branch
b)
Judicial Branch
c)
Leglislative Branch
46.
The Congress is made up of the Senate and the Supreme Court
a)
True
b)
False
47.
The party that has more than half of the seats in the senate or the House is known as:
a)
Minority Party
b)
Majority Party
c)
Democrats
d)
Republicans
48.
The majority party in power in the House of Representatives appoints a leader called:
a)
President pro Tempore
b)
Chief Justice
c)
Senator
d)
Speaker of the House
49.
The ___ approves Presidential appointments.
a)
House
b)
Representatives
c)
Vice President
d)
Senate
50.
Congress can remove the president from office.
a)
True
b)
False
51.
What vote is required to overturn a presidential veto?
a)
1/3
b)
2/3
c)
1/2
d)
none
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