Welcome to:

Created by the EIU History Department to assist students of Eastern Illinois University in meeting the Illinois state standards for specialization in the social sciences.

The quiz questions are taken from the Illinois Certification Testing System, National Evaluation Systems Inc.

Political Science - Practice Quiz
The following is a short quiz that will test your knowledge of this discipline. These questions have been devised based on similar questions that have been asked on certification tests in the past. The key for the correct answer to each question is at the bottom of this page. To keep track of your answers for each question, simply have a piece of paper and a writing utensil handy.
1. Which of the following best describes a major difference between common law and statute law?
  A. Common law protects the rights of citizens; statute law defines the duties of citizens.
  B. Common law is used to resolve civil disputes; statute law is used in criminal trials.
  C. Common law limits governmental power; statute law limits personal freedoms.
  D. Common law is based on judicial decisions; statute law is created by legislatures.
2. A federal system of government would most likely work better than a unitary system of government in which of the following types of nations?
  A. a large nation with a heterogeneous population and conflicting needs
  B. a large nation with a homogeneous population and simple needs
  C. a small nation with a homogeneous population and conflicting needs
  D. a small nation with a heterogeneous population and simple needs
3. One can best distinguish totalitarian from authoritarian governments by examining which of the following features of their political system?
  A. the pervasiveness of governmental control over nongovermental elements of society
  B. the relationship between the central government and local units of government
  C. the extent to which interest groups are able to influence the policy-making process
  D. the relationship between the executive and judicial branches of government
4. The formation of the European Union in 1993 was primarily a response to which of the following?
  A. the spread of international terrorism
  B. the expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
  C. the breakup of the Soviet Union
  D. the increased interdependence of the global economy
5. Which of the following exerpts from the Constitution of the State of Illinois best illustrates the operation of the principle of checks and balances in state government?
  A. "In the year following each Federal decennial census year, the General Assembly shall redistrict the Legislative Districts and the Representative Districts."
  B. "Each house [of the General Assembly] shall determine the rules of its roceedings, judge the elections, returns and qualifications of its members and choose its officers."
  C. "The General Assembly shall enact laws only by bill. Bills may originate in either house, but may be amended or rejected by the other."
  D. "The Governor may return a bill together with specific recommendations for change to the house in which it originated."
6. The policymaking powers of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency are based on which of the following?
  A. judicial injuctions
  B. presidential appointment authority
  C. executive orders
  D. delegated legislative authority
7. Which of the following best describes the influence that a particular major event had on the evolution of political parties in the United States?
  A. The adoption of a national convention by the Democrats during the Jackson administration enabled the party to dominate the executive branch until the Civil War.
  B. The formation of the Republican Party in 1854 forced the Democrats to abandon their traditional laissez-faire approach to government.
  C. Theodore Roosevelt's third-party candidacy in 1912 created a split among Republicans that hindered the party's electoral efforts for much of the next half century.
  D. Franklin D. Roosevelt's election as president in 1932 marked the beginning of a major electoral realignment of the two main parties.
8. Which of the following best describes a major role of city managers in the manager-council form of municipal government?
  A. to pass municipal ordinances
  B. to set municipal tax rates
  C. to administer municipal departments
  D. to appoint municipal judges
9. One of the classic problems of government has been to achieve a balance between freedom and order. Initiatives by U.S. political leaders to reconcile this delemma have focused on an effort to combine which of the following aims of the U.S. Constitution?
  A. ensuring domestic tranquility and securing the blessings of liberty
  B. establishing justice and forming a more perfect union
  C. ensuring domestic tranquility and providing for the common defense
  D. establishing justice and promoting the general welfare
10. Use the exerpt below from the Illinois State Constitution to answer the question that follows.
   
 
In criminal prosecutions, the accused shall have the right to appear and defend in person and by counsel; to demand the nature and cause of the accusation and have a copy thereof; ...and to have a speedy public trial by an impartial jury of the county in which the offense is allged to have been committed.
   
  The exerpt above best defines which of the following rights?
  A. due process of law
  B. right of appeal
  C. equal protection of the laws
  D. freedom of petition

 

 

Answer Key

1:D, 2:A, 3:A, 4:D, 5:D, 6:D, 7:D, 8:C, 9:A, 10:A

Other news & Information:

Frequently Asked Questions - 2004-2005 Testing Schedule - What to Expect on the Day of the Test

Comments about this web-site should be submitted to: Dr. Charles Titus, Project Coordinator

Web-Site Last Updated 4-14-2004
 

This practice quiz is a product of the Illinois Certification Testing System