MIDTERM STUDY GUIDE
POLITICAL SCIENCE
The Midterm Exam will be administered on Thursday, January 14, 2016. A review session will be held after school on
Tuesday, January 12, however students must study at home in order to be successful on the exam! The exam will consist
of 50 multiple choice questions. Students will have the class period, 53 minutes, to complete the test. If more time is
needed, they must make accommodations to stay after school Thursday or Friday to complete the test.
The test will assess students’ retaining of information from Units 1-4 of Political Science, which all correspond to US
Government & Politics.
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Unit 1: Basics of US Government
o The Constitution – know which branch is discussed in article I, article II, and article III
o Great Compromise
o Bicameral Legislature
o Constitutional Powers of Congress (See Constitution Article I, Section 8)
o Constitutional Powers of President (See Constitution Article II, Section 2)
o Supreme Court Powers (See Constitution, Article III & SCOTUS Case Marbury v Madison)
o Checks & Balances – concept & example
o Federalism
o Bill of Rights
o Amendments – Be familiar with 13, 14, 15, 19
Unit 2: Institutions of National Government
o War Powers Act – what was its purpose?
o Congressional Oversight – what does this mean & why does it exist?
o Congressional Committees – what is their purpose? what is an example? what are the 4 types?
o Cabinet Departments – why do they exist? how many are there?
o Executive Orders – define & be familiar with an example (like the Emancipation Proclamation)
o Judicial Review – define
o Supreme Court Cases: know the ruling of Tinker vs. Des Moines & Miranda vs. Arizona
o Legislative Process – how does a bill become a law? (Review with “I’m Just a Bill”)
Unit 3: Participating in Politics
o Political Beliefs – define & know example
o Political Ideology – define & know examples
o Public Opinion – define & know how it is measured
o Midterm Election vs. General Election – what’s the difference?
o Suffrage – define
o Winner-Takes-All & Two-Party System – know why the first perpetuates the latter (review with Crash
Course)
o 5 Agents of Socialization
o Political Action Committees – what is their purpose?
o Super PACs – how are they different from PACs?
o Iron Triangles – define & know why they are controversial
o Parties’ Ideology – need to know most fundamental elements of Republican, Democrat, Green, and
Libertarian ideologies (conservative, liberal, sustainability, minimal government…)
Unit 4: Civil Rights & Liberties
o 1st Amendment Protections
o 14th Amendment Protections
o De Jure vs. De Facto Segregation – how are they different?
o Supreme Court Cases: know the ruling of each (Brown vs. Board, Plessy vs. Ferguson, Hazlewood vs.
Kuhlmeier, Citizens United vs. FEC, Loving vs. Virginia, Regents of the University of California vs. Bakke)
o Martin Luther King Jr. – have an idea of what he accomplished & how
o Civil Liberties vs. Civil Rights – how are they different?
o Due Process – define
o White Primary – define