Multiple-Choice.
Below is a bar graph with the demographic data of past Cabinet members. Study the graph and then answer the questions.
1. Which of the following statements is reflected in the series of bar graphs?
(A) Only Democrat presidents appointed women to prominent Cabinet posts.
(B) Of the presidential Cabinets depicted, the most demographically diverse Cabinet is President Obama’s
(C) Only one president appointed mostly white men to his Cabinet.
(D) No women were appointed to Cabinets before Reagan.
2. What is a likely cause of the trend in the chart?
(A) The advice and consent power of the Senate has recently changed to include women and minorities.
(B) The Senate has become as diverse as the nation at large, and therefore so has the Cabinet.
(C) Presidential executive orders have dictated quotas to assure that some Cabinet appointees are women or minorities.
(D) Over time, institutions have opened their doors to women and minorities, and thus presidents have more qualified women and minorities to nominate.
3. Presidential claims to the right to executive privilege are based on the separation of powers and
(A) The U.S. Constitution
(B) International Law
(C) The need to protect top-secret information
(D) The desire for continued candid advice from advisers
Here’s an example a text passage and two text-based questions you’ll likely see on the AP Government Exam.
The following questions go with the text below.
This morning [Homeland Security] Secretary Napolitano announced new actions my administration will take to mend our Nation’s immigration policy to make it more fair, more efficient, and more just, specifically for . . . young people who study in our schools, they play in our neighborhoods, they’re friends with our kids, they pledge allegiance to our flag. They are Americans in their heart, in their minds, in every single way but one: on paper. They were brought to this country by their parents–sometimes even as infants–and often have no idea that they’re undocumented . . . Over the next few months, eligible individuals who do not present a risk to national security or public safety will be able to request temporary relief from deportation proceedings and apply for work authorization.
—President Barack Obama, The White House, June 15, 2012.
4. In this action, President Obama used which constitutional power?
(A) power to veto congressional acts
(B) power as commander in chief
(C) power to enforce the law
(D) power to appoint department secretaries
5. Which of the following ideological perspectives is most consistent with this directive?
(A) Liberal on immigration policy
(B) Conservative on law and order
(C) Conservative on environment
(D) Libertarian on education
6. Which of the following statements would this president likely agree with?
(A) This is a national security measure that is necessary and proper.
(B) The president ought to follow the letter of the law when it comes to illegal immigration.
(C) All illegal immigrants should be treated the same.
(D) Though young children of illegal immigrants are in the U.S. illegally, it may be impractical or unjust to deport them.
The following questions refer to the approval ratings of presidents Bush and Obama.
George W. Bush Barack Obama
7. Based on the information in the above two line charts, what conclusion can you draw?
(A) At the point of their re-election to a second term, both presidents enjoyed an approval rating at or above 50 percent.
(B) It is likely President Bush convinced Congress to pass more policies in his second term than his first.
(C) Both presidents had low approval ratings during their honeymoon periods.
(D) For both presidents the peak of their popularity occurred during the nation’s worst economic conditions.
8. Which characterization of the two approval ratings is accurate?
(A) President Bush’s job approval rating had a greater variance than president Obama’s.
(B) President Bush left office with a higher approval rating than did Obama.
(C) President Obama had a higher rating because he served only one term.
(D) No president had a higher approval rating than these two men.