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Chapter 1: American Government and Civic Engagement

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Chapter 1: American Government and Civic Engagement

6 problems · 0 figures

1-1 §1.1 source ↗

What goods are available to all without direct payment?
  1. a.
    private goods
  2. b.
    public goods
  3. c.
    common goods
  4. d.
    toll goods

Answer

B. public goods

1-3 §1.1 source ↗

What is the difference between a representative democracy and a direct democracy?

Answer

In a representative democracy, people elect representatives to make political decisions and pass laws for them. In a direct democracy, people make all political decisions and pass laws themselves.

1-5 §1.2 source ↗

The elite theory of government maintains that ________.
  1. a.
    special interest groups make government policy
  2. b.
    politicians who have held office for a long time are favored by voters
  3. c.
    poor people and people of color should not be allowed to vote
  4. d.
    wealthy, politically powerful people control government, and government has no interest in meeting the needs of ordinary people

Answer

D. wealthy, politically powerful people control government, and government has no interest in meeting the needs of ordinary people

1-7 §1.2 source ↗

Which of the following is a good example of a tradeoff?
  1. a.
    The government pleases environmental activists by preserving public lands but also pleases ranchers by allowing them to rent public lands for grazing purposes.
  2. b.
    The government pleases environmental activists by reintroducing wolves to Yellowstone National Park but angers ranchers by placing their cattle in danger.
  3. c.
    The government pleases oil companies by allowing them to drill on lands set aside for conservation but allows environmental activist groups to protest the drilling operations.
  4. d.
    Groups that represent a variety of conflicting interests are all allowed to protest outside Congress and the White House.

Answer

A. The government pleases environmental activists by preserving public lands but also pleases ranchers by allowing them to rent public lands for grazing purposes.

1-9 §1.3 source ↗

When a person is asked a question about a political issue that person has little interest in and has not thought much about, the person’s answer will likely reflect ________.
  1. a.
    ideology
  2. b.
    partisanship
  3. c.
    intense preferences
  4. d.
    latent preferences

Answer

D. latent preferences

1-11 §1.3 source ↗

What political activities can people engage in other than running for office?

Answer

People can pay attention to the news in order to be aware of the most important issues of the day. They can contribute money to a campaign or attend a rally in support of a political candidate whose views they favor. They can write letters to members of Congress and to state and local politicians. They can vote.

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Problems and answers are adapted from American Government 4e by Glen Krutz and Sylvie Waskiewicz, OpenStax, and are used under the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence. Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/american-government-4e/pages/1-introduction. Illustrations: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license. This adaptation is released under the same licence, is non-commercial, and is neither affiliated with nor endorsed by OpenStax or Rice University.