Study Guide

Field 247: Social Science: Political Science 
Sample Multiple-Choice Questions

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Each multiple-choice question has four answer choices. Read each question and its answer choices carefully and choose the ONE best answer.

During the test you should try to answer all questions. Even if you are unsure of an answer, it is better to guess than not to answer a question at all. You will NOT be penalized for choosing an incorrect response.

Objective 0001 
Understand basic sources, tools, and methods of social science inquiry and interdisciplinary connections among the social sciences.

1. A social science researcher would be most likely to use sampling techniques in conducting which of the following research projects?

  1. a study of demographic changes on one city block over time
  2. an exploration of untreated depression in people statewide
  3. a report on ritual mask use in modern and ancient Maori culture
  4. a comparison of campaign finance laws in five contiguous states
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
Sampling is the process of selecting a small number of representative units from a population of interest, so that results based on studying the sample can be generalized to the population from which they were chosen. Sampling is most appropriate when the population exists in the present and is too large to allow for a full census.

Objective 0002 
Understand the use of analysis, interpretation, and evaluation in social science inquiry and basic historical concepts.

2. A high school social science teacher has assigned students a semester-long research project. One instructional goal for the research project is for students to demonstrate their ability to evaluate sources throughout the inquiry process. The teacher could best accomplish this goal by:

  1. requiring students to utilize primary sources.
  2. steering students toward an academic database to conduct their research.
  3. having students submit an annotated bibliography.
  4. including a "source analysis" component on the grading rubric for the project.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.
An annotated bibliography is a list of sources on one topic that includes a brief note or annotation for each source, describing its content, relevance, and credibility. By having students submit annotated bibliographies, the teacher requires students to evaluate their sources and gains an opportunity to assess their progress toward this instructional goal.

Objective 0002 
Understand the use of analysis, interpretation, and evaluation in social science inquiry and basic historical concepts.

3. For which of the following tasks would historians rely most on chronological thinking?

  1. identifying central questions in narratives
  2. explaining historical causality
  3. proposing alternative choices for addressing a historical problem
  4. considering multiple perspectives
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
Much of the work of historians involves the ambiguities of cause and effect. Because causes precede effects, sometimes by extended periods, historians can begin to consider questions of historical causality by tracing events chronologically.

Objective 0003 
Understand the process of reading, and apply knowledge of strategies for promoting students' reading development in the social science classroom.

4. Use the sentence below to answer the question that follows.

By developing new products and/or starting new businesses and being willing to take on the associated risks of such endeavors,  start underline entrepreneurs end underline  play a key role in helping an economy grow.

A teacher could best promote students' understanding of the underlined vocabulary word in the sentence by providing explicit instruction in which of the following types of context clues?

  1. contrast
  2. explanation
  3. inference
  4. restatement
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
Many educational texts are carefully written to include information that can serve as context clues to support students' reading comprehension. Generally, however, students need to be taught how to recognize and access the several types of context clues. In this text, the term entrepreneur is introduced with the help of an explanation clue, in which the new vocabulary word is explained within the same sentence. Explanation clues can also appear in the sentence immediately preceding or following the sentence containing the target word.

Objective 0003 
Understand the process of reading, and apply knowledge of strategies for promoting students' reading development in the social science classroom.

5. A high school social science class includes some English language learners and struggling readers who lack the basic reading skills necessary to comprehend complex informational texts. Which of the following strategies for differentiating reading assignments for these students would be most appropriate for a content-area teacher to use to address the students' reading comprehension needs?

  1. teaching the students the basic reading skills that they lack and then reviewing key skills before assigning a new text for independent reading
  2. using a variety of techniques to promote the students' development of oral reading fluency with respect to an assigned text, such as phrase-cued reading, choral reading, and echo reading
  3. introducing key vocabulary to the students prior to assigning a new text and having them read aloud, discuss, and annotate the text with a partner
  4. allowing the students to search for an alternative text online that addresses the same topic as an assigned text but is written for a grade level that is better aligned with their own reading level
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.
Lack of academic language knowledge is a common contributing factor to comprehension difficulties for students who are English language learners and/or struggling readers. Providing English language learners and struggling readers with explicit instruction in a text's key academic vocabulary, coupled with repeated meaningful exposure to and practice using the new vocabulary (e.g., by having them read aloud and discuss the text with a partner) is an effective approach for enhancing the students' comprehension of new academic language in a complex informational text. Finally, annotating the text with a partner requires the students to use various means (e.g., sticky notes, highlighting, notes in the text's margins) during reading to identify the text's key ideas and details, including the author's argument, claims, and evidence. Text annotation reinforces students' reading comprehension as well as their retention of essential text content.

Objective 0004 
Understand political concepts, systems, features, and processes in the United States and other world areas.

6. The U.S. Congress is best able to influence foreign policy by exercising its constitutional power to:

  1. regulate international commerce.
  2. establish independent regulatory commissions.
  3. appropriate federal funds.
  4. approve or reject presidential appointments.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.
The power to tax and spend is the first of the enumerated powers given to Congress in Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution. One illustrative example of Congress influencing foreign policy through the "power of the purse" is the Boland Amendments to the Defense Appropriations Act during the 1980s. This series of amendments banned U.S. assistance to the Nicaraguan Contra rebels.

Objective 0005 
Understand economic concepts and systems, the operation of the U.S. and world economies, and personal finance.

7. A consumer who is choosing between a credit card with a high interest rate and no annual fee and one with a low interest rate and a substantial annual fee should consider spending habits primarily for which of the following reasons?

  1. If the consumer's large purchases are seasonal, an annual fee may seem burdensome.
  2. If the consumer's purchases are mostly made with cash, a high interest rate is more affordable.
  3. If the consumer spends the same amount each month, a high annual fee may be critical.
  4. If the consumer limits purchases and pays the bill in full each month, the interest rate is irrelevant.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
The scenario illustrates the common economic phenomenon of a trade-off where an advantage comes with the opportunity cost of an offsetting disadvantage. The disadvantage of the first credit card, a high interest rate on balances carried forward, can be avoided if the consumer does not carry a balance and instead pays the credit card bill in full each month.

Objective 0006 
Understand major developments and patterns of continuity and change in world history.

8. Which of the following developments reflects an important consequence of the Neolithic agricultural revolution?

  1. the emergence of pietistic religions
  2. a more equitable distribution of wealth
  3. a decrease in average family size
  4. the creation of permanent settlements
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
In the Paleolithic Era, early humans lived in small groups sustained by hunting and gathering. As they gained knowledge of the migration habits of the animals they hunted and the growth patterns of the wild grains they gathered, humans began domesticating animals and cultivating crops to feed gradually rising populations. As early as 10,000 B C E, these new ways of acquiring food led humans to establish permanent agricultural villages.

Objective 0007 
Understand major developments and patterns of continuity and change in U.S. history.

9. The increased use of steam power by U.S. manufacturers during the first half of the nineteenth century most directly influenced the:

  1. location and productivity of factories.
  2. division of labor in factories.
  3. variety of goods produced in factories.
  4. quality of goods produced in factories.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
The development of steam power marked a signal advance in the ability to do work, which had previously been limited to the muscle power of humans and draft animals supplemented by energy generated by wind and running water. Steam requires the burning of wood or, more commonly, coal to boil water, so the factories that used steam power tended to be located near sources of those raw materials. Furthermore, steam-powered factories required substantial human labor and produced large amounts of consumer goods, encouraging a concentration of population into fast-growing urban centers.

Objective 0007 
Understand major developments and patterns of continuity and change in U.S. history.

10. Which of the following provisions of the U.S. Constitution most clearly reflects the framers' goal of creating a strong national government after the failure of the Articles of Confederation?

  1. "The Congress shall have power to ... make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, all other powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States."
  2. "[The president] shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, Judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for."
  3. "The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by jury; and such trial shall be held in the State where the said crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the trial shall be at such place or places as the Congress may by law have directed."
  4. "The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a republican form of Government, and shall protect each of them against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the legislature cannot be convened), against domestic violence."
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
The Constitution enumerates seventeen specific delegated powers to Congress, several of which are substantially more expansive than the powers of its predecessor under the Articles of Confederation. In addition, the Constitution gives Congress "implied powers" to legislate on other matters that "shall be necessary and proper." This clause gives Congress and the national government generally much more power than the central government that had been established by the Articles of Confederation.

Objective 0008 
Understand tools, concepts, and processes of human and physical geography.

11. Which of the following examples best illustrates how experience and culture influence human perceptions of regions?

  1. A person from Canada is more likely than a person from Guatemala to view Latin America as a culture region.
  2. A person from Italy is more likely than a person from Spain to view Western Europe as a culture region.
  3. A person from South Africa is more likely than a person from Egypt to view sub-Saharan Africa as a culture region.
  4. A person from Malaysia is more likely than a person from Thailand to view Southeast Asia as a culture region.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
In geography, a region is an area of land that shares one or more characteristic features. Because many regions are defined by their human features, such as the predominant languages, ethnicities, and economic activities across an area, cultural background and personal experiences can influence how people perceive regions. For example, an individual living in Guatemala may be attuned to cultural differences across Central and South America, while an individual living in Canada may be more likely to perceive Latin America as a cohesive region.

Objective 0009 
Understand concepts, terms, and theories related to human behavior and development, the study of cultures, the structure and organization of human societies, and the processes of social interaction.

12. A major sociological difference between preindustrial and postindustrial societies is that in a preindustrial society:

  1. gender roles are likely to be less rigidly defined.
  2. social status is more likely to be determined by nonmonetary standards.
  3. people are less likely to integrate religious and secular concerns.
  4. an individual's sense of self is more likely to be shaped by occupational role.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
Because preindustrial societies operate close to subsistence level, mass participation in producing food is required. In many such societies, the most monetized classes—such as people engaged in mercantile trade�have lower social status than warriors, priests, and landowners. In industrial and postindustrial societies, social classes become even more stratified, with monetary accumulation typically measuring social status.

Objective 0010 
Understand political science concepts, terms, skills, structures, and theories.

13. Read the excerpt below from the "Mayflower Compact" (1620); then answer the question that follows.

We, whose names are underwritten, the Loyal Subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, &c. Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honour of our King and Country, a Voyage to plant the first Colony in the northern Parts of Virginia; Do by these Presents, solemnly and mutually, in the Presence of God and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick, for our better Ordering and Preservation, and Furtherance of the Ends aforesaid: And by Virtue hereof do enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions, and Officers, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general Good of the Colony; unto which we promise all due Submission and Obedience. IN WITNESS whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names at Cape-Cod the eleventh of November, in the Reign of our Sovereign Lord King James, of England, France, and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth, Anno Domini; 1620.

A political science teacher plans to include this excerpt in a unit on political theory. The teacher could best use the excerpt to stimulate discussion about which of the following political science concepts?

  1. interest group theory
  2. balance of power
  3. social contract theory
  4. representation in government
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.
Despite pre-dating the works of Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau, the Mayflower Compact clearly reflects what would later come to be identified as a social contract, in which the signers of the Compact voluntarily enter into an agreement with each other to establish the rules of a society to which they now subordinate their individual interests: "We ... combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick, for our better Ordering and Preservation ... and by Virtue hereof do enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions, and Officers, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general Good of the Colony; unto which we promise all due Submission and Obedience."

Objective 0011 
Understand the origins and purposes of government and types of governmental systems.

14. A researcher can best distinguish totalitarian government from authoritarian government by examining which of the following features of their political systems?

  1. the pervasiveness of governmental control over nongovernmental elements of society
  2. the relationship between the central government and local units of government
  3. the extent to which interest groups are able to influence the policymaking process
  4. the relationship between the executive and judicial branches of government
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
The difference between totalitarian and authoritarian systems lies primarily in the nature and extent of control. An authoritarian state primarily limits its power to political control, but a totalitarian regime's aspirations go far beyond political and seek to control other aspects of people's lives in order to promote complete subservience to the state. This includes control over nongovernmental elements of society (e.g., education, cultural production, scientific research, private morality, reproductive behavior) and often involves inculcation of totalitarian values in youth through state-sponsored organizations such as the Hitler Youth in Nazi Germany and the Red Guards of Maoist China.

Objective 0012 
Understand the historical development of government in the United States and the U.S. Constitution.

15. Which of the following excerpts from the Constitution of the State of Illinois best illustrates the operation of the principle of checks and balances in state government?

  1. "In the year following each Federal decennial census year, the General Assembly shall redistrict the Legislative Districts and the Representative Districts."
  2. "Each house [of the General Assembly] shall determine the rules of its proceedings, judge the elections, returns and qualifications of its members and choose its officers."
  3. "The General Assembly shall enact laws only by bill. Bills may originate in either house, but may be amended or rejected by the other."
  4. "The Governor may return a bill together with specific recommendations for change to the house in which it originated."
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
The power of veto, including the amendatory veto exercised when the governor returns "a bill together with specific recommendations for change to the house in which it originated," illustrates the power of the executive branch to check the authority of the legislative branch of state government. While the governor of Illinois has the power of the amendatory veto, the president of the United States can only sign or veto entire bills passed by Congress.

Objective 0013 
Understand the structure, organization, and operation of government in the United States.

16. Which of the following governmental functions best reflects a major role of city managers in the manager-council form of municipal government?

  1. setting municipal tax rates
  2. passing municipal ordinances
  3. appointing municipal judges
  4. administering municipal departments
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
In a manager-council system of municipal government, city managers are appointed by the council to implement municipal policy, which would include the administration of municipal departments. Responsibilities of city managers may include oversight of recruitment, dismissal, and disciplinary actions with respect to the various municipal departments, as well as public relations responsibilities and preparation and management of the city budget.

Objective 0014 
Understand the legislative process and the factors that shape public policy in the United States.

17. In the legislative process of the U.S. Congress, which of the following tasks is a key function of a conference committee?

  1. reviewing a bill before sending it on for a floor vote
  2. reconciling differences between the House and Senate versions of a bill
  3. redrafting a bill that has been vetoed by the president
  4. ensuring that there are enough votes in the House and Senate to pass a bill
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
In the legislative process, a conference committee serves to resolve differences between the two related bills that have passed the Senate and the House of Representatives. Conference committees are temporary panels that include members from both chambers.

Objective 0015 
Understand political parties; the electoral process; and the role of public opinion, media, and popular participation in U.S. politics.

18. Which of the following descriptions best illustrates how a major event influenced the evolution of political parties in the United States?

  1. 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.
  2. The formation of the Republican Party in 1854 forced the Democrats to abandon their traditional laissez-faire approach to government.
  3. 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.
  4. Franklin D. Roosevelt's election as president in 1932 marked the beginning of a major electoral realignment of the two main parties.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
The ongoing crisis of the Great Depression made the election of 1932 particularly significant. Franklin D. Roosevelt's landslide victory was accompanied by Democratic majorities in the House and Senate that facilitated the enactment of his reform programs to address the economic crisis. In 1932 the Democratic Party became the majority party in a major electoral realignment, primarily through the coalition comprised of northern urban workers, middle-class liberals, new voters primarily of European ethnicity, and the traditionally Democratic "Solid South."

Objective 0016 
Understand international relations and the role of the United States in world affairs.

19. During a unit on international relations, a high school political science teacher wants to illustrate for students how nations can assert economic sovereignty in response to concerns about foreign influence. The teacher could best use which of the following examples to achieve this purpose?

  1. formation of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (O P E C) to influence the price and production of oil
  2. establishment of the African Union (A U) to accelerate political and economic integration of the African continent
  3. ratification of the North American Free Trade Agreement (N A F T A) to expand free trade
  4. creation of the European Union (E U) to integrate European economic policies
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (O P E C), founded in 1960 to serve as a counterweight to the "Seven Sisters" cartel of multinational oil companies, originally included five oil-producing nations and now includes fourteen. O P E C aims to coordinate petroleum production levels among its member nations in order to influence prices for the benefit of member nations. The creation of O P E C can be seen as a step toward promoting national sovereignty over economic resources.

Objective 0017 
Understand the rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizenship.

20. A political science teacher is preparing a unit on the rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizens. During one lesson, the teacher wishes to discuss landmark Supreme Court decisions that have involved balancing citizens' rights and responsibilities. Which of the following Supreme Court decisions would be the most appropriate choice for addressing this topic with the class?

  1. the court's finding in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) that "[s]eparate educational facilities are inherently unequal"
  2. the court's finding in Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) that "lawyers in criminal courts are necessities, not luxuries" and that states must appoint legal counsel to indigent defendants when needed
  3. the court's finding in Miller v. California (1964) that some types of materials are obscene when they lack "serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value"
  4. the court's finding in Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier (1988) that "[a] school need not tolerate student speech that is inconsistent with its basic educational mission"
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
The case of Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier was based on a situation in which a school principal prohibited the publication of two articles in the school newspaper that he believed violated the privacy of certain students in the school. The Supreme Court's ruling in the case determined that students' rights to free speech in the newspaper were not violated by the principal's action and that school administrators could censor expression in school newspapers if the censorship is "reasonably related to legitimate pedagogical concerns." In this way, the ruling serves as an example of the balance between citizens' rights and responsibilities.