U.S. Government Practice Test: The Constitution
- The Constitution
- 10 questions
- 12 minutes
These 10 questions review how the Constitution is organized and how it divides and limits power. Remember the order of the first three articles: Article I is Congress, Article II the President, Article III the courts.
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Question 1
The Preamble of the Constitution opens with the words "We the People of the United States." Which idea does this opening express?
Correct answer: C
By naming the people as the authors, the Preamble expresses popular sovereignty. The Articles of Confederation, not the Constitution, treated the states as the main source of authority.
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Question 2
Which article of the Constitution creates Congress and lists most of its powers?
Correct answer: A
Article I sets up the legislative branch and lists the powers of Congress in Section 8. Article II covers the President, and Article V covers amendments.
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Question 3
After Congress proposes an amendment by a two-thirds vote in both houses, how many states must ratify it before it becomes part of the Constitution?
Correct answer: B
Article V requires ratification by three-fourths of the states, which is 38 of 50 today. Two-thirds is the vote needed in Congress to propose, not the number of states needed to ratify.
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Question 4
Which clause lets Congress pass laws needed to carry out its listed powers and is the basis for its implied powers?
Correct answer: D
The Necessary and Proper ("elastic") Clause at the end of Article I, Section 8 allows laws that help Congress use its enumerated powers. The Supremacy Clause deals with conflicts between federal and state law.
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Question 5
A valid federal law and a state law directly conflict. The federal law controls. Which part of the Constitution establishes this?
Correct answer: B
Article VI makes the Constitution, federal laws and treaties "the supreme Law of the Land." The Tenth Amendment points the other way: it reserves powers not delegated to the national government to the states or the people.
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Question 6
The President vetoes a bill. How can Congress still make it a law?
Correct answer: D
Article I, Section 7 lets Congress override a veto with a two-thirds vote in both the House and the Senate. A simple majority is only enough to pass the bill the first time.
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Question 7
The most recent amendment, ratified in 1992 more than 200 years after it was first proposed, deals with which subject?
Correct answer: A
The 27th Amendment delays any change in congressional pay until after the next House election. The voting age (26th), term limits (22nd) and presidential disability (25th) were added earlier.
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Question 8
For which purposes did the original Constitution count enslaved people as three-fifths of a person?
Correct answer: C
The Three-Fifths Compromise applied to House apportionment and direct taxes. Senate seats were never based on population, and the 14th Amendment later ended the three-fifths rule.
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Question 9
Under Article VII, how many of the original 13 states had to ratify the Constitution before it took effect?
Correct answer: A
Article VII required nine state ratifying conventions; New Hampshire became the ninth in June 1788. Requiring all 13 was the unanimity rule of the Articles that the framers wanted to avoid.
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Question 10
The President signs a treaty with another country. What must happen before the treaty takes effect for the United States?
Correct answer: B
Article II gives the President power to make treaties "with the Advice and Consent of the Senate," provided two-thirds of the senators present agree. The House has no formal vote on treaties.
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