Branches of Government Study Guide

Legislative Branch
1) How many members are in both chambers of Congress?
2) Who controls each chamber of Congress? Who is the Speaker of the House and the
Senate Majority Leader?
3) What are the qualifications to serve in the House of Representatives and the
Senate?
4) What is meant by the term Lame Duck Session?
5) What is the difference between Expressed Powers and Implied Powers? Give an
example of each.
6) What are powers of the House of Representatives and powers of the Senate?
7) What is the term length for the House of Representatives and the Senate?
8) Who breaks a tie vote in the Senate? (Know position and current office holder).
9) Be able to explain in detail the demographics of the House and Senate.
10) What percentage of Senators are returning members? What percentage of
Representatives are returning members?
11) What is Gerrymandering? What are two ways in which it can occur?
12) How many congressional districts does Tennessee have?
13) Who is the U.S. House Representative for the city of Medina?
14) Who are Tennessee’s two U.S. Senators?
15) What is an incumbent? Why are incumbents so successful?
16) List two examples of checks and balances within our government?
17) What is “logrolling?”
18) What is a filibuster? A filibuster can only occur in which chamber of Congress?

Executive Branch
1) Why was the executive branch created?
2) What Article of the Constitution was the executive branch created in?
3) The president is the head of which branch?
4) What are the three presidential powers that are not in the constitution?
5) What are the presidential powers that are in the constitution?
6) What are the requirements to being president?
7) What are the tools of influence the president has?
8) What does the 22nd Amendment say?
9) What does the 25th Amendment say?
10) How many electors are there? How is this determined?
11) What is the Primary Election?
12) What is a Standard Bearer?
Judicial Branch
1) What Article of the Constitution was the Judicial branch created in?
2) What are the two different types of court systems?
3) What kind of cases are involved in Federal Court?
4) What was the first Supreme Court Case?
5) What is Judicial Review? What court case established Judicial Review?
6) How many districts are there in district court?
7) What are the two types of district court?
8) Why should good court records be kept?
9) How many US Court of Appeals are there?
10) The court of International Tariffs has jurisdiction over what types of cases?
11) Who appoints a federal judge?
12) Presidents normally favor judges who share their …
13) How long is the term for a federal judge?
14) _______ ________ is a system in which the president submits the name of a
candidate for judicial appointment to the senators from the candidate’s state before
formally submitting it for full senate approval
15) Who was the first African American Supreme Court Justice?

***Additionally, you are responsible for knowing the first ten amendments to the
Constitution (Bill of Rights). You will be tested on these in several different
ways.***

***Additionally, you are responsible for explaining the process via which a bill
becomes a law.***