TEST BANK
,Introduction to Political Science
Chapter 1
What Is Politics and What Is Political
Science?
1. What did Aristotle mean when he described humans as “political animals”?
A. Human must engage in the same type of struggles for survival as other animals.
B. Only by engaging in politics can humans reach their highest potential.*
C. Politics brings out the worst in people, lowering them to the level of animals.
D. Politics is a realm of the instinct rather than the intellect.
Text Section: 1.1 Defining Politics: Who Gets What, When, Where, How, and Why?
Bloom’s Level: Remembering
Difficulty: Easy
2. How did political scientist Harold Lasswell define politics?
A. “When people get what they want”
B. “How to make friends and influence people”
C. “The science of the possible”
D. “Who gets what, when, how”*
Text Section: 1.1 Defining Politics: Who Gets What, When, Where, How, and Why?
Bloom’s Level: Understanding
Difficulty: Easy
3. Which of these is an accurate example of de facto vs. de jure rules?
A. The speed limit is 55 mph (de facto), but cars will not be pulled over unless they are
traveling more than 65 mph (de jure).
B. The speed limit is 65 mph (de jure), but cars will not be pulled over unless they are
traveling less than 55 mph (de facto).
C. The speed limit is 55 mph (de jure), but cars will not be pulled over unless they are
traveling more than 65 mph (de facto).*
D. Trick question: most drivers follow road rules, so de facto is effectively equal to de
jure.
Text Section: 1.1 Defining Politics: Who Gets What, When, Where, How, and Why?
Bloom’s Level: Understanding
Difficulty: Moderate
05/11/22 2
,Introduction to Political Science
4. True or false? The harder it is to vote, the fewer people will actually cast their ballots,
and vice versa.
A. True*
B. False
Text Section: 1.1 Defining Politics: Who Gets What, When, Where, How, and Why?
Bloom’s Level: Remembering
Difficulty: Easy
5. According to federal policy regarding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
(SNAP), recipients cannot use SNAP benefits to purchase hot foods in grocery stores.
What is this an example of?
A. A constitution
B. An institution
C. A rule*
D. A homily
Text Section: 1.1 Defining Politics: Who Gets What, When, Where, How, and Why?
Bloom’s Level: Apply
Difficulty: Moderate
6. Which of the following statements about constitutions is FALSE?
A. India has the shortest constitution in the world.
B. The larger a country’s population, the more words in its constitution.
C. The United States and Canada have very similar written constitutions.
D. All of these*
Text Section: 1.1 Defining Politics: Who Gets What, When, Where, How, and Why?
Bloom’s Level: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
7. True or false? The United States Supreme Court has the power to declare presidential,
congressional, and individual actions unconstitutional.
A. True*
B. False
Text Section: 1.1 Defining Politics: Who Gets What, When, Where, How, and Why?
Bloom’s Level: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
8. Which of the following is a campaign-related fact?
A. In order for elections to be equitable, candidates must raise the same amount of
money.
B. Incumbency can be an advantage in elections.*
C. A candidate raising more money raises improves their overall chance of winning.
D. Republicans must raise more money because of liberal media bias.
Text Section: 1.1 Defining Politics: Who Gets What, When, Where, How, and Why?
05/11/22 3
,Introduction to Political Science
Bloom’s Level: Apply
Difficulty: Moderate
9. True or false? Democracy is a form of government in which a religious leader makes
decisions for people because the leader is seen as a prophet or interpreter of religious
law.
A. True
B. False*
Text Section 1.1 Defining Politics: Who Gets What, When, Where, How, and Why?
Bloom’s Level: Understanding
Difficulty: Easy
10. The textbook author states, “The public interest is an amorphous concept, although it
is generally defined as the well-being of the public.” Based on that definition, which of
the following scenarios is NOT in the public interest?
A. Border policies that separate parents from their children
B. Public employees losing health insurance and pension benefits
C. Cutting funding to mental health resources and suicide prevention programs
D. All of these*
Text Section 1.2 Public Policy, Public Interest, and Power
Bloom’s Level: Applying
Difficulty: Moderate
11. Which of the following might explain why the United States has decided it is no longer
a signatory to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court?
A. The issue is one of sovereign power and the United States not accepting the
International Criminal Court having authority over American politicians and military
members.*
B. The issue is judicial restraint and the lack of authority of the International Criminal
Court over the US Supreme Court.
C. The United States Constitution references and denies the power of the United
Nations.
D. All of these
Text Section 1.2 Public Policy, Public Interest, and Power
Bloom’s Level: Evaluating
Difficulty: Difficult
12. Mask mandates are a form of government power, which compels residents to follow
local, state, and federal laws.
A. True*
B. False
Text Section 1.2 Public Policy, Public Interest, and Power
Bloom’s Level: Applying
Difficulty: Easy
05/11/22 4
,Introduction to Political Science
13. What are the four elements of a country?
A. Government, territory, population, and sovereignty*
B. Health care, education, immigration, and defense
C. Justice, equality, due process, and liberty
D. Executive, legislature, judiciary, and bureaucracy
Text Section 1.2 Public Policy, Public Interest, and Power
Bloom’s Level: Remembering
Difficulty: Easy
14. A country might be called a police state if individuals form militias and take policing
into their own hands.
A. True
B. False*
Text Section 1.2 Public Policy, Public Interest, and Power
Bloom’s Level: Understanding
Difficulty: Moderate
15. Which of the following statements about the Kurdish people is the most accurate?
A. They live in an area known as Kurdistan.
B. Kurdistan is not recognized as a sovereign country.
C. Kurdistan is not a nation-state.
D. All of these*
Text Section 1.2 Public Policy, Public Interest, and Power
Bloom’s Level: Analyzing
Difficulty: Moderate
16. Based on your understanding of power, which of the following would most likely be
an illegitimate use of authority?
A. Public schools that penalize girls but not boys for dress-code violations*
B. Sheriff’s deputies pulling people over for texting while driving
C. Residents being fined for not paying their parking tickets
D. All of these
Text Section 1.2 Public Policy, Public Interest, and Power
Bloom’s Level: Applying
Difficulty: Moderate
17. How does polarization affect politics?
A. While cohesion might grow within groups, distrust grows between groups.
B. Political parties see fewer common goals, which limits bargaining.
C. The greater the polarization, the greater the difficulty there is in resolving conflicts.
D. All of these*
Text Section 1.2 Public Policy, Public Interest, and Power
Bloom’s Level: Understanding
05/11/22 5
,Introduction to Political Science
Difficulty: Easy
18. What phrase refers to the existing set of circumstances involved in a conflict?
A. Polarization
B. Political negotiations
C. Status quo*
D. Logrolling
Text Section 1.2 Public Policy, Public Interest, and Power
Bloom’s Level: Remembering
Difficulty: Easy
19. Imagine a scenario in which the US Senate is trying to agree on a bill that will forgive
$50,000 of student loans for veterans. A Democratic senator from Nebraska pledges
their support if another senator from South Carolina agrees to support another bill the
first senator is writing. What is another name for this trading of votes?
A. Public interest
B. Pork barreling
C. Logrolling*
D. Compromise
Text Section 1.2 Public Policy, Public Interest, and Power
Bloom’s Level: Applying
Difficulty: Moderate
20. Which answer choice is the best interpretation of this statement from the textbook:
“Political science is probabilistic rather than deterministic.”
A. Political science is the study of possibilities rather than realities.
B. Political science gives us the ability to estimate the probability that someone might
win an election or an event might occur.*
C. Political science provides reliably accurate predictions about what will happen in the
future.
D. Political science does not actually utilize scientific methods or approaches.
Text Section 1.3 Political Science: The Systematic Study of Politics
Bloom’s Level: Evaluating
Difficulty: Moderate
21. According to one political science study, South Asian American candidates who use
non-ethnic nicknames are more likely to get elected compared to candidates who use
their birth names. What is another name for this kind of statement?
A. Bargaining
B. Stereotyping
C. Empiricism
D. Hypothesis*
Text Section 1.3 Political Science: The Systematic Study of Politics
Bloom’s Level: Remembering
05/11/22 6
,Introduction to Political Science
Difficulty: Easy
22. Why is a statement like “all countries should accept refugees” considered normative?
A. There is not enough evidence or data to sufficiently support this statement.
B. It doesn’t address the benefits of accepting refugees or question whether everyone
agrees on those benefits.
C. It doesn’t address the drawbacks of accepting refugees or question whether
everyone agrees on these drawbacks.
D. All of these*
Text Section 1.4 Normative Political Science
Bloom’s Level: Analyzing
Difficulty: Moderate
23. Which of the following is an empirical finding?
A. Idaho and Washington share a border, so their politics are the same.
B. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote in 2016, so she should have become president.
C. Based on recent patterns, we can predict that many more women will be elected to
the US House of Representatives as Democrats than Republicans.*
D. Adults under 30 deserve more political representation.
Text Section 1.5 Empirical Political Science
Bloom’s Level: Applying
Difficulty: Moderate
24. Which of the following statements is NOT a political generalization?
A. Younger Americans vote less often than older Americans.
B. Rural voters often vote differently than urban residents.
C. Presidential candidates are less likely to visit the least populous states.
D. In the 1996 presidential election, third-party candidate Ross Perot received more
than 8,000,000 votes.*
Text Section 1.5 Empirical Political Science
Bloom’s Level: Applying
Difficulty: Moderate
25. What are human rights?
A. Political battles over access to resources and privileges
B. The essential freedoms and rights to which all humans are entitled*
C. The communication that occurs between different political actors
D. Institutions designed to maximize human happiness
Text Section 1.6 Individuals, Groups, Institutions, and International Relations
Bloom’s Level: Remembering
Difficulty: Easy
05/11/22 7
,Introduction to Political Science
This file is copyright 2022, Rice University. All Rights Reserved.
05/11/22 8
,TEST BANK
, Introduction to Political Science
Chapter 2
Political Behavior Is Human Behavior
1. Which of these is the best interpretation of this statement: “Human rights exist;
although unobservable, they are real, just as gravity is real”?
A. We may not truly be able to know their source, but various philosophers have
contended that human rights exist through God, nature, or human reason.*
B. Gravity and human rights are scientific concepts conceived by Sir Isaac Newton.
C. Human rights exist because they have been observed in the world.
D. Human rights can be measured using empirical methods.
Text Section: 2.1 What Goals Should We Seek in Politics?
Bloom’s Level: Understanding
Difficulty: Easy
2. True or false? Human rights are “inalienable” because they apply only to citizens and
not resident aliens.
A. True
B. False*
Text Section: 2.1 What Goals Should We Seek in Politics?
Bloom’s Level: Understanding
Difficulty: Moderate
3. True or false? The right to privacy is considered a civil liberty in the United States.
A. True*
B. False
Text Section: 2.1 What Goals Should We Seek in Politics?
Bloom’s Level: Remembering
Difficulty: Easy
4. What social justice concept is most associated with the idea of a cost-benefit analysis?
A. Libertarianism
B. Utilitarianism*
C. Marxism
D. Rawls’s theory of justice
Text Section: 2.1 What Goals Should We Seek in Politics?
Bloom’s Level: Remembering
Difficulty: Easy
05/11/22 2
,Introduction to Political Science
Chapter 1
What Is Politics and What Is Political
Science?
1. What did Aristotle mean when he described humans as “political animals”?
A. Human must engage in the same type of struggles for survival as other animals.
B. Only by engaging in politics can humans reach their highest potential.*
C. Politics brings out the worst in people, lowering them to the level of animals.
D. Politics is a realm of the instinct rather than the intellect.
Text Section: 1.1 Defining Politics: Who Gets What, When, Where, How, and Why?
Bloom’s Level: Remembering
Difficulty: Easy
2. How did political scientist Harold Lasswell define politics?
A. “When people get what they want”
B. “How to make friends and influence people”
C. “The science of the possible”
D. “Who gets what, when, how”*
Text Section: 1.1 Defining Politics: Who Gets What, When, Where, How, and Why?
Bloom’s Level: Understanding
Difficulty: Easy
3. Which of these is an accurate example of de facto vs. de jure rules?
A. The speed limit is 55 mph (de facto), but cars will not be pulled over unless they are
traveling more than 65 mph (de jure).
B. The speed limit is 65 mph (de jure), but cars will not be pulled over unless they are
traveling less than 55 mph (de facto).
C. The speed limit is 55 mph (de jure), but cars will not be pulled over unless they are
traveling more than 65 mph (de facto).*
D. Trick question: most drivers follow road rules, so de facto is effectively equal to de
jure.
Text Section: 1.1 Defining Politics: Who Gets What, When, Where, How, and Why?
Bloom’s Level: Understanding
Difficulty: Moderate
05/11/22 2
,Introduction to Political Science
4. True or false? The harder it is to vote, the fewer people will actually cast their ballots,
and vice versa.
A. True*
B. False
Text Section: 1.1 Defining Politics: Who Gets What, When, Where, How, and Why?
Bloom’s Level: Remembering
Difficulty: Easy
5. According to federal policy regarding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
(SNAP), recipients cannot use SNAP benefits to purchase hot foods in grocery stores.
What is this an example of?
A. A constitution
B. An institution
C. A rule*
D. A homily
Text Section: 1.1 Defining Politics: Who Gets What, When, Where, How, and Why?
Bloom’s Level: Apply
Difficulty: Moderate
6. Which of the following statements about constitutions is FALSE?
A. India has the shortest constitution in the world.
B. The larger a country’s population, the more words in its constitution.
C. The United States and Canada have very similar written constitutions.
D. All of these*
Text Section: 1.1 Defining Politics: Who Gets What, When, Where, How, and Why?
Bloom’s Level: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
7. True or false? The United States Supreme Court has the power to declare presidential,
congressional, and individual actions unconstitutional.
A. True*
B. False
Text Section: 1.1 Defining Politics: Who Gets What, When, Where, How, and Why?
Bloom’s Level: Remember
Difficulty: Easy
8. Which of the following is a campaign-related fact?
A. In order for elections to be equitable, candidates must raise the same amount of
money.
B. Incumbency can be an advantage in elections.*
C. A candidate raising more money raises improves their overall chance of winning.
D. Republicans must raise more money because of liberal media bias.
Text Section: 1.1 Defining Politics: Who Gets What, When, Where, How, and Why?
05/11/22 3
,Introduction to Political Science
Bloom’s Level: Apply
Difficulty: Moderate
9. True or false? Democracy is a form of government in which a religious leader makes
decisions for people because the leader is seen as a prophet or interpreter of religious
law.
A. True
B. False*
Text Section 1.1 Defining Politics: Who Gets What, When, Where, How, and Why?
Bloom’s Level: Understanding
Difficulty: Easy
10. The textbook author states, “The public interest is an amorphous concept, although it
is generally defined as the well-being of the public.” Based on that definition, which of
the following scenarios is NOT in the public interest?
A. Border policies that separate parents from their children
B. Public employees losing health insurance and pension benefits
C. Cutting funding to mental health resources and suicide prevention programs
D. All of these*
Text Section 1.2 Public Policy, Public Interest, and Power
Bloom’s Level: Applying
Difficulty: Moderate
11. Which of the following might explain why the United States has decided it is no longer
a signatory to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court?
A. The issue is one of sovereign power and the United States not accepting the
International Criminal Court having authority over American politicians and military
members.*
B. The issue is judicial restraint and the lack of authority of the International Criminal
Court over the US Supreme Court.
C. The United States Constitution references and denies the power of the United
Nations.
D. All of these
Text Section 1.2 Public Policy, Public Interest, and Power
Bloom’s Level: Evaluating
Difficulty: Difficult
12. Mask mandates are a form of government power, which compels residents to follow
local, state, and federal laws.
A. True*
B. False
Text Section 1.2 Public Policy, Public Interest, and Power
Bloom’s Level: Applying
Difficulty: Easy
05/11/22 4
,Introduction to Political Science
13. What are the four elements of a country?
A. Government, territory, population, and sovereignty*
B. Health care, education, immigration, and defense
C. Justice, equality, due process, and liberty
D. Executive, legislature, judiciary, and bureaucracy
Text Section 1.2 Public Policy, Public Interest, and Power
Bloom’s Level: Remembering
Difficulty: Easy
14. A country might be called a police state if individuals form militias and take policing
into their own hands.
A. True
B. False*
Text Section 1.2 Public Policy, Public Interest, and Power
Bloom’s Level: Understanding
Difficulty: Moderate
15. Which of the following statements about the Kurdish people is the most accurate?
A. They live in an area known as Kurdistan.
B. Kurdistan is not recognized as a sovereign country.
C. Kurdistan is not a nation-state.
D. All of these*
Text Section 1.2 Public Policy, Public Interest, and Power
Bloom’s Level: Analyzing
Difficulty: Moderate
16. Based on your understanding of power, which of the following would most likely be
an illegitimate use of authority?
A. Public schools that penalize girls but not boys for dress-code violations*
B. Sheriff’s deputies pulling people over for texting while driving
C. Residents being fined for not paying their parking tickets
D. All of these
Text Section 1.2 Public Policy, Public Interest, and Power
Bloom’s Level: Applying
Difficulty: Moderate
17. How does polarization affect politics?
A. While cohesion might grow within groups, distrust grows between groups.
B. Political parties see fewer common goals, which limits bargaining.
C. The greater the polarization, the greater the difficulty there is in resolving conflicts.
D. All of these*
Text Section 1.2 Public Policy, Public Interest, and Power
Bloom’s Level: Understanding
05/11/22 5
,Introduction to Political Science
Difficulty: Easy
18. What phrase refers to the existing set of circumstances involved in a conflict?
A. Polarization
B. Political negotiations
C. Status quo*
D. Logrolling
Text Section 1.2 Public Policy, Public Interest, and Power
Bloom’s Level: Remembering
Difficulty: Easy
19. Imagine a scenario in which the US Senate is trying to agree on a bill that will forgive
$50,000 of student loans for veterans. A Democratic senator from Nebraska pledges
their support if another senator from South Carolina agrees to support another bill the
first senator is writing. What is another name for this trading of votes?
A. Public interest
B. Pork barreling
C. Logrolling*
D. Compromise
Text Section 1.2 Public Policy, Public Interest, and Power
Bloom’s Level: Applying
Difficulty: Moderate
20. Which answer choice is the best interpretation of this statement from the textbook:
“Political science is probabilistic rather than deterministic.”
A. Political science is the study of possibilities rather than realities.
B. Political science gives us the ability to estimate the probability that someone might
win an election or an event might occur.*
C. Political science provides reliably accurate predictions about what will happen in the
future.
D. Political science does not actually utilize scientific methods or approaches.
Text Section 1.3 Political Science: The Systematic Study of Politics
Bloom’s Level: Evaluating
Difficulty: Moderate
21. According to one political science study, South Asian American candidates who use
non-ethnic nicknames are more likely to get elected compared to candidates who use
their birth names. What is another name for this kind of statement?
A. Bargaining
B. Stereotyping
C. Empiricism
D. Hypothesis*
Text Section 1.3 Political Science: The Systematic Study of Politics
Bloom’s Level: Remembering
05/11/22 6
,Introduction to Political Science
Difficulty: Easy
22. Why is a statement like “all countries should accept refugees” considered normative?
A. There is not enough evidence or data to sufficiently support this statement.
B. It doesn’t address the benefits of accepting refugees or question whether everyone
agrees on those benefits.
C. It doesn’t address the drawbacks of accepting refugees or question whether
everyone agrees on these drawbacks.
D. All of these*
Text Section 1.4 Normative Political Science
Bloom’s Level: Analyzing
Difficulty: Moderate
23. Which of the following is an empirical finding?
A. Idaho and Washington share a border, so their politics are the same.
B. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote in 2016, so she should have become president.
C. Based on recent patterns, we can predict that many more women will be elected to
the US House of Representatives as Democrats than Republicans.*
D. Adults under 30 deserve more political representation.
Text Section 1.5 Empirical Political Science
Bloom’s Level: Applying
Difficulty: Moderate
24. Which of the following statements is NOT a political generalization?
A. Younger Americans vote less often than older Americans.
B. Rural voters often vote differently than urban residents.
C. Presidential candidates are less likely to visit the least populous states.
D. In the 1996 presidential election, third-party candidate Ross Perot received more
than 8,000,000 votes.*
Text Section 1.5 Empirical Political Science
Bloom’s Level: Applying
Difficulty: Moderate
25. What are human rights?
A. Political battles over access to resources and privileges
B. The essential freedoms and rights to which all humans are entitled*
C. The communication that occurs between different political actors
D. Institutions designed to maximize human happiness
Text Section 1.6 Individuals, Groups, Institutions, and International Relations
Bloom’s Level: Remembering
Difficulty: Easy
05/11/22 7
,Introduction to Political Science
This file is copyright 2022, Rice University. All Rights Reserved.
05/11/22 8
,TEST BANK
, Introduction to Political Science
Chapter 2
Political Behavior Is Human Behavior
1. Which of these is the best interpretation of this statement: “Human rights exist;
although unobservable, they are real, just as gravity is real”?
A. We may not truly be able to know their source, but various philosophers have
contended that human rights exist through God, nature, or human reason.*
B. Gravity and human rights are scientific concepts conceived by Sir Isaac Newton.
C. Human rights exist because they have been observed in the world.
D. Human rights can be measured using empirical methods.
Text Section: 2.1 What Goals Should We Seek in Politics?
Bloom’s Level: Understanding
Difficulty: Easy
2. True or false? Human rights are “inalienable” because they apply only to citizens and
not resident aliens.
A. True
B. False*
Text Section: 2.1 What Goals Should We Seek in Politics?
Bloom’s Level: Understanding
Difficulty: Moderate
3. True or false? The right to privacy is considered a civil liberty in the United States.
A. True*
B. False
Text Section: 2.1 What Goals Should We Seek in Politics?
Bloom’s Level: Remembering
Difficulty: Easy
4. What social justice concept is most associated with the idea of a cost-benefit analysis?
A. Libertarianism
B. Utilitarianism*
C. Marxism
D. Rawls’s theory of justice
Text Section: 2.1 What Goals Should We Seek in Politics?
Bloom’s Level: Remembering
Difficulty: Easy
05/11/22 2
