Unit 5: Political Participation
US Gov · Unit 5 · Paper 2

Political Participation unit test

A test on this unit alone, marked as a percentage and a letter grade — for the test your class is actually sitting, rather than for May. Answer everything, then submit once: seeing the answer to question 3 before attempting question 4 makes the final percentage meaningless.

Paper 1Paper 2Paper 3
Each paper is built from this unit’s 22 terms and is the same for everyone, so a teacher can assign “Unit 5, Paper 2” and every student sits the identical test. Multiple choice is marked objectively; the written sections you mark yourself against the model answer and rubric.
Suggested time 32 min 29 points0/17 attempted
1

Free rider problem

2

Fifteenth, Nineteenth, Twenty-Fourth and Twenty-Sixth Amendments

3

Electoral College

4

Media fragmentation

5

Party realignment

6

Interest groups

7

Media as watchdog and gatekeeper

8

Citizens United v. FEC (2010)

9

Political action committee

10

Party-line voting

11

Incumbency advantage

12

Rational choice voting

Short answer 1. Define or explain: Retrospective vs prospective voting

3 pts

Short answer 2. Define or explain: Linkage institutions

3 pts

Short answer 3. Define or explain: Open vs closed primary

3 pts

Short answer 4. Define or explain: Horse-race journalism

3 pts

Free response

5 pts

Develop an argument about whether the Electoral College should be replaced with a national popular vote for electing the president. Use at least one of the following foundational documents in your response: Federalist No. 10, Brutus No. 1, or the Constitution of the United States.