Below are 100 typical questions (and not quite 100 answers) that are asked on the exam:
 

1. Q: What is the supreme law of the land?
   the Constitution


2. Q: What does the Constitution do?
   sets up the government
   defines the government
   protects basic rights of Americans


3. Q: The idea of self-government is in the first three words of the Constitution. What are these words?
   We the People


4. Q: What is an amendment?
   a change (to the Constitution)
   an addition (to the Constitution)


5. Q: What do we call the first ten amendments to the Constitution?
   the Bill of Rights


6. Q: What is one right or freedom from the First Amendment?*
   speech
   religion
   assembly
   press
   petition the government


7. Q: How many amendments does the Constitution have?
   twenty-seven (27)


8. Q: What did the Declaration of Independence do?
   announced our independence (from Great Britain)
   declared our independence (from Great Britain)
   said that the United States is free (from Great Britain)


9. Q: What are two rights in the Declaration of Independence?
   life
   liberty
   pursuit of happiness


10. Q: What is freedom of religion?
    You can practice any religion, or not practice a religion.


11. Q: What is the economic system in the United States?*
    capitalist economy
    market economy


12. Q: What is the “rule of law”?
    Everyone must follow the law.
    Leaders must obey the law.
    Government must obey the law.
    No one is above the law.


13. Q: Name one branch or part of the government.*
    Congress
    legislative
    President
    executive
    the courts
    judicial


14. Q: What stops one branch of government from becoming too powerful?
    checks and balances
    separation of powers


15. Q: Who is in charge of the executive branch?
    the President


16. Q: Who makes federal laws?
    Congress
    Senate and House (of Representatives)
    (U.S. or national) legislature


17. Q: What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress?*
    the Senate and House (of Representatives)


18. Q: How many U.S. Senators are there?
    one hundred (100)


19. Q: We elect a U.S. Senator for how many years?
    six (6)


20. Q: Who is one of your state’s U.S. Senators now?*
    Answers will vary. [District of Columbia residents and residents of U.S. territories should answer that D.C. (or the territory where the applicant lives) has no U.S. Senators.]


21. Q: The House of Representatives has how many voting members?
    four hundred thirty-five (435)


22. Q: We elect a U.S. Representative for how many years?
    two (2)


23. Q: Name your U.S. Representative.
    Answers will vary. [Residents of territories with nonvoting Delegates or Resident Commissioners may provide the name of that Delegate or Commissioner. Also acceptable is any statement that the territory has no (voting) Representatives in Congress.]


24. Q: Who does a U.S. Senator represent?
    all people of the state


25. Q: Why do some states have more Representatives than other states?
    (because of) the state’s population
    (because) they have more people
    (because) some states have more people


26. Q: We elect a President for how many years?
    four (4)


27. Q: In what month do we vote for President?*
    November


28. Q: What is the name of the President of the United States now?*
    Barack Obama
    Obama


29. Q: What is the name of the Vice President of the United States now?
    Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
    Joe Biden
    Biden


30. Q: If the President can no longer serve, who becomes President?
    the Vice President


31. Q: If both the President and the Vice President can no longer serve, who becomes President?
    the Speaker of the House


32. Q: Who is the Commander in Chief of the military?
    the President


33. Q: Who signs bills to become laws?
    the President


34. Q: Who vetoes bills?
    the President


35. Q: What does the President’s Cabinet do?
    advises the President


36. Q: What are two Cabinet-level positions?
    Secretary of Agriculture
    Secretary of Commerce
    Secretary of Defense
    Secretary of Education
    Secretary of Energy
    Secretary of Health and Human Services
    Secretary of Homeland Security
    Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
    Secretary of the Interior
    Secretary of Labor
    Secretary of State
    Secretary of Transportation
    Secretary of the Treasury
    Secretary of Veterans Affairs
    Attorney General
    Vice President


37. Q: What does the judicial branch do?
    reviews laws
    explains laws
    resolves disputes (disagreements)
    decides if a law goes against the Constitution


38. Q: What is the highest court in the United States?
    the Supreme Court


39. Q: How many justices are on the Supreme Court?
    nine (9)


40. Q: Who is the Chief Justice of the United States now?
    John Roberts (John G. Roberts, Jr.)


41. Q: Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the federal government. What is one power of the federal government?
    to print money
    to declare war
    to create an army
    to make treaties


42. Q: Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the states. What is one power of the states?
    provide schooling and education
    provide protection (police)
    provide safety (fire departments)
    give a driver’s license
    approve zoning and land use


43. Q: Who is the Governor of your state now?
    Answers will vary. [District of Columbia residents should answer that D.C. does not have a Governor.]


44. Q: What is the capital of your state?*
    Answers will vary. [District of Columbia residents should answer that D.C. is not a state and does not have a capital. Residents of U.S. territories should name the capital of the territory.]


45. Q: What are the two major political parties in the United States?*
    Democratic and Republican


46. Q: What is the political party of the President now?
    Democratic (Party)


47. Q: What is the name of the Speaker of the House of Representatives now?
    (Nancy) Pelosi


48. Q: There are four amendments to the Constitution about who can vote. Describe one of them.
    Citizens eighteen (18) and older (can vote).
    You don’t have to pay (a poll tax) to vote.
    Any citizen can vote. (Women and men can vote.)
    A male citizen of any race (can vote).


49. Q: What is one responsibility that is only for United States citizens?*
    serve on a jury
    vote in a federal election


50. Q: Name one right only for United States citizens.
    vote in a federal election
    run for federal office


51. Q: What are two rights of everyone living in the United States?
    freedom of expression
    freedom of speech
    freedom of assembly
    freedom to petition the government
    freedom of worship
    the right to bear arms


52. Q: What do we show loyalty to when we say the Pledge of Allegiance?
    the United States
    the flag


53. Q: What is one promise you make when you become a United States citizen?
    give up loyalty to other countries
    defend the Constitution and laws of the United States
    obey the laws of the United States
    serve in the U.S. military (if needed)
    serve (do important work for) the nation (if needed)
    be loyal to the United States


54. Q: How old do citizens have to be to vote for President?*
    eighteen (18) and older


55. Q: What are two ways that Americans can participate in their democracy?
    vote
    join a political party
    help with a campaign
    join a civic group
    join a community group
    give an elected official your opinion on an issue
    call Senators and Representatives
    publicly support or oppose an issue or policy
    run for office
    write to a newspaper


56. Q: When is the last day you can send in federal income tax forms?*
    April 15


57. Q: When must all men register for the Selective Service?
    at age eighteen (18)
    between eighteen (18) and twenty-six (26)


58. Q: What is one reason colonists came to America?
    freedom
    political liberty
    religious freedom
    economic opportunity
    practice their religion
    escape persecution


59. Q: Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived?
    American Indians
    Native Americans


60. Q: What group of people was taken to America and sold as slaves?
    Africans
    people from Africa


61. Q: Why did the colonists fight the British?
    because of high taxes (taxation without representation)
    because the British army stayed in their houses (boarding, quartering)
    because they didn’t have self-government


62. Q: Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
    (Thomas) Jefferson


63. Q: When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?
    July 4, 1776


64. Q: There were 13 original states. Name three.
    New Hampshire
    Massachusetts
    Rhode Island
    Connecticut
    New York
    New Jersey
    Pennsylvania
    Delaware
    Maryland
    Virginia
    North Carolina
    South Carolina
    Georgia


65. Q: What happened at the Constitutional Convention?
    The Constitution was written.
    The Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution.


66. Q: When was the Constitution written?
    1787


67. Q: The Federalist Papers supported the passage of the U.S. Constitution. Name one of the writers.
    (James) Madison
    (Alexander) Hamilton
    (John) Jay
    Publius


68. Q: What is one thing Benjamin Franklin is famous for?
    U.S. diplomat
    oldest member of the Constitutional Convention
    first Postmaster General of the United States
    writer of “Poor Richard’s Almanac”
    started the first free libraries


69. Q: Who is the “Father of Our Country”?
    (George) Washington


70. Q: Who was the first President?*
    (George) Washington


71. Q: What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803?
    the Louisiana Territory
    Louisiana


72. Q: Name one war fought by the United States in the 1800s.
    War of 1812
    Mexican-American War
    Civil War
    Spanish-American War


73. Q: Name the U.S. war between the North and the South.
    the Civil War
    the War between the States


74. Q: Name one problem that led to the Civil War.
    slavery
    economic reasons
    states’ rights


75. Q: What was one important thing that Abraham Lincoln did?*
    freed the slaves (Emancipation Proclamation)
    saved (or preserved) the Union
    led the United States during the Civil War


76. Q: What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?
    freed the slaves
    freed slaves in the Confederacy
    freed slaves in the Confederate states
    freed slaves in most Southern states


77. Q: What did Susan B. Anthony do?
    fought for women’s rights
    fought for civil rights


78. Q: Name one war fought by the United States in the 1900s.*
    World War I
    World War II
    Korean War
    Vietnam War
    (Persian) Gulf War


79. Q: Who was President during World War I?
    (Woodrow) Wilson


80. Q: Who was President during the Great Depression and World War II?
    (Franklin) Roosevelt


81. Q: Who did the United States fight in World War II?
    Japan, Germany, and Italy


82. Q: Before he was President, Eisenhower was a general. What war was he in?
    World War II


83. Q: During the Cold War, what was the main concern of the United States?
    Communism


84. Q: What movement tried to end racial discrimination?
    civil rights (movement)


85. Q: What did Martin Luther King, Jr. do?*
    fought for civil rights
    worked for equality for all Americans


86. Q: What major event happened on September 11, 2001, in the United States?
    Terrorists attacked the United States.


87. Q: Name one American Indian tribe in the United States.
    Cherokee
    Navajo
    Sioux
    Chippewa
    Choctaw
    Pueblo
    Apache
    Iroquois
    Creek
    Blackfeet
    Seminole
    Cheyenne
    Arawak
    Shawnee
    Mohegan
    Huron
    Oneida
    Lakota
    Crow
    Teton
    Hopi
    Inuit


88. Q: Name one of the two longest rivers in the United States.
    Missouri (River)
    Mississippi (River)


89. Q: What ocean is on the West Coast of the United States?
    Pacific (Ocean)


90. Q: What ocean is on the East Coast of the United States?
    Atlantic (Ocean)


91. Q: Name one U.S. territory.
    Puerto Rico
    U.S. Virgin Islands
    American Samoa
    Northern Mariana Islands
    Guam


92. Q: Name one state that borders Canada.
    Maine
    New Hampshire
    Vermont
    New York
    Pennsylvania
    Ohio
    Michigan
    Minnesota
    North Dakota
    Montana
    Idaho
    Washington
    Alaska


93. Q: Name one state that borders Mexico.
    California
    Arizona
    New Mexico
    Texas


94. Q: What is the capital of the United States?*
    Washington, D.C.


95. Q: Where is the Statue of Liberty?*
    New York (Harbor)
    Liberty Island


96. Q: Why does the flag have 13 stripes?
    because there were 13 original colonies
    because the stripes represent the original colonies


97. Q: Why does the flag have 50 stars?*
    because there is one star for each state
    because each star represents a state
    because there are 50 states


98. Q: What is the name of the national anthem?
    The Star-Spangled Banner


99. Q: When do we celebrate Independence Day?*
    July 4


100. Q: Name two national U.S. holidays.
     New Year’s Day
     Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
     Presidents’ Day
     Memorial Day
     Independence Day
     Labor Day
     Columbus Day
     Veterans Day
     Thanksgiving
     Christmas