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The Legislative Branch: Congress — High School Government practice questions

20 multiple-choice questions and 18 flashcards on The Legislative Branch: Congress, about 8% of the High School Government bank. Every one carries a written rationale.

Written and maintained by the CoStudy team · last updated 2026-10-02 · how we write and review questions

What this chapter covers

The Legislative Branch: Congress is one of 12 chapters in CoStudy's High School Government bank, and it holds 20 of the bank's 240 multiple-choice questions — roughly 8% of the total. That proportion is not arbitrary: chapters follow the certifying body's published exam outline, and the number of questions in each is set by that domain's published weight, so the share of your practice time this chapter takes matches the share of the real exam it accounts for.

Studying by chapter is worth doing once you have a diagnostic score. A single overall percentage tells you whether you are close; it does not tell you which domain is dragging. Working a weak chapter in isolation, and re-testing it in isolation, is the fastest way to move a score that has stalled — and it is why the mock exams in CoStudy report by domain rather than as one number.

Free The Legislative Branch: Congress practice questions

5 questions drawn from this chapter, with the full rationale shown — the controlling principle behind the right answer, and why each wrong option tempts and fails.

Congress is bicameral, which means it has:

one chamber
two chambers
three chambers
two parties only

Answer: B — two chambers

B) Correct — The House and the Senate. A) Is unicameral, like Nebraska's legislature. C) Congress has two. D) Bicameral refers to chambers, not parties.

When the House and Senate pass different versions of a bill, the differences are often worked out by a:

select committee
conference committee
standing committee
joint session

Answer: B — conference committee

B) Correct — Members of both chambers write a compromise. A) Investigates special issues. C) Handles one chamber's bills. D) Is a ceremonial meeting of both chambers.

Congressional committees holding hearings on how agencies carry out laws is called:

oversight
logrolling
gerrymandering
judicial review

Answer: A — oversight

A) Correct — It checks the executive branch. B) Is vote trading. C) Is drawing districts for advantage. D) Is done by courts.

House seats are reapportioned among the states every 10 years based on:

voter turnout
state land area
the census
the Senate's vote

Answer: C — the census

C) Correct — States gain or lose seats as populations change. A) Seats follow population. B) Size does not matter. D) The Senate does not set apportionment.

Treaties made by the President must be approved by:

a majority of the House
three-fourths of the states
the Supreme Court
two-thirds of the Senate

Answer: D — two-thirds of the Senate

D) Correct — This checks the President's foreign policy power. A) The House does not ratify treaties. B) Is for constitutional amendments. C) Courts do not ratify treaties.

The Legislative Branch: Congress flashcards

4 cards from the 18 in this chapter.

What are the two houses of Congress?

Senate (100 members) and House of Representatives (435 members).

What are the requirements to be a U.S. senator?

At least 30 years old, U.S. citizen for 9 years, resident of the state.

What is reapportionment vs. redistricting?

Reapportionment: redistributing House seats among states after each census. Redistricting: drawing new district lines within states.

Who is the leader of the House of Representatives?

The Speaker of the House.

Practise the full chapter

These are a sample. The full The Legislative Branch: Congress chapter runs 38 items with per-chapter progress tracking, on the web and in the iOS app.

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