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Citizenship · System of Government

Name ONE branch or part of the government.

Reviewed by Jordan Morley, Editorial Lead at 247SimpleTests. Written by the 247SimpleTests Editorial Team from the official source material cited on every question.

Correct answer

Congress (legislative), the President (executive), or the courts (judicial)

  1. A The Federal Reserve
  2. B The military
  3. C The Department of Defense
  4. D Congress (legislative), the President (executive), or the courts (judicial)

Why this is the answer

The U.S. federal government has THREE branches, established by the Constitution to provide CHECKS AND BALANCES so no single branch becomes too powerful: (1) LEGISLATIVE BRANCH — Congress, which consists of the Senate (100 members, 2 per state) and House of Representatives (435 members based on state population); makes laws. (2) EXECUTIVE BRANCH — the President, Vice President, and Cabinet; enforces laws. (3) JUDICIAL BRANCH — the federal courts including the Supreme Court; interprets laws. Any ONE of these is acceptable on the USCIS test. The terms 'legislative,' 'executive,' and 'judicial' may also be used. The Department of Defense and military are part of the executive branch but are not 'branches' themselves. The Federal Reserve is an independent agency.
Source: USCIS Civics Question 13 (65/20)

Practice more questions

This question is from our US Citizenship Test Practice practice test. Take the full practice test to test your knowledge across all System of Government and other topics.

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About this topic: System of Government

How the three branches work, how representatives and senators are elected, and how laws are made. Numbers (100 senators, 435 representatives, 4-year presidential term) are tested. This is one of 21 Civics (65+ Applicants) questions on system of government, each with a full explanation on a single study page.

New to this exam? Our Citizenship exam guide explains the format, scoring, and how to prepare.

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