The three branches: who makes, carries out and judges the laws

Grade 8 Social Studies Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Checks and balances at work (cards A to C). Card A, from the Constitution (National Archives transcription). Article I, Section 7: a bill that has passed both houses goes to the President. "If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated". If "two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law." "If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return". Article II, Section 3: the President "shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient". Card B, from the Constitution and a U.S. Senate page. Article II, Section 2: the President "shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States", and makes treaties "provided two thirds of the Senators present concur". Article II, Section 4: "The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." Article I: the House "shall have the sole Power of Impeachment", and "no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present". The Senate page says: "The Constitution requires a two-thirds vote of the Senate to convict", "Since 1789 about half of Senate impeachment trials have resulted in conviction and removal from office", and "the Senate has confirmed 126 Supreme Court nominations". Card C, from the Constitution. House: "No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States", chosen "every second Year". Senate: "thirty Years" of age and "nine Years a Citizen", for "six Years". President: "No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States", for "the Term of four Years".

2. 1.

   Suppose all 435 representatives vote to override a veto. How many yes votes make two thirds, using card A, Ari asks?

   • 218 yes votes, a simple majority of 435
   • 290 yes votes, which is two thirds of 435
   • 145 yes votes, one third of 435
   • 288 yes votes, using 0.66 as the value of two thirds
3. 2.

   Card C: a Senator must be 30 and nine years a citizen. Someone becomes a citizen at 24. At what age is that person first eligible, Bo asks?

   • 31, using the seven-year rule for the House
   • 33, because nine years as a citizen is the later limit
   • 39, by adding nine years to the age of 30
   • 30, because the age rule is the one limit that applies
4. 3.

   A student claims: "The President alone decides whether a bill becomes law." How strong is that claim given card A, Esme asks?

   • Strong: Congress can merely make suggestions to the President, who holds the veto in the end
   • Strong: the bill goes to the President first, who can sign it or return it with objections
   • Strong: a bill the President ignores for ten days is dropped and cannot become law
   • Weak: two thirds of each house can pass a bill over the veto, and ten silent days make it law
5. 4.

   Card A: ten Days (Sundays excepted). A bill is presented on a Thursday. When is the tenth day, Jun asks?

   • Monday, 11 calendar days later, skipping just the first Sunday
   • Tuesday, 12 calendar days later, skipping both Sundays
   • Thursday, 14 calendar days later, counting weekdays alone
   • Sunday, 10 calendar days later, with no Sunday exception
6. 5.

   Using card B, which link best explains why a President cannot simply fire a judge, Kira asks?

   • The Senate appoints judges alone, so just the Senate may remove one
   • The President appoints judges, so he can also remove them whenever he likes to do so
   • The Senate has confirmed 126 nominations, so judges cannot be removed
   • Removal needs impeachment by the House and a two-thirds conviction by the Senate
7. 6.

   Article I says two thirds of "the Members present"; the Senate page says a two-thirds vote "of the Senate". How should a reader treat the difference, Milo asks?

   • Use the Constitution's words, two thirds of members present; read the page as a summary
   • Throw out the Senate page, because its wording differs from the Constitution's
   • Use the page, because it is newer and so replaces the Constitution's older wording
   • Treat both as identical, because two thirds is two thirds of any group that votes
8. 7.

   Card A has the President "recommend to their Consideration such Measures" as he judges needed. What does that let him do, Pia asks?

   • Rewrite the Constitution each year through a new message to the Congress
   • Pass those measures into law himself if Congress waits too long to act on them
   • Recommend measures to Congress, which decides whether to pass them
   • Choose which bills the courts will hear after they have passed both houses
9. 8.

   A bill that began in the Senate is vetoed. Using card A, which sequence follows, Ren asks?

   • It stops for good, because a veto cannot be overridden once the President has objected
   • It returns to the Senate; if two thirds agree it goes to the House for two thirds there
   • It goes to the House first, then back to the Senate, each deciding by a simple majority vote
   • It becomes law at once, because the Senate began it and the Senate is the upper house
10. 9.

    The Senate page on impeachment is the Senate's own description. What is it best evidence for, Tala asks?

    • How the Senate describes impeachment and its record today
    • Why the impeached officials were found guilty or not guilty
    • The exact wording that the framers chose for impeachment in 1787
    • How the House voted on one impeachment in the past, member by member
11. 10.

    A student claims: "Representatives and senators must meet the same requirements to serve." How strong is that claim given card C, Zee asks?

    • Weak: card C lists rules just for the President and does not cover Congress
    • Weak: the House needs age 25 and seven years; the Senate, age 30 and nine years
    • Strong: both serve two-year terms, which makes the rules for serving match as well
    • Strong: both must be citizens of the United States, so the requirements are the same