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

Grade 8 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Who holds which power? (cards A to C). Card A, from the Constitution (National Archives transcription). Article I, Section 1: "All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives." Section 2 lists the seats for the first House "until such enumeration shall be made": "New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New-York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three." Section 3: "The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State". Section 8 gives Congress the power "To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court". Article II, Section 1: "The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America." Section 3: "he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed". Article III, Section 1: "The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish." Judges of both the supreme and inferior Courts "shall hold their Offices" while they keep good behavior (the Constitution spells that word with a British u). Card B, from the Supreme Court's own "Frequently Asked Questions" page: "The Constitution places the power to determine the number of Justices in the hands of Congress. The first Judiciary Act, passed in 1789, set the number of Justices at six, one Chief Justice and five Associates. Over the years Congress has passed various acts to change this number, fluctuating from a low of five to a high of ten. The Judiciary Act of 1869 fixed the number of Justices at nine and no subsequent change to the number of Justices has occurred." Card C, from the 2025 list of 128 civics questions published by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS): to "How many U.S. senators are there?" the answer is "One hundred (100)". To "How many voting members are in the House of Representatives?" the answer is "Four hundred thirty-five (435)". To "How many seats are on the Supreme Court?" the answer is "Nine (9)".

2. 1.

   Article III says Congress may "ordain and establish" inferior courts, and Article I lets it constitute tribunals below the supreme Court. What does that give Congress, Ari asks?

   • Power to overrule the supreme Court whenever Congress disagrees with a ruling it made
   • Power for the courts to decide whether Congress is allowed to meet in the capital each year
   • Power to name the judges of the lower courts without any role for the President
   • Power to decide whether lower federal courts exist, shaping the judicial branch
3. 2.

   A student claims: "The Constitution says the Supreme Court has nine justices." How strong is that claim given cards A and B, Bo asks?

   • Strong: card C says there are nine seats on the Supreme Court, so the Constitution says it
   • Strong: Article III says judges hold office while they behave well, which fixes nine
   • Weak: Article III names "one supreme Court" and card B says Congress sets the number
   • Strong: the Judiciary Act of 1789 set nine justices, so the number was fixed from the start
4. 3.

   Card B: six justices in 1789 and nine since 1869. By what percent did the Court grow, Esme asks?

   • 3 percent, because 3 seats were added to the Court
   • 150 percent, because 9 is 1.5 times 6
   • 50 percent, because 3 more seats were added to a base of 6
   • 33 percent, because 3 more seats is one third of the 9 seats today
5. 4.

   Card A lists seats for 13 states in the first House. How many seats is that in all, Jun asks?

   • 56 seats
   • 13 seats, one for each state in the list
   • 26 seats, two for each of the thirteen states
   • 65 seats, adding the thirteen numbers
6. 5.

   Card A says "one supreme Court" and card C says "nine seats". Do they conflict, Kira asks?

   • Yes: the Constitution is old and out of date, so card C must be a mistake by its authors
   • Yes: Article III says one, so nine seats on that one Court cannot be right
   • No: Article III lists the nine justices by name in its first sentence about the courts
   • No: Article III names one Court and Congress sets its size, which card B says is nine
7. 6.

   Cards A and B explain why the Court's size changed between five and ten. Which link is best, Milo asks?

   • The Judiciary Act of 1869 came first, which caused the earlier changes in the Court's size
   • The President set the number each year by sending an announcement to Congress
   • The Constitution left the number to Congress, and Congress passed acts that changed it
   • The justices voted among themselves to change the number whenever they chose to
8. 7.

   A student claims: "The President writes the laws." How strong is that claim given card A, Noah asks?

   • Weak: Article I gives legislative powers to Congress; the President sees laws executed
   • Weak: card A does not describe the President's duties anywhere in Article II
   • Strong: the executive Power is vested in the President, and that includes making laws
   • Strong: Article II says he shall take Care that the Laws be executed, so he drafts them too
9. 8.

   Article III says judges "shall hold their Offices" while they keep good behavior. What does that tell a reader, Pia asks?

   • Judges may do anything they wish once they take the bench and cannot be removed
   • Judges keep their offices as long as they behave properly; no fixed term is set
   • Judges serve a four-year term and must then stand for election to win another term
   • Judges serve at the President's pleasure and can be removed whenever he requests it
10. 9.

    How has the House changed between the list in card A and the answer in card C, Ren asks?

    • It grew from 65 seats in the first list to 435 voting members
    • It stayed at 65 seats, because the Constitution fixed the number
    • It shrank from 435 seats to 65 as the states grew in number
    • It grew to 535 members when the 100 senators were added in
11. 10.

    Card A is a transcription of the Constitution as written in 1787. What is it best evidence for, Tala asks?

    • What the framers privately intended behind each clause
    • How many people voted to approve the Constitution in each state
    • How the branches actually work in practice today
    • What the original text says about each branch's powers