Just for Fun - U.S. Civics Quiz

[BigJon]

I got 47 out of 54.

I missed #22.
I blanked on #32 (duh!) and #51.
I had no clue on #42 and #99.
I was wrong on #10 and I'm too embarrassed to admit the last one I got wrong.

[OperaTenor]

I missed one that was very arbitrary, and the last one, and was given 46.5?!

#10 could be worded better.

[GreatCarouser]

I missed the one about the primary author, the one about the last name on the document, and the amount of reps in the house (I put 437, they gave me a partial credit??!!). Scored 50.5

I take it these answers are weighted point-wise in some cases. There are 100 questions and they say they won't count the early extra credit question but don't say if that is a freebie if wrong and extra points if correct. I got it right so I can't say. The partial credit for the House of Rep question may have been because when Alaska and Hawaii first became states they needed to exceed the 'cap' on members voted into being in 1929. I'd forgotten they had returned to the old cap number.

[BigJon]

There are only 54 questions. They skip-counted to #99.

RE:GC's answer to number of reps:
It must suck, getting old.

[dai bread]

I only got 32.5. Apparently I'm not going to get a green card.

[monkeymd2b]

Hmmm...well, can I blame my bad score on the fact that I never took a formal civics course? I only got a 36.5 but at least I got the obvious ones right. I did do the average for males, better than the average for peeps in my age range. By the way, I thought that the answers about how many wars were declared seemed wrong. How can they only count the 2 world wars? That must be some political thing that my parents would know...or maybe you guys...not that I'm calling anyone old, just more of a seasoned vet in the game of life.

[BigJon]

I only got 32.5. Apparently I'm not going to get a green card.

That's pretty darn good . . . for an outsider!

[GreatCarouser]

Hmmm...well, can I blame my bad score on the fact that I never took a formal civics course? I only got a 36.5 but at least I got the obvious ones right. I did do the average for males, better than the average for peeps in my age range. By the way, I thought that the answers about how many wars were declared seemed wrong. How can they only count the 2 world wars? That must be some political thing that my parents would know...or maybe you guys...not that I'm calling anyone old, just more of a seasoned vet in the game of life.

It's a technical thing, Doc. Only Congress can declare war. We declare war on a country. The authorized uses of force are not officially wars, lately they've been referred to as 'police actions'. I know we are involved in the 'War on Terror' but since Terror isn't a country we aren't officially at 'war'.

This is part of the reason some in the international community are less than pleased with us. They figure if it looks like a duck and talks like a duck it must be a duck. It also allows us (at least in some folks minds) to treat enemy combatants in a less 'restrictive' fashion. Like having your cake and eating it too.

[barfle]

48.

Flat out missed the one about Senate approval of cabinet appointments.

I answered "congress" to one they said should have been "House of Representatives."

I couldn't come up with Gonzales's name, and although I have been told who runs the fed, I really don't give a damn.

[Shapley]

I got 47 right. Missed one of the quotes, which I attributed to Jefferson instead of Lincoln.

I disagree with them about the government not having it's own source money. Granted the value of the dollar is currently based on 'the full faith and credit of the United States' rather than the gold standard, but we do still hold significant gold reserves, as well as significant land and other 'real' holdings, which can be used to back up the value of the monies we print. But, it's not my quiz, so they get to set the rules.

I didn't know the last signer of the Declaration of Independence. Like Barfle, I said 'legislature' instead of 'House of Representatives' to the spending bill question. I also thought we had declared three wars since 1900, not two.

V/R
Shapley

[BigJon]

What was the third?

[Shapley]

The Spanish-American War. I had placed it, for some reason, in the early 1900's rather than in 1898.

I could have bent the rules and Googled it, but the test was to see what we know, what we can look up.

[OperaTenor]

I couldn't come up with Gonzales's name, and although I have been told who runs the fed, I really don't give a damn.

Just think "Torturo".

[piqaboo]

39.5, which the site translates as "poopy", essentially.

I did very well on the "concept" questions. In general, I didnt know the names of any office holder outside of president. For example, I knew Greenspan but couldnt remember who replaced him.

I got all 12 presidents right, but reversed order on two sets of two (the oldest 4).
I brainfarted the wars same as Shap. Sigh.
Not a clue on number of representatives tho.
And i had a complete blank on states rights. I knew what the issue was, but couldnt come up wth the two word phrase or anything resembling it, and my soup was getting cold.

I think their analysis software is pretty cool, checking for key words etc and evaluating responses as close enough, etc.

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

I got 46.5, which awards me a silver star and encouragement to improve. I got the presidents, which I had better had since I lived during the terms of all of them except FDR and Harry T. I'm sure I've got an "I Like Ike" button somewhere...

I'm way shaky on the cabinet. I seem to understand the branches. And who cares which dude signed the DofI last, anyway?

[shostakovich]

I got a 44. It would have been 45 if I had remembered Bernanke's first name. I should have gotten half a point for that. Oh, well .............
Shos

[BigJon]

See! I knew I hung out on this board for a reason, smart people. (except for Piq) Now if I could just persuade 'em . . .

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

Now if I could just persuade 'em . . .

Fat chance. You may have noticed that a number of us have fairly firm opinions on things? Of course, in my case, the opinions have been carefully considered and so, barring new information, your chances resemble that tissue paper dog following the proverbial well-paved path.

[Shapley]

I got 46.5, which awards me a silver star and encouragement to improve. I got the presidents, which I had better had since I lived during the terms of all of them except FDR and Harry T. I'm sure I've got an "I Like Ike" button somewhere...

I got the Presidents, too. I was drawing a blank till I started inserting them in reverse order.. Bush, Clinton, Bush, Reagan,... It was easier to remember who succeeded who than it was to remember who preceeded who. It is not logical, but it is true.

[barfle]

I got the Presidents, too. I was drawing a blank till I started inserting them in reverse order.. Bush, Clinton, Bush, Reagan,... It was easier to remember who succeeded who than it was to remember who preceeded who. It is not logical, but it is true.

That's how I did it, too, since I was unsure where to start. I know who is President, who was recently president (well, recent to me), and so on back down the line until I ran out of spaces to put names.