College Board-Aligned
AP United States Government and Politics
This page follows the current official College Board course outline. Each unit/topic links to original local notes built for studying, practice, and review.
Course Snapshot
5
official units
23
linked topics/skills
Alignment Sources
Units & Topics
Unit 1: Foundations of American Democracy
On the AP exam: 15%-22% of multiple-choice score.
- Unit 1 Topic 1: The ideals of democracy as shown in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution Original Notes
- Unit 1 Topic 2: Federalist and Anti-Federalist views on central government and democracy Original Notes
- Unit 1 Topic 3: Separation of powers and checks and balances Original Notes
- Unit 1 Topic 4: The relationship between the states and the national government (federalism) Original Notes
- Unit 1 Topic 5: How federalism has been interpreted differently over time Original Notes
Unit 2: Interactions Among Branches of Government
On the AP exam: 25%-36% of multiple-choice score.
- Unit 2 Topic 1: The structures, powers, and functions of each house of Congress Original Notes
- Unit 2 Topic 2: The roles and powers of the president Original Notes
- Unit 2 Topic 3: The roles and powers of the Supreme Court and other federal courts Original Notes
- Unit 2 Topic 4: The roles of the federal bureaucracy Original Notes
Unit 3: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights
On the AP exam: 13%-18% of multiple-choice score.
- Unit 3 Topic 1: The intent of the Bill of Rights Original Notes
- Unit 3 Topic 2: First Amendment freedoms and Supreme Court interpretation Original Notes
- Unit 3 Topic 3: The Second Amendment and Supreme Court interpretation Original Notes
- Unit 3 Topic 4: Supreme Court interpretations of other amendments Original Notes
- Unit 3 Topic 5: How the due process and equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment have motivated social movements Original Notes
Unit 4: American Political Ideologies and Beliefs
On the AP exam: 10%-15% of multiple-choice score.
- Unit 4 Topic 1: How cultural and social factors affect citizens' beliefs about government Original Notes
- Unit 4 Topic 2: How polls are used to gather data about public opinion Original Notes
- Unit 4 Topic 3: The ideologies of the Democratic and Republican parties Original Notes
- Unit 4 Topic 4: How political ideologies affect policy on economic and social issues Original Notes
Unit 5: Political Participation
On the AP exam: 20%-27% of multiple-choice score.
- Unit 5 Topic 1: Laws that protect the right to vote Original Notes
- Unit 5 Topic 2: Why third parties and independent candidates face barriers Original Notes
- Unit 5 Topic 3: Interest groups and their influence Original Notes
- Unit 5 Topic 4: Campaign finance and its role in elections Original Notes
- Unit 5 Topic 5: The media's role in elections Original Notes
Notes
Original EduCompanion Notes
These local notes follow the current College Board AP United States Government and Politics unit/topic list.
Unit 1: Foundations of American Democracy
Unit 1 Topic 1: The ideals of democracy as shown in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution
Open College Board-aligned original notes
Unit 1 Topic 2: Federalist and Anti-Federalist views on central government and democracy
Open College Board-aligned original notes
Unit 1 Topic 3: Separation of powers and checks and balances
Open College Board-aligned original notes
Unit 1 Topic 4: The relationship between the states and the national government (federalism)
Open College Board-aligned original notes
Unit 1 Topic 5: How federalism has been interpreted differently over time
Open College Board-aligned original notes
Unit 2: Interactions Among Branches of Government
Unit 2 Topic 1: The structures, powers, and functions of each house of Congress
Open College Board-aligned original notes
Unit 2 Topic 2: The roles and powers of the president
Open College Board-aligned original notes
Unit 2 Topic 3: The roles and powers of the Supreme Court and other federal courts
Open College Board-aligned original notes
Unit 2 Topic 4: The roles of the federal bureaucracy
Open College Board-aligned original notes
Unit 3: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights
Unit 3 Topic 1: The intent of the Bill of Rights
Open College Board-aligned original notes
Unit 3 Topic 2: First Amendment freedoms and Supreme Court interpretation
Open College Board-aligned original notes
Unit 3 Topic 3: The Second Amendment and Supreme Court interpretation
Open College Board-aligned original notes
Unit 3 Topic 4: Supreme Court interpretations of other amendments
Open College Board-aligned original notes
Unit 3 Topic 5: How the due process and equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment have motivated social movements
Open College Board-aligned original notes
Unit 4: American Political Ideologies and Beliefs
Unit 4 Topic 1: How cultural and social factors affect citizens' beliefs about government
Open College Board-aligned original notes
Unit 4 Topic 2: How polls are used to gather data about public opinion
Open College Board-aligned original notes
Unit 4 Topic 3: The ideologies of the Democratic and Republican parties
Open College Board-aligned original notes
Unit 4 Topic 4: How political ideologies affect policy on economic and social issues
Open College Board-aligned original notes
Unit 5: Political Participation
Unit 5 Topic 1: Laws that protect the right to vote
Open College Board-aligned original notes
Unit 5 Topic 2: Why third parties and independent candidates face barriers
Open College Board-aligned original notes
Unit 5 Topic 3: Interest groups and their influence
Open College Board-aligned original notes
Unit 5 Topic 4: Campaign finance and its role in elections
Open College Board-aligned original notes
Unit 5 Topic 5: The media's role in elections
Open College Board-aligned original notes
Shared Google Drive Notes
No shared Google Drive notes are currently mapped for this course. Local original notes are still available above.
Practice Questions
Each note page includes a quick practice prompt. Use these unit practice cards to review the same way AP questions ask you to apply ideas, evidence, and reasoning.
Unit 1 Practice
Use the linked notes for Foundations of American Democracy to answer AP-style prompts, then check your explanation against the official topic list.
- Define the most important concept from this unit.
- Apply it to a scenario, graph, source, passage, or data table.
- Explain the reasoning that connects evidence to the answer.
Unit 2 Practice
Use the linked notes for Interactions Among Branches of Government to answer AP-style prompts, then check your explanation against the official topic list.
- Define the most important concept from this unit.
- Apply it to a scenario, graph, source, passage, or data table.
- Explain the reasoning that connects evidence to the answer.
Unit 3 Practice
Use the linked notes for Civil Liberties and Civil Rights to answer AP-style prompts, then check your explanation against the official topic list.
- Define the most important concept from this unit.
- Apply it to a scenario, graph, source, passage, or data table.
- Explain the reasoning that connects evidence to the answer.
Unit 4 Practice
Use the linked notes for American Political Ideologies and Beliefs to answer AP-style prompts, then check your explanation against the official topic list.
- Define the most important concept from this unit.
- Apply it to a scenario, graph, source, passage, or data table.
- Explain the reasoning that connects evidence to the answer.
Study Guides
Use this as a unit review index. Open each unit, work through the topic notes, then return here to move to the next unit.
Unit 1: Foundations of American Democracy
5 topics to review, 15%-22% of multiple-choice score
Unit 2: Interactions Among Branches of Government
4 topics to review, 25%-36% of multiple-choice score
Unit 3: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights
5 topics to review, 13%-18% of multiple-choice score
Unit 4: American Political Ideologies and Beliefs
4 topics to review, 10%-15% of multiple-choice score
Unit 5: Political Participation
5 topics to review, 20%-27% of multiple-choice score