--- title: "AP US Government Concept Application FRQ Practice" description: "29 Concept Application questions written in the AP format, each scored part by part." canonical: "https://fiveable.me/ap-gov/frqs/concept-application" type: "frq-type-practice" subject: "AP US Government" --- # AP US Government Concept Application FRQ Practice ## What the Concept Application FRQ asks The Concept Application question is FRQ 1 on the AP US Government exam. You get a short political scenario and answer three parts that apply course concepts to it, such as describing an action and explaining its effects. - **20 min**: suggested writing time - **3 points**: across parts A to C - **12.5%**: of your exam score | Part | What it asks | Points | | --- | --- | --- | | A: Describe | An action, power, or idea shown in the scenario | 1 | | B: Explain | How it connects to policymaking, an institution, or behavior | 1 | | C: Explain | How the scenario shows a course concept or could change an outcome | 1 | ## How Concept Application FRQ practice works 1. **Read the scenario and parts.** The political scenario and all three parts, A through C, laid out the way the exam shows them. 2. **Write on a 20-minute timer.** The time to plan for on exam day. Pause it or turn it off, and your response saves as you go. 3. **Submit for a score out of 3.** Your response is scored against the scoring guidelines written for that question. Your first score is included. ## All 29 questions ### Unit 1: Foundations of American Democracy (7) - [Federal education funding and national-state power balance](/ap-gov/frq-practice?id=696f1032f9203a118075e31d&type=frq-1-concept-application) - [Constitutional compromise, Senate structure, democratic representation](/ap-gov/frq-practice?id=69851b62fe5aa9c136e00b36&type=frq-1-concept-application) - [Federal commerce power, Tenth Amendment federalism challenge](/ap-gov/frq-practice?id=69851ba8fe5aa9c136e00b39&type=frq-1-concept-application) - [Executive overreach on congressional power and federalism](/ap-gov/frq-practice?id=69851dd7fe5aa9c136e00b65&type=frq-1-concept-application) - [Direct democracy, interest groups, constitutional limits](/ap-gov/frq-practice?id=69851e76fe5aa9c136e00b70&type=frq-1-concept-application) - [Federal supremacy, Tenth Amendment, state drug legalization](/ap-gov/frq-practice?id=6985219ffe5aa9c136e00b90&type=frq-1-concept-application) - [Federal powers, Tenth Amendment, fiscal federalism](/ap-gov/frq-practice?id=69852350fe5aa9c136e00b94&type=frq-1-concept-application) ### Unit 2: Interactions Among Branches of Government (5) - [Bureaucratic power, oversight, and interest group conflict](/ap-gov/frq-practice?id=696ff14baa4a4e4da6946ccd&type=frq-1-concept-application) - [Presidential power, congressional checks, divided government conflict](/ap-gov/frq-practice?id=69851cdffe5aa9c136e00b54&type=frq-1-concept-application) - [Federal bureaucracy, net neutrality policy changes](/ap-gov/frq-practice?id=698520f6fe5aa9c136e00b8e&type=frq-1-concept-application) - [Executive power limits, separation of powers, bureaucratic authority](/ap-gov/frq-practice?id=6985223afe5aa9c136e00b91&type=frq-1-concept-application) - [Presidential informal power and divided government constraints](/ap-gov/frq-practice?id=6985240bfe5aa9c136e00b95&type=frq-1-concept-application) ### Unit 3: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights (5) - [Second Amendment rights and selective incorporation doctrine](/ap-gov/frq-practice?id=696ff1fa9ffb2cc9dcbb8af4&type=frq-1-concept-application) - [First Amendment religious liberty protections and tensions](/ap-gov/frq-practice?id=69851ad0fe5aa9c136e00b2e&type=frq-1-concept-application) - [Prior restraint and freedom of the press concept](/ap-gov/frq-practice?id=698520e1fe5aa9c136e00b8c&type=frq-1-concept-application) - [Prior restraint and freedom of the press concept](/ap-gov/frq-practice?id=69852249fe5aa9c136e00b92&type=frq-1-concept-application) - [Establishment Clause and government endorsement of religion concept](/ap-gov/frq-practice?id=698522a8fe5aa9c136e00b93&type=frq-1-concept-application) ### Unit 4: American Political Ideologies and Beliefs (2) - [Core political values, generational effects on ideology](/ap-gov/frq-practice?id=696ff1afcbff074d91c56076&type=frq-1-concept-application) - [Corporate tax cuts and liberal economic ideology](/ap-gov/frq-practice?id=69852520fe5aa9c136e00b96&type=frq-1-concept-application) ### Unit 5: Political Participation (10) - [Automatic voter registration removing structural voting barriers](/ap-gov/frq-practice?id=696f1039f9203a118075e31e&type=frq-1-concept-application) - [Interest group strategies and media influence on policy](/ap-gov/frq-practice?id=69851af1fe5aa9c136e00b31&type=frq-1-concept-application) - [Interest group influence on agricultural policy implementation](/ap-gov/frq-practice?id=69851b7dfe5aa9c136e00b38&type=frq-1-concept-application) - [Corporate lobbying and iron triangles in regulation](/ap-gov/frq-practice?id=69851c45fe5aa9c136e00b46&type=frq-1-concept-application) - [Super PAC independent expenditures and free-speech concept](/ap-gov/frq-practice?id=69851cb0fe5aa9c136e00b4f&type=frq-1-concept-application) - [Linkage institutions and interest group influence on policy](/ap-gov/frq-practice?id=69851d1bfe5aa9c136e00b58&type=frq-1-concept-application) - [Interest group strategies and bureaucratic influence tactics](/ap-gov/frq-practice?id=69851d43fe5aa9c136e00b5c&type=frq-1-concept-application) - [Interest group strategies and pluralist democracy advocacy](/ap-gov/frq-practice?id=69851da6fe5aa9c136e00b63&type=frq-1-concept-application) - [Interest group strategies: bureaucracy, PACs, pluralism](/ap-gov/frq-practice?id=698520edfe5aa9c136e00b8d&type=frq-1-concept-application) - [Interest group lobbying strategies and resource disparities](/ap-gov/frq-practice?id=69852133fe5aa9c136e00b8f&type=frq-1-concept-application) ## Sample question **Federal education funding and national-state power balance** In 2023, the United States Congress passed the 'Modern Schools Connectivity Act' to address the digital divide in education. The legislation appropriated $50 billion to be distributed to states specifically for the installation of fiber-optic cables in public school districts. To receive the money, states were required to adhere to strict federal guidelines regarding the selection of contractors and the technical specifications of the cables. The Department of Education was tasked with overseeing compliance. Governor Elena Wright of the state of West Dakota publicly criticized the legislation's rigid requirements. She argued that the mountainous geography of her state made fiber-optic installation impractical and prohibitively expensive in rural areas. Instead, Governor Wright lobbied the federal government to allow her state to use the funds for satellite internet technology and teacher training programs, which she argued would better serve her constituents. She urged Congress to convert the funding into a grant that would provide states with greater flexibility in determining how to best achieve the goal of improved connectivity, rather than being tied to specific federal mandates. Response Instruction: Respond to parts A, B, and C. Part A (1 point): Prompt: **Describe** the type of federal grant represented by the 'Modern Schools Connectivity Act' in the scenario. Verb: describe Focus: Identifying categorical grants Part B (1 point): Prompt: **Explain** how the type of funding mechanism requested by Governor Wright would affect the balance of power between the national and state governments compared to the original legislation. Verb: explain Focus: Impact of block grants on federalism Part C (1 point): Prompt: **Explain** how the scenario illustrates the tension between the implied powers of Congress and the Tenth Amendment. Verb: explain Focus: Constitutional interpretation of federalism ## Questions **How many responses can I get scored?** You can read every question without a plan. Your first scored response is included. A plan unlocks unlimited scoring. **How long should each part be?** Usually two to four focused sentences. Each part earns one point for doing what its task verb asks, so extra length doesn’t add points. **How is Concept Application different from Quantitative Analysis?** Concept Application gives you a written scenario. Quantitative Analysis gives you a chart, table, or map and asks four parts about the data. **Are these real College Board questions?** No. We wrote them in the AP format, with the same three parts, and wrote scoring guidelines for each one. **Can I write my answer by hand?** Yes. Switch the editor to handwrite, write on paper, and add a photo of your page. ## Related - [Concept Application FRQ exam guide](/ap-gov/ap-us-government-exam/ap-gov-frq-concept-application/study-guide/ap-gov-frq-concept-application) - [AP US Government Quantitative Analysis FRQ practice](/ap-gov/frqs/quantitative-analysis) - [AP US Government SCOTUS Comparison FRQ practice](/ap-gov/frqs/scotus-comparison) - [AP US Government Argument Essay practice](/ap-gov/frqs/argument-essay) - [AP US Government FRQs](/ap-gov/frqs) - Any question by id: the `get_frq` tool on the [Fiveable MCP server](/mcp/docs) ## About This Document Canonical Fiveable pages are available as Markdown at the same path plus `.md`. - [llms.txt](https://fiveable.me/llms.txt): index of Fiveable's sections and URL patterns - [llms-full.txt](https://fiveable.me/llms-full.txt): complete subject and unit listing - [MCP server](https://fiveable.me/mcp): call Fiveable as tools instead of fetching pages (`https://fiveable.me/api/mcp`) - [MCP server for AP teachers](https://fiveable.me/mcp/teachers): a teacher's classes, assignments and AP-rubric grading (`https://fiveable.me/api/mcp/teacher`)