Name: _____________________

Date: ______________________
Period: _____________________

Webercise: The Three Branches of Government: The Legislative Branch

Instructions: In this Webercise, you are going to get an overview of what the three branches of
government consist of, but with an emphasis on the legislative branch since this is the first branch we
are going to learn about in class. Fill out this Webercise on the pages below by using the links to
answer the following questions. Be sure to carefully follow the directions located next to each link in
the peach-shaded boxes to ensure you can answer the questions correctly. Also, as a reminder, these
questions will require you to critically think about the information that you find in these websites. Let
me know if you have any questions 😊Have fun! **26 points in total for this Webercise**

Review of the Three Branches of Government: Click to follow the link. Then, please
read the short summary of the three branches of government. Pay close attention to the bolded
words from the website since the bolded words tend to be vocabulary terms. These questions will
require you to think beyond the text, so please feel free to let me know if you have any questions.
**each question is worth two points for a total of 8 points in this section**
1. Describe and examine the importance of the Executive Branch in our federal
government.

2. In this website, you are told that it is possible to have the most popular votes
throughout the nation and NOT win the electoral vote of the Electoral College.
Construct an argument of why this could be fair OR unfair regarding voting.

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 Name: _____________________
Date: ______________________
Period: _____________________

3. In the second section you learn that the Legislative Branch is called Congress.
Differentiate between the Senate and the House of Representatives. Explain the
differences between the two.

4. After reading the section of the Judicial Branch, in 2-3 sentences develop an
argument of what branch of government (legislative, executive, or judicial) you
believe has the most power and why?

Why is the legislative branch designed the way it is? Click to follow the link. You can
peruse the website first as we will not be going over every section, but please make sure that you
follow the instructions as you answer every question.
**each question is worth two points for a total of 8 points in this section**
5. In the beginning paragraphs of the website, they briefly explain why the framers
built in three branches in the federal government. Using the information provided
assess the framer’s reasonings behind having three separate branches.

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 Name: _____________________
Date: ______________________
Period: _____________________

6. Under the subtitle, “The Senate was designed to represent the states, while the
House was intended to represent the nation.” Utilizing your prior knowledge on the
Articles of Confederation and the information under this subtitle, develop an
argument as to which states would favor the Senate and which states would favor
the House of Representatives.

7. Under the subtitle, “Alexander Hamilton argued that senators should have lifelong
terms,” they state Alexander Hamilton’s argument as to why Senators should serve
lifelong terms. Evaluate his argument and develop a concrete response to whether
his argument is valid or not.

8. Read the section below the subtitle, “Congressmen and women are not required o
vote on all proposed legislation,” and criticize the various ways that this can be seen
in a negative thing to the American people.

Powers of Congress: Click to follow the link. Once the page has loaded, please scroll down until
you get to the subtitle, “Section 8: Powers of Congress.” Read the paragraphs below it and answer
the following questions.
**each question is worth two points for a total of 2 points in this section**
9. After you read about the powers that Congress has, in 3-4 sentences choose at least 3

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 Name: _____________________
Date: ______________________
Period: _____________________

powers and discuss their importance in federal level and in the state level.

Legislative Branch Agencies: Click to follow the link. Once the page has loaded, click the
“Legislative Branch of the U.S. Government” link that you can find in the blue shaded box on the top
of the website. Then, read the paragraph below the title “Legislative Branch of the U.S. Government
and answer the following questions.
**each question is worth two points for a total of 4 points in this section**
10. Summarize what the Legislative Branch consists of.

11. In the same section, click on the link titled, “Legislative Branch Agencies” and select
two agencies that you want to examine and discuss in at least 3-4 sentences.

2020 Senate Election Interactive Map: Click to follow the link. On this website, you will find
a United States Map that forecasts what the 2020 Senate Election might look like. The website also
states that Democrats need to gain 3 or 4 seats in the Senate to take control. Scroll through the

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 Name: _____________________
Date: ______________________
Period: _____________________

website and answer the following questions.

**each question is worth two points for a total of 4 points in this section**
1. Click on the link that states “Current Senate 116th Congress” and analyze the map.
Then, click on the link that states “Interacted Map – Contested 2020 and analyze
that map as well.” After you have done that, compare and contrast both maps and
list any significant changes that you see in both.

2. After analyzing all the maps found in this interactive website, make a prediction
based on what you read and determine whether the Democrats or Republicans will
take control of Congress (The Legislative Branch).