Law & Citizenship · Unit 6
How Government Works
Parliaments, presidents and the branches of power
Governments look different from country to country and are doing the same three jobs everywhere: making law, carrying it out, and interpreting it.
The unit covers the branches of government, how laws are actually made, the executive, the civil service that does the work regardless of who wins, and the division between local and national.
This unit breaks down into 18 short steps and 109 questions, starting at difficulty 2 and building to 3. Below you can see exactly what it covers, how the path is structured, and worked examples with explanations.
- Steps
- 18
- Questions
- 109
- Difficulty
- 2-3
What this unit covers
- Branches of Government
- The Executive
- Making Laws
- Local and National
- The Civil Service
Where this fits
Follows Who Decides? Pairs with Elections and Democracy.
Where people slip
The civil service is not the government. Ministers change with elections and the administration mostly does not, which is what allows the state to keep functioning through a change of power.
How the unit is structured
How Government Works runs as 18 short steps that unlock in order. 13 are practice rounds and 5 are challenge rounds that pull together everything before them. Questions start at difficulty 2 and climb to 3 as you progress.
Challenge rounds
Example questions
30 real questions from this unit, with the answer and the reason behind it, grouped by what they practise. There are 109 in the unit altogether.
Branches of Government
- Build the sentenceLevel 2
1. Build a sentence about power.
Answer: Separate branches limit each other's power
Separate branches limit each other's power.
- Choose all that applyLevel 2
2. Which are branches of government? Pick all that apply.
- The legislaturecorrect
- The executivecorrect
- The judiciarycorrect
- The newspapers
Legislature, executive and judiciary are the three branches.
- Match the pairsLevel 2
3. Match each branch to what it does.
Answer: Legislature = Makes laws; Executive = Carries out laws; Judiciary = Interprets laws; Civil service = Delivers services
Each branch has a distinct function.
- Multiple choiceLevel 2
4. What is a government?
- The people and institutions that run a countrycorrect
- A single building
- A type of election
- A company
The group of people and institutions that run a country.
- Picture questionLevel 2
5. 🏛️ What kind of building is this likely to be?
- A parliament where laws are debatedcorrect
- A supermarket
- A hospital
- A factory
A parliament building is where elected representatives meet.
- Sort into groupsLevel 2
6. Sort each check by which branch exercises it.
Answer: Select committee inquiry = Legislature checking executive; Budget approval = Legislature checking executive; Quashing an unlawful decision = Courts checking executive; Interpreting a statute = Courts checking executive
Each branch has tools to limit the others.
Local and National
- Choose all that applyLevel 2
7. Which are usually national responsibilities? Pick all that apply.
- Defencecorrect
- Currencycorrect
- Immigration rulescorrect
- Local playground repairs
Defence, currency and immigration are national matters.
- Fill the blankLevel 2
8. A state where regional powers are constitutionally protected is a ____ state.
- federalcorrect
- unitary
- colonial
- neutral
Federal structures entrench regional authority.
- Multiple choiceLevel 2
9. Why is some power kept local?
- Local people know local needs bestcorrect
- National government is banned from it
- It is cheaper to ignore
- There is no reason
Local people know local needs and can respond faster.
- Sort into groupsLevel 2
10. Sort each responsibility by level of government.
Answer: Bin collection = Local; Local parks = Local; National defence = National; Currency = National
Different levels handle different matters.
- True or falseLevel 2
11. Some countries also have regional or state governments in between.
Answer: True
True. Federal countries have several layers.
- Fact or fibLevel 3
12. Devolving power always improves outcomes for citizens.
Answer: False
False. It can improve responsiveness but also create inequality and coordination problems.
Making Laws
- Choose all that applyLevel 2
13. What happens to a bill in parliament? Pick all that apply.
- It is introducedcorrect
- It is debatedcorrect
- It can be amendedcorrect
- It is sold to the public
It is introduced, debated, amended and voted on.
- Fill the blankLevel 2
14. A proposed law that has not yet passed is called a ____.
- billcorrect
- verdict
- budget
- ballot
Bills become acts once passed.
- Multiple choiceLevel 2
15. What is a parliament?
- An assembly that debates and passes lawscorrect
- A court
- A police force
- A school
An assembly of elected representatives who debate and pass laws.
- Put in orderLevel 2
16. Put these stages of making a law in order.
Answer: A bill is proposed -> It is debated -> Amendments are considered -> A vote is held -> It becomes law
Proposal, debate, amendment, vote, becomes law.
- True or falseLevel 2
17. A bill becomes an act once it has been passed and approved.
Answer: True
True. An act is law.
- Type the answerLevel 2
18. What is a bill called once it has become law?
Answer: act
An act of parliament is binding law.
The Civil Service
- Build the sentenceLevel 2
19. Build a sentence about government.
Answer: Civil servants serve whichever government is elected
Civil servants serve whichever government is elected.
- Choose all that applyLevel 2
20. Which are civil service values? Pick all that apply.
- Integritycorrect
- Honestycorrect
- Objectivitycorrect
- Party loyalty
Integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality are standard values.
- Multiple choiceLevel 2
21. What is the civil service?
- Permanent staff who deliver government workcorrect
- Elected politicians
- Judges
- Soldiers
The permanent staff who carry out government work whichever party is in power.
- True or falseLevel 2
22. Civil servants are expected to be politically impartial.
Answer: True
True. They serve whichever government is elected.
- Type the answerLevel 2
23. What word describes serving any government fairly without political favour?
Answer: impartiality
Impartiality is a core civil service value.
- Fact or fibLevel 3
24. Civil servants should publicly campaign for the party in power.
Answer: False
False. Impartiality requires them to serve any elected government.
The Executive
- Choose all that applyLevel 2
25. Which are executive responsibilities? Pick all that apply.
- Running public servicescorrect
- Proposing a budgetcorrect
- Conducting foreign policycorrect
- Deciding court cases
Running services, proposing budgets and conducting foreign policy are executive tasks.
- Fact or fibLevel 2
26. The same people make the laws and decide court cases.
Answer: False
False. Separating those roles is a core protection against abuse of power.
- Multiple choiceLevel 2
27. What does the executive branch do?
- Runs the country and carries out lawscorrect
- Hears court cases
- Only writes laws
- Nothing
It runs the country day to day and carries out the laws.
- True or falseLevel 2
28. A head of government leads the executive branch.
Answer: True
True, often a prime minister or president.
- Fill the blankLevel 3
29. A clause ending a law automatically after a set period is a ____ clause.
- sunsetcorrect
- sunrise
- budget
- privacy
Sunset clauses force reconsideration.
- Put in orderLevel 3
30. Put these budget stages in order.
Answer: Government proposes a budget -> Parliament scrutinises it -> Amendments are considered -> Parliament approves it -> Departments spend the funds
Proposed, scrutinised, amended, approved, spent.
Where these questions come from. Each unit starts as a plan of the concepts it should cover and the difficulty it should span. Questions are written against that plan with AI assistance, then checked by a validator that rejects anything without a single defensible answer, an explanation, or plausible wrong options. How we write questions sets out the whole process, and corrections are fixed in the bank and reach the site and the app the same day.
How you practise
This unit mixes 11 different question formats, so you are recalling and applying rather than recognising the same layout every time.
- Build the sentence
- Choose all that apply
- Fact or fib
- Fill the blank
- Match the pairs
- Multiple choice
- Picture question
- Put in order
- Sort into groups
- True or false
- Type the answer
Practise How Government Works
109 questions across 18 steps. Start with step one and crawl at your own pace.
Play this unitRead about How Government Works
Explainers from our blog on what this unit covers. Each one ends with real questions from the bank.
- What Does It Mean to Be a Citizen?The rights and duties that come with citizenship, how people acquire it, and how it differs from residency.August 28, 2026 · 6 min read
- How Does a Bill Become a Law?The journey from proposal to statute, the stages of debate and scrutiny, and why most bills never make it.August 28, 2026 · 6 min read
More units in Law & Citizenship
- Rules and FairnessWhy rules exist and what makes them fair
- Living in a CommunityNeighbours, services and looking after each other
- Who Decides?Leaders, voting and making choices together
- Police, Courts and JudgesWho enforces the law and who decides cases
- Rights and FreedomsWhat everyone is entitled to, and why
- Elections and DemocracyCampaigns, ballots and counting the votes
- Crime and PunishmentWhat counts as a crime and what happens next
- Law in Everyday LifeContracts, consumers, work and the rules around us