Florida Civics EOC Module 5 The Three Branches of Government: a complete overview of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, the courts, and how a bill becomes a law

What Module 5 actually demands

Module 5 is the heart of Reporting Category 4 (Organization and Function of Government): how the national government is built and what each part does. It asks you to know the three branches, the structure of Congress, the roles of the president, the levels of the courts, and how a bill becomes a law. The dominant skill is matching a job, power, or action to the right branch, and recognizing the steps of the lawmaking process.

This guide ties together the matching dot-point pages, each with its own practice questions: the three branches of government, the legislative branch, the executive branch, the judicial branch, and the lawmaking process.

The three branches

The Constitution creates three branches, each in its own Article. The legislative branch (Congress), Article I, makes the laws. The executive branch (President), Article II, enforces the laws. The judicial branch (the courts), Article III, interprets the laws. The branches are kept apart by separation of powers and balanced by checks and balances. The memory aid: legislative makes, executive enforces, judicial interprets.

The legislative branch

Congress is bicameral (two houses), a result of the Great Compromise. The House of Representatives has 435 members by population, with two-year terms; the Senate has 100 members, two per state, with six-year terms. The House represents people; the Senate represents states. Congress makes laws, controls taxes and spending, declares war, raises the military, and coins money, and it checks the other branches by overriding vetoes, confirming appointments and treaties (Senate), and impeaching officials.

The executive branch

The President, head of the executive branch, enforces the laws and wears several hats: chief executive (runs the agencies), commander in chief (directs the military), and head of foreign policy (negotiates treaties). The president can veto bills, appoint judges and officials (with Senate confirmation), and grant pardons. The vice president can take over the presidency and presides over the Senate; the cabinet are the advisers who head the executive departments. Key limit: the president commands the military, but only Congress can declare war.

The judicial branch

The courts, headed by the Supreme Court, interpret the laws. Courts come in levels: trial courts hear cases first (witnesses, evidence, jury); appellate courts review lower-court decisions for legal errors (no jury, no new evidence); and a supreme court has the final say. The Supreme Court's key power is judicial review, declaring a law or action unconstitutional, established in Marbury v. Madison. There are parallel federal and state court systems.

The lawmaking process

A bill becomes a law by passing both houses of Congress in the same form and being approved by the president. The steps: introduce, committee, debate and vote, the other house repeats, both agree on one version, and the president signs or vetoes. If vetoed, Congress can override with a two-thirds vote in both houses. The process is a textbook case of checks and balances.

Check your knowledge

A mix of recall and application questions covering Module 5. Attempt them under timed conditions, then check against the solutions.

1. Name the three branches, who leads each, and the Article that creates each. (3 marks)
2. State the one-word job of each branch. (3 marks)
3. State two differences between the House and the Senate. (2 marks)
4. Name three powers of Congress. (3 marks)
5. Explain why Congress is bicameral (the Great Compromise). (2 marks)
6. Name three roles of the president. (3 marks)
7. Explain the difference between the president's military power and Congress's war power. (2 marks)
8. Explain the difference between a trial court and an appellate court. (2 marks)
9. Define judicial review and name the case that established it. (2 marks)
10. List the main steps a bill takes to become a law. (3 marks)
11. Explain what happens if the president vetoes a bill. (2 marks)