senate
Many bicameral legislatures have a senate. This topic is part of Government within Government & Society. This page currently draws on 23 supporting questions, with answers and bonus facts available below.
senate trivia questions
A senate is commonly the upper chamber of what?
Answer: A legislature
Bonus fact: Many bicameral legislatures have a senate.
How many U.S. senators does each state have?
Answer: Two
Bonus fact: Equal state representation is a defining feature of the Senate.
How long is a full term for a U.S. senator?
Answer: Six years
Bonus fact: Senate terms are staggered so about one-third of seats are contested every two years.
In a legislature, the House and Senate are examples of what?
Answer: Chambers
Bonus fact: A bicameral legislature has two chambers.
The U.S. Senate's role in confirming certain presidential appointments is a check on which branch?
Answer: Executive branch
Bonus fact: Shared powers require cooperation between branches.
What Senate procedure can end a filibuster?
Answer: Cloture
Bonus fact: Cloture limits debate.
Under current U.S. Senate rules, most legislation generally requires how many votes to invoke cloture?
Answer: 60
Bonus fact: Three-fifths of the full Senate is normally needed.
What was the Senate vote on the compromise Civil Rights Act of 1964?
Answer: 73–27
Bonus fact: The vote followed the overcoming of a lengthy Senate filibuster.
Which Senate minority leader helped build Republican support for the Civil Rights Act of 1964?
Answer: Everett Dirksen
Bonus fact: Dirksen worked with Senate supporters to help overcome the filibuster.
By what margin did the U.S. Senate ratify the Treaty of New Echota in 1836?
Answer: One vote
Bonus fact: More than 15,000 Cherokees protested the treaty, which had been signed by a small minority.
What action did the U.S. Senate take against Joseph McCarthy later in 1954?
Answer: It formally censured him
Bonus fact: The censure sharply reduced his influence even though he remained a senator until his death.
A filibuster is a tactic used mainly to delay or block action in which body?
Answer: Legislature
Bonus fact: The term is strongly associated with the U.S. Senate.