Business Law - Final Exam Study Guide
Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 15
Scroll down below to see the answers. “REF” is the page number in the text the answer is on. All answers to the short answer questions are in your notes.
True/False
Indicate whether the statement is true or false.
____ 1. The three branches of the U.S. government are known as the legislative, executive, and administrative branches.
____ 2. The U.S. Supreme Court justices are selected by the states.
____ 3. Courts can make laws by deciding whether or not laws conflict with the Constitution.
____ 4. When unethical business practices are discovered, new laws are often created to hold all businesses more accountable.
____ 5. The duties and requirements for serving in state and local governments are determined by the federal government.
____ 6. The main sources of the law include constitutional law, commerce law, statutes, and civil law.
____ 7. The 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote.
____ 8. Everyone in the United States must follow any treaty that the United States has signed.
____ 9. Civil law is enacted to govern the relationships between two parties and usually involves the government.
____ 10. Civil litigation usually begins with pleadings and a pretrial hearing.
____ 11. A crime is an offense against the public good.
____ 12. Motive plays no part in proving criminal liability.
____ 13. A person claiming self-defense must retreat before resorting to force.
____ 14. It is first-degree murder if someone is killed while the accused is committing another serious crime.
____ 15. Robbery is the wrongful and violent taking of personal property.
____ 16. Embezzlement is what criminals do when they need to hide large amounts of money illegally.
____ 17. Aiding and comforting enemies of the United States is called treason and is illegal.
____ 18. The person accused of a crime is called the plaintiff.
____ 19. The American legal system is a dual system made up of the federal court system and the state court system.
____ 20. The purpose of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is to provide free attorney services to U.S. citizens arrested overseas.
____ 21. A tort is a wrong committed against an individual.
____ 22. Public officials must prove actual malice to succeed in a defamation lawsuit.
____ 23. Invasion of privacy is an unintentional tort.
____ 24. Even the most careless conduct will not result in liability for negligence unless there is actual harm.
____ 25. The main difference between intentional torts and negligence is that one is deliberate, while the other is usually caused by carelessness.
____ 26. Although the reasonable person test is very subjective, it is used primarily in intentional tort cases.
____ 27. The tortfeasor is the plaintiff in a lawsuit.
____ 28. Mexican tort law does not provide for compensation for pain and suffering.
____ 29. Current tort reform legislation includes survival statutes and wrongful death statutes.
____ 30. If you are driving your car too fast on a rainy evening and have an accident, you might have committed an intentional tort.
____ 31. An oral contract is not enforceable by law.
____ 32. A valid contract must contain at least four of the six elements of a contract.
____ 33. Consideration is the legal ability to enter a contract.
____ 34. When a bilateral contract is made, one person makes a promise to do something if and when another person does something.
____ 35. Contracts for clothing and motor vehicles are examples of exceptions to the mirror image rule.
____ 36. According to common law, when you send an acceptance over long distances, it is effective three days after it is sent.
____ 37. A contract that is void has no legal effect.
____ 38. The Statute of Frauds requires that both parties involved in the contract be honest with each other.
____ 39. Advertisements in newspapers, price tags, and signs in store windows are treated by the law as invitations to negotiate.
____ 40. An offer must always be made seriously for it to be legal.
____ 41. A minor has an absolute right to avoid a contract.
____ 42. A minor may affirm part of a contract while disaffirming another part.
____ 43. An emancipated minor is a child who is no longer under the legal control of his or her own parents.
____ 44. Refraining from doing something illegal is a type of detriment.
____ 45. Parents have certain rights under the law regarding their minor children, including the right to discipline and the right to manage their children’s property.
____ 46. Minors who have signed a military enlistment agreement can legally get out of it based on their age.
____ 47. Capacity rules allow minors, people with mental impairments, and people under the influence of drugs and alcohol to disaffirm a contract.
____ 48. One of the characteristics of consideration is that it must involve something of value.
____ 49. For a contract to be considered unconscionable, there must be equal power between the parties involved.
____ 50. Minors are not allowed to enter into any contracts.
____ 51. The court will not rule on when a contract must be completed if time for performance is unspecified.
____ 52. The doctrine of substantial performance is often applied to construction contracts.
____ 53. Ending a contract by mutual release is not allowed by law.
____ 54. The destruction of the subject matter needed to perform the contract, through no fault of either party, discharges that contract.
____ 55. You have a right to sue a person who breaches a contract made with you.
____ 56. A person may win a lawsuit for fraud even if no loss is suffered.
____ 57. When actual physical force is used to cause another person to enter a contract, the contract is void.
____ 58. When a bilateral mistake is made, neither party may void the contract.
____ 59. A legal means for enforcing a right or correcting a wrong is called a remedy.
____ 60. When you win a lawsuit and collect thousands of dollars beyond what you actually lost, you have received bilateral damages.
____ 61. The doctrine of employment-at-will is based on the principle that an employer or employee should be able to end an employment relationship at any time without penalty.
____ 62. The Landrum-Griffin Act of 1959 was the first federal law dealing with collective bargaining.
____ 63. The Employee Polygraph Protection Act prevents employers from using lie detector tests to screen employees except in certain cases.
____ 64. The Civil Rights Act of 1991 makes it unlawful to discriminate against women because of pregnancy or childbirth.
____ 65. The law protects workers from being fired based solely on their age.
____ 66. Most U.S. employment laws apply to citizens who are working for American companies overseas.
____ 67. The Norris-LaGuardia Act (1932) outlawed yellow dog contracts.
____ 68. The purpose of the EPA is to inspect workplaces at random to ensure employees are safe.
____ 69. The Fair Labor Standards Act regulates the employment of minors.
____ 70. The Texas Workforce Commission protects the privacy of state workers when they are employed in government jobs.
Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
____ 71. A set of laws made by the courts based on the customs and traditions of the people is called
a. / the Roman Code. / c. / common law.b. / administrative law. / d. / moral law.
____ 72. Decisions made by the highest court of any state follow the law of
a. / original jurisdiction. / c. / citation.b. / prosecution. / d. / precedent.
____ 73. One difference between criminal and civil procedure is
a. / the judge can decide who has the right to due process and who does not.b. / in civil cases the procedures must be followed exactly, while in criminal cases they do not.
c. / in civil cases the defendants have the right to due process, but in criminal cases they do not.
d. / in criminal cases the procedures must be followed exactly, while in civil cases they do not.
____ 74. Young people who appear before a juvenile court have
a. / the right to an open trial in front of the jury.b. / the right to request to be tried as an adult.
c. / no right to a trial and no right to be released on bail.
d. / a right to a trial and a right to be released on bail.
____ 75. An appeal in a civil case can
a. / be based only on the arguments made during arraignment.b. / be based only on a legal mistake by the judge.
c. / lead to a retrial at the appellate level.
d. / lead to fines or imprisonment.
____ 76. A case that has been decided by a state supreme court may be appealed to the
a. / general trial court. / c. / U.S. Supreme Court.b. / special U.S. court. / d. / intermediate appellate court.
____ 77. Statutory laws are signed by the President or Governor after they are passed by the
a. / judges. / c. / legislators.b. / commerce board. / d. / regulatory agencies.
____ 78. The unlawful killing of one human being by another, without malice aforethought, is
a. / justifiable homicide. / c. / second-degree murder.b. / first-degree murder. / d. / manslaughter.
____ 79. In a criminal proceeding, the government is referred to as the
a. / defendant. / c. / plaintiff.b. / offender. / d. / protagonist.
____ 80. If a law enforcement officer induces a law-abiding citizen to commit a crime, the accused may claim
a. / self-defense. / c. / endangerment.b. / entrapment. / d. / insanity.
____ 81. Threatening a person at gunpoint is called
a. / kidnapping. / c. / torture.b. / aggravated assault. / d. / larceny by false pretenses.
____ 82. The wrongful taking of another's property by a person who has been entrusted with that property is
a. / extortion. / c. / larceny.b. / robbery. / d. / embezzlement.
____ 83. Crimes are categorized into crimes against people, property, motor vehicles, and
a. / murder, manslaughter, and rape.b. / assault, battery, and arson.
c. / business, government, and society.
d. / kidnapping, domestic violence, and vandalism.
____ 84. When you lie under oath during a court process, you are committing
a. / disorderly conduct. / c. / bribery.b. / perjury. / d. / treason.
____ 85. A minor offense that is usually punishable by a fine rather than jail time is called
a. / a misdemeanor. / c. / entrapment.b. / a felony. / d. / an infraction.
____ 86. A wrongful injury to, or interference with, the property of another is
a. / nuisance. / c. / trespass.b. / defamation. / d. / invasion of privacy.
____ 87. A false statement made orally to a third party is
a. / slander. / c. / breach of duty.b. / defamation. / d. / libel.
____ 88. People who are engaged in extremely dangerous activities may be held liable even without negligence or malice; this is known as the doctrine of
a. / assumption of risk. / c. / unintentional liability.b. / strict liability. / d. / dangerous liability.
____ 89. To determine if the defendant's conduct was the proximate cause of the plaintiff's injury, the court applies the
a. / proximate cause test. / c. / forensic test.b. / actual cause test. / d. / foreseeability test.
____ 90. The negligence defense that might be used by a baseball club that is sued by spectators is
a. / contributory negligence. / c. / assumption of risk.b. / comparative negligence. / d. / proximate cause.
____ 91. The difference between a crime and a tort is that a crime is committed against the public good, while a tort
a. / is committed against a particular person or property.b. / is caused when someone is being threatened.
c. / is considered a wrong against all of society.
d. / hurts all members of the community.
____ 92. Using explosives and keeping alligators as pets are examples of
a. / survival statutes. / c. / conversion.b. / negligence. / d. / strict liability.
____ 93. The remedies available in tort law usually include
a. / a public apology by the tortfeasor printed in the local newspaper.b. / prison time for the tortfeasor.
c. / financial compensation to the victim for injuries caused by the tortfeasor.
d. / financial compensation for the victim and prison time for the tortfeasor.
____ 94. The taking back of an offer by the offeror is
a. / revocation. / c. / cancellation.b. / rejection. / d. / consideration.
____ 95. A contract that amounts to nothing and has no legal effect is
a. / unenforceable. / c. / void.b. / voidable. / d. / unilateral.
____ 96. A contract that contains a promise by both parties is
a. / express. / c. / bilateral.b. / implied. / d. / unilateral.
____ 97. To be effective, an offer must be communicated to the
a. / attorney. / c. / lender.b. / offeree. / d. / offeror.
____ 98. In order for the acceptance to be legally binding, it must be
a. / made in person and in writing by the offeree.b. / unconditional and in writing by the offeror and offeree.
c. / made in person and follow the rules regarding the method of acceptance.
d. / unconditional and follow the rules regarding the method of acceptance.
____ 99. In China, when people sign a contract, it means
a. / all parties know what to do and by when.b. / they are ready to fulfill the contract.
c. / that everyone will complete the requirements of the contract.
d. / they simply want to do business with each other.
____ 100. In contract law, consideration can be defined as