FSOT Practice Questions (2026) — Free Sample Questions with Answers

Answer: B

A should specialize in cloth and B in wheat, since A is the more productive country.: Reversed. A gives up 2 tons of wheat per bolt of cloth, while B gives up only 1, so B is the lower-cost cloth producer.

A should specialize in wheat and B in cloth, and both can gain from trading.: Correct. Cloth costs 2 wheat in A but 1 wheat in B, so B has the comparative advantage in cloth. Wheat costs 0.5 cloth in A but 1 cloth in B, so A has it in wheat.

A should make both goods, because it has an absolute advantage in wheat.: An absolute advantage in one good does not mean producing everything. Gains from trade depend on opportunity costs (comparative advantage).

Neither country gains from trade, because their total output per hour is equal.: Different opportunity costs, not equal totals, are what matter. Here they differ, so specialization and trade raise combined output.

Comparative advantage = lower OPPORTUNITY cost. Compute what each country gives up per unit, and specialize where that cost is lower.

Answer: B

Approval by a simple majority of both the House and the Senate: Both chambers are needed for ordinary legislation and for congressional-executive agreements, but Article II gives the treaty role to the Senate alone.

Advice and consent of two-thirds of the senators present: Correct. Article II, Section 2 gives the President power to make treaties 'provided two thirds of the Senators present concur.'

Approval by two-thirds of the members of both houses: Two-thirds of both houses is the threshold for overriding a veto or proposing a constitutional amendment, not for treaties.

A majority vote of the Senate and review by the Supreme Court: There is no automatic Supreme Court review of treaties, and the Senate threshold is two-thirds, not a majority.

Treaties: the President negotiates and two-thirds of the senators present must consent (Art. II, Sec. 2). Remember the Senate-only, two-thirds rule.

Answer: B

Large public events remain the most reliable way for embassies to change minds.: The passage says crowd-drawing programs often 'changed few minds', which contradicts this.

Measuring changes in understanding, though costly, helps posts use resources better.: Correct. The passage admits the costs and ambiguity of the new measures ('Even so'), then stresses their payoff: cutting ineffective programs and moving funds.

Surveys of audiences are too ambiguous and expensive to be worth their cost.: The passage raises these drawbacks only to concede them before arguing that the measures are still worthwhile.

Embassies have largely stopped holding public outreach events of any kind.: Overstated. Posts redirected funds to 'smaller, more effective efforts'. They did not abandon outreach.

Main-idea questions: look for the turn ('Even so') where the author's conclusion appears. Reject answers that contradict the passage or go further than it does.

Answer: C

Having reviewed the cable twice, the ambassador's concerns about its wording were clear.: Dangling modifier: the phrase 'Having reviewed the cable' attaches to 'concerns', which cannot review anything.

Having reviewed the cable twice, concerns about its wording were raised by the ambassador.: Dangling modifier: the opening phrase now modifies 'concerns'. The passive voice pushes the real actor to the end.

Having reviewed the cable twice, the ambassador raised concerns about its wording.: Correct. The introductory phrase is followed directly by the person who did the reviewing, 'the ambassador'.

The ambassador, having reviewed the cable twice and raising concerns about its wording.: This is a fragment. It has a subject and modifiers but no main verb.

An introductory participial phrase must be followed immediately by the noun that performs the action.

Answer: D

Bus ridership downtown rose sharply after the lanes opened.: This supports the claim by suggesting fewer car trips. It does not weaken it.

Some drivers complained that the lanes made traffic slower.: Driver complaints say nothing about whether the lanes affected pollution.

Pollution fell more in the summer months than in the winter.: A seasonal pattern within the year does not offer another cause for the year-over-year decline.

A large coal power plant near the city closed early that year.: Correct. The closure is a plausible alternative cause of the 15% drop, which undercuts the claim that the bus lanes were responsible.

To weaken a causal claim, offer an alternative cause for the same effect. To strengthen one, rule alternatives out or show the mechanism working.

Answer: B

Kim will receive the language incentive bonus this year.: The statements establish only eligibility. Being eligible does not guarantee receiving the bonus.

Kim is not assigned to headquarters this year.: Correct. Kim completed the course, so Kim is eligible. No eligible officer is at headquarters this year, so Kim is not.

Every officer outside headquarters completed the course.: This reverses the conditionals. Officers could be outside headquarters for many other reasons.

Kim is assigned to a post where the language is spoken.: Nothing says where Kim is posted, only where Kim is not.

Chain the conditionals: course → eligible → not at headquarters. 'Must be true' answers follow from the links. They do not reverse them or add facts.