Senate
U.S. Naturalization Test (2025 Standard) glossary · Civics
Definition
The 100-member chamber of Congress: two senators per state.
Senate in plain English
The Senate is one of the two halves of Congress (the branch that writes federal laws), and its special rule is fairness by state, not by population: every state gets exactly two senators, so tiny states and giant states have equal voice there — 50 states times 2 equals 100 senators total. This balances the other half, the House, where bigger states get more seats. Picture a family where each household gets two votes on the group vacation no matter how many people live in it — that's the Senate protecting smaller states from being steamrolled. Senators serve six-year terms and handle big-deal jobs like approving treaties and confirming judges.
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Practice Senate
How many voting members are in the House of Representatives?
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