Bicameral legislatures are popular in____________-

1. Analyze the question The question asks which system of government commonly uses a bicameral legislature, meaning a legislature with two chambers.

2. Explain the concept

• A bicameral legislature has two houses, for example the Senate and the House of Representatives in Nigeria, or the Senate and House of Representatives in the USA.
• A federal system divides power between a central government and component units (states or regions). A two-chamber legislature suits this arrangement: • The lower house represents the people, usually by population. • The upper house represents the component units, usually equally, so smaller states are not overwhelmed by larger ones.

3. Step-by-step solution

• A. Unitary system: Power is concentrated in one central government. Many unitary states use a single chamber (unicameral), though some are bicameral. It is not the system most associated with bicameralism.
• B. Federal system: Two chambers are needed to represent both the people and the component units. This is the classic home of bicameralism (Nigeria, USA, India, Australia).
• C. Confederal: This is a loose union of sovereign states with a weak centre. The legislature is usually a single assembly of state delegates.
• D. Rigid system: This describes a constitution that is hard to amend, not a system of government. It is not relevant here.

4. Answer Bicameral legislatures are popular in the federal system, which is option B.

5. Exam tip Link federalism with two chambers: "Federal = Fair representation for States", so the upper house gives states equal voice. Also remember that unicameral means one chamber and bicameral means two (bi = two).