The Branches
The three branches of the government are legislative, executive, and judicial. The legislative branch creates laws and it is made up of a house of representatives and the senate. The executive branch is where the president and vice president work. The judicial branch decides the meaning of laws and how to apply them.
Checks and Balances
The system of checks and balances is to keep the government from getting too powerful in one branch. Different branches have to interact with each other such as, the legislative branch creates a law, but the president has to sign off the law. The president doesn’t have to sign the law and if he doesn’t the legislative branch has to reach a certain amount of votes to pass the law without the president's approval. So, each branch can balance each other out.
What Confuses Me
I understand checks and balances, but I don't see how one branch could become more powerful than the rest, and if one did I don't think they could be that much more powerful.