Image: iStock by Getty Images
About This Quiz
From pistons to push rods, engines dominate the automotive conversation. How well do you know your car engine? Get "inline" to test your car smarts with this challenging quiz!
The exhaust pipe and the muffler are part of what system?
Propulsion system
Launch system
Exhaust system
The exhaust system clears the way for the next round of combustion inside the engine.
Drivetrain
The _______ arrangement of cylinders has all of the cylinders in a line in a single bank.
Boxer
Uptime
Inline
The simple inline arrangement makes these engines easier to manufacture than V and flat types.
Straight Across
Using bigger cylinders or more cylinders increases displacement which results in:
More power
More displacement means you can burn more gas which means more power.
Less wasted fuel
Smaller engine size
More efficient catalytic converters
Advertisement
A car engine is what type of combustion engine?
Internal
Diesel and gas turbine engines are both types of internal combustion engines.
External
Reverse
Forward
The battery in most cars used to start the motor which in turn starts the engine is typically what kind?
12-volt
The powerful 12-volt battery runs the starter motor and then is recharged by the alternator once the engine is running.
1.21 gigawatts
Electrocephalus
Disposable
The fuel system of an engine takes gas from a gas tank and mixes it with what?
More gas
Electricity
Exhaust
Air
Mixing the proper amount of gas and air makes sure your engine is working efficiently.
Advertisement
The spark plug _________ the air and fuel.
Ignites
Timing the spark plug ignition is critical for the engine to work correctly.
Mixes
Separates
Exhausts
The liquid used in the engine's lubrication system is _______ .
Oil
Oil helps lubricate the engine parts like pistons and bearings to help those parts move more easily and reduce wear.
Water
Fuel
Air
Which fuel source, in general, is more efficient at generating torque.
Diesel
The higher energy potential in diesel fuel makes diesel engines more efficient at generating torque.
Gasoline
They're equally efficient
Advertisement
How does a dual exhaust system help an engine run more efficiently?
Improve the flow of exhaust from the engine
Dual exhaust systems help reduce air resistance of exhaust leaving the engine's cylinders, this helps avoid back-pressure.
Provide more air to the cylinders
Increase the sound of the engine
Remove pollutants from the exhaust
The pressurization amount used in turbocharging and supercharging engines is called:
Boost
Higher pressure means a bigger boost.
Injection
Power up
Warp
The purpose of a catalytic converter is to:
Accelerate the car
Turn linear motion into rotational motion
Burn unused fuel and other chemicals in exhaust
An emission control system helps clean harmful chemicals from the exhaust by running the exhaust through the catalytic converter before it exits the tail pipe.
Change between being gas powered and battery powered
Advertisement
What moves up and down inside the cylinder?
Piston
The piston tightly fits inside the cylinder to seal air and gas and control the combustion process.
Crankshaft
Spark plug
Tail pipe
Air-cooled engines are typically lighter but run _______ than liquid-cooled engines.
Cooler
Hotter
Air-cooled engines run hotter which typically reduces engine life and performance.
More expensive
Faster
During the combustion stroke the ____________ ignites the gasoline.
Radiator
Camshaft
Striker
Spark Plug
The explosion the spark plug ignites causes the piston to move down.
Advertisement
The piston moves up and down inside of the _________ .
Mounting
Cylinder
Most cars have either four, six, or eight cylinders in their engines.
Box
Piston Sheath
Turbocharged and supercharged engines first do what to the air before mixing it with fuel?
Dehumidified
Vaporized
Pressurized
Pressurizing the air helps increase the performance of the engine.
Molecularly separated
The spark plug needs a _________________ from the ignition system to work.
High-voltage electrical charge
Creating the spark to ignite the air/fuel mixture requires a precisely timed high-voltage electrical charge.
Fuel/air mixture
Boost injection
Quantum phase pulse
Advertisement
The stroke that lets in air and gasoline is the _____ stroke.
Cam
Intake
The piston moving down allows air and gasoline for combustion.
Entrance
Intro
The ______ contains oil and surrounds the crankshaft.
Slickpan
Greaser
Pan
Oil in the pan helps keep the crankshaft lubricated to reduce friction.
The _________ connects the piston to the crankshaft.
Piston Yoke
Crankshaft Pin
Connecting Rod
The connecting rod connects the piston to the crankshaft.
Crank Harness
Advertisement
What spins the engine a few revolutions so the combustion process can start?
Starter motor
To start your engine it takes a powerful motor to get things going!
Launching mechanism
Boosting engine
Primary launch device
During the exhaust stroke the exhaust leaves the engine and goes out the __________ .
Back End
Tail Pipe
The exhaust valve opens at the bottom of the piston's stroke allowing the exhaust to exit.
Top
Thermal Exhaust Port
The device that mixes gas into air as the air flows into the engine is called the ________ .
Fuel blend cyclotron
Carburetor
If the carburetor doesn't mix air and gas in the right amount it could be wasting gas or cause the engine to produce less power.
Vortex
Cylinder centrifuge
Advertisement
A timing belt or timing chain links the ______ and the ________ so valves and pistons stay in sync.
Crankshaft, camshaft
Synchronizing the crankshaft and camshaft is important for the valves and pistons to perform their best.
Camshaft, overhead cams
Timing pin, valve lifter
Rods, pistons
What part is not used in a diesel engine which is used in a gasoline engine?
Camshaft
Oil
Spark plug
Diesel engines use the heat and pressure from compression to ignite the fuel in the cylinder.
Dual exhaust
The ___________ is the part of the engine that changes the linear motion of the piston into rotational motion.
Spindle
Driveshaft
Crankshaft
Rotational motion is the type needed to rotate the wheels of the car.
Gear
Advertisement
The three most common arrangement of cylinders in an engine are inline, V, and _______ .
Flat
Inline, V, & flat cylinder arrangements each have their own advantages and disadvantages.
Stepped
X
Outboard
Engines using overhead cams have their camshaft located _______ the valves.
Above
The overhead cam design with the camshaft above the valves is the most common type found in modern engines.
Beside
Below
Inside
The electronic device that monitors and controls the fuel and air mixture and spark timing is called what?
Computer aided fuel governor
Ignition regulator module
Detonation control rigging
Engine control module
Engine control modules use a network of sensors to make sure the right amounts of fuel and air are properly ignited.
Advertisement
What does octane rating mean?
The horsepower per gallon
The tax per gallon
How much the gas can be compressed before it ignites
Using the right type of fuel for your vehicle is important, different engines perform their best with the right octane rating fuel.
How pure the air needs to be for the gas to work
The stroke that makes the explosion more powerful is the ______ stroke.
Compression
The piston moving back up compresses the gasoline and air.
Explosion
Blasting
Power
Internal combustion engines need pure, high-quality liquid or gaseous ________ .
Gasoline
Fuel
Unlike external combustion engines, internal combustion engines can only use specific types of fuel.
Nitrogen
Water
Advertisement
A camshaft turns at ______ the rate of the crankshaft.
One-half
Gearing allows the camshaft to turn once for every two turns of the crankshaft.
One-tenth
Three-fifths
Seven-eighths
Most cars use an air circulation technique known as ______________ .
Normal aspiration
Normal aspiration means air only needs to pass through a filter before it enters the cylinders.
Quick intake
Super compression
Alternating intake vacuum
Which of the following is not part of a gasoline engine:
Spark Plug
Exhaust port
Speedometer
The speedometer measures the velocity of the car as a whole, but doesn't directly measure or control the engine.
Oil pan
Advertisement
Which of the following does NOT describe "horsepower�
The term was created by James Watt.
1 horsepower = 33,000 foot-pounds of work in 1 minute.
It measures the power an engine provides.
It's a calculation based on how heavy a car is compared to how many horses would equal that weight.
James watt created the measurement of horsepower while watching ponies work at a coal mine.
Engine knock is the engine problem best described by:
Fuel being improperly ignited
Engine knock is the result of improperly ignited fuel interfering with the engine cycles.
The top of the engine banging on the hood
Fuel leaking out of the engine and exploding
The engine brackets coming lose and letting the engine move back and forth.
Nikolaus Otto invented the four-stroke combustion cycle in what year?
1208
1776
1867
The four-stroke combustion cycle is also known as the Otto cycle invented over 140 years ago.
1923
Advertisement
You Got:
/40
iStock by Getty Images