Under the Hood: The Car Engine Quiz

Estimated Completion Time
4 min
Under the Hood: The Car Engine Quiz
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About This Quiz

Do you know your alternator from your power steering pump? Would you know where to begin changing your own oil? Not everyone is mechanically inclined, but we're guessing that you know more than you think you know about your car's engine. It's impossible to be a driver without learning a few thing along the way!

Let's take a peek under the hood and find out what you know. We'll examine both the main body of the engine and all the components that attach. Does your expertise end at adding windshield washer fluid, or could you point out exactly where to find the timing chain? Car engines are both efficient and complex machines, with dozens of moving parts working together to power you down the road. Whether your car is diesel or gasoline driven, you should be able to recognize at least some of your engine's make-up!

Rev up your engine and let out on the clutch! As you shift your way through the questions, be sure you choose the answer that is correct to the best of your knowledge! Have no fear! You'll cruise through it without as much as a minor fender-bender! Let's put your knowledge to the test!

What's the function of the camshaft in your car's engine?
it ignites the compressed air/fuel mixture
it sprays fuel into the intake manifold
it lets air into the combustion chamber
it controls when the intake and outtake valves open and close
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

There is a shaft in internal combustion engines, like the one in your car, that uses elliptically-shaped lobes to control when the intake and outtake valves open and close. And that determines the engine's performance, peak horsepower and more.

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Once your car's started, what supplies the car's electrical power needs?
alternator
ignition coil
ignition switch
inhibitor switch
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Your car's alternator provides all the needed electrical power, including recharging the battery while you drive.

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What's another name for the engine block?
combustion chamber
cylinder block
cylinder head
cylinder wall
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

An engine block is also called a cylinder block.

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Having more of what makes an engine more powerful?
camshaft lobes
cylinders
fuel injectors
intake and outtake valves
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Engines with more cylinders are more powerful than engines with fewer cylinders.

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Before the 1980s, what supplied the combustion chamber with fuel?
carburetor
crankshaft
fuel injectors
intake and outtake valves
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Today, cars use fuel injection to create the combustion needed in the combustion chamber. But before the 1980s, it was a carburetor that did the job.

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What's it called if the cylinders in your car's engine are arranged in a straight line?
bank angle
broad arrow
inline engine
radial engine
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

When an engine's cylinders are arranged in a straight line, it's called an inline engine.

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Why are some engines called a V6 or V8?
its sparkplugs are configured in V-shaped banks
its valves are configured in V-shaped banks
its cylinders are configured in V-shaped banks
its camshaft is V-shaped
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Usually when an engine has more than four cylinders, those cylinders are divided into a V-shaped configuration of two cylinder banks, with three cylinders or more in each bank.

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Which is not one of the three key things your car's engine needs to start and run properly?
a well-balanced air/fuel mixture
a spark
combustion
a synthesis reaction
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Your car's engine needs a well-balanced air/fuel mixture, combustion and a spark to work properly.

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What makes the spark?
the crank
the ignition coil
the pistons
the starter
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Sitting above each of the engine's cylinders is a sparkplug. When you start your car, the ignition coil produces a spark that's distributed to the sparkplugs.

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What does the spark ignite?
engine oil
fuel
O2
the air/fuel mixture
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The spark ignites the air/fuel mixture.

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After the spark ignites the air/fuel mixture, what happens?
a small explosion in the shock absorbers (shocks)
a small explosion that pushes pistons down
a small explosion that moves the pistons up
a small explosion that releases exhaust out of the valves
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

That spark causes a small explosion that, in turn, pushes the pistons down. Now we're moving!

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Pistons move up and down, and you can predict where they'll be during intake, compression, power and exhaust (known in a four-stroke engine as a four-stroke process). On intake, a piston is down. Is it up or down on the exhaust stroke?
up
down
neither (in the middle)
there is no "exhaust stroke"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The piston is up on the exhaust stroke, pushing the exhaust out.

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What lubricates the cylinders in which the pistons move up and down?
coolant
fuel
motor oil
transmission fluid
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

All the moving parts inside your car's engine are lubricated with motor oil.

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What's the purpose of radiator coolant (antifreeze)?
to keep the motor oil cool
to keep the engine's pistons from sticking
to keep the transmission lubricated
to prevent an engine from overheating
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The car's cooling system, which includes the radiator, keeps the engine’s cylinder heads and valves cool by safely absorbing and dissipating heat, but it needs coolant and water to do so.

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How often should you change your oil?
3,000 miles or 6 months, whichever comes first
every 5,000 miles
either of these
neither - today's cars don't need oil changes
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Oil changes are recommended for every 3,000 miles or 6 months, whichever comes first. However, many new cars can rely on an every 5,000 miles schedule.

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Which is not considered an "extreme" operating condition?
stop-and-go or rush-hour traffic
making only short driving trips
hardly ever driving on highways
all of these are "extreme" conditions
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

You might think an "extreme" operating condition as very hot or very cold weather, or maybe if you're towing something heavy. Those are. But so is stop-and-go driving, only making short driving tips and never driving at high speeds on highways. Extreme conditions can change your oil change schedule.

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How long can you prolong the life of your car's engine if you schedule regular oil changes?
2x the mileage
3x the mileage
5x the mileage
none
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Regular oil changes may help you get as much as twice the mileage from your engine than if you're nonchalant about it.

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What powers your car's air conditioner?
crankshaft
driveshaft
transmission
water pump
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The front of the crankshaft and the rear of the crankshaft have different duties. The front powers your car's accessories, including the air condition, the alternator and water pump.

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What does the rear of the crankshaft power?
engine block
harmonic balancer
timing chain (belt)
transmission
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The rear of the crankshaft connects to the car's flywheel, providing power to the transmission (which, in turn, provides power to the car).

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When you buy a car, it's "powertain" may be under warranty. What is a car's powertrain?
everything that makes a car move
everything that makes a car move, except the engine
transmission, suspension and wheels
the engine control unit (ECU)
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The car's powertrain includes all the components that make a car move, including the engine and drivetrain.

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What's not part of a car's drivetrain?
axles
the differential
engine
the wheels
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A car's drivetrain includes all of the components needed to move the wheels, but not the car's engine.

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What can help if your car's engine temperature begins to climb while you're driving?
drive faster
open the windows
turn on the air conditioning
turn on the heater
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Turn on the heat (and turn off the A/C) to help direct heat away from the engine. Don't rely on it as a fix though; an overheating engine needs to be checked out.

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If you drive through high water on a flooded road, how could water get into the engine's combustion chamber?
through the exhaust system
through the automatic braking system
through the air pump
through the air intake system
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Driving through high water could cause water to reach your engine's combustion chamber through the car's air intake system. Think you'll be crossing rivers in your vehicle? Consider a snorkel -- for the car, not you.

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The energy your car's engine makes moving gears and wheels is called what?
electromagnetic energy
mechanical energy
potential energy
thermal energy
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

This is called mechanical energy.

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What's considered the "brain" inside your car's engine?
the camshaft
the crankshaft
the valves
the timing chain (or belt)
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The camshaft is considered the brain inside your car's engine.

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What does that mechanical energy become when the wheels, in turn, power the car?
kinetic energy
thermal energy
translational energy
it's still mechanical energy
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The energy of the car as it goes down the road is called kinetic energy.

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What controls the amount of air that gets into the engine?
air filter
gas pedal
ignition coil
intake valves
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The gas pedal controls the amount of air that will get into a car's engine.

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Which is an example of an external combustion engine?
flat-four engine
inline engine
square four engine
steam engine
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A steam engine, like on locomotives in the 19th century, is a good example. It relies on a boiler to heat water into steam, but because the combustion (the boiler) is outside the engine, it's an external combustion engine.

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Engine timing belts can get dry, stretch out and deteriorate with time, wear and tear. It's recommended you change the belt (or chain) how often?
every 5,000 miles
every 15,000 miles
every 30,000 miles
every 60,000 miles
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Experts recommend an engine's timing belt (or chain) be changed every 60,000 miles.

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What's the ratio of air to fuel?
more air than fuel
more fuel than air
about 50/50
it's always different
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The fuel mixture is made up of way more air than fuel.

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You hear a loud, medium-pitched knocking from your engine. What could it be?
worn bearings
faulty crankshaft sprocket
faulty crankshaft position sensors
a broken connecting rod
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Loud, medium-pitched knocking noises coming from under the hood could mean the bearings that support the engine's crankshaft are worn.

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What keeps engine oil from leaking into the engine's combustion chamber?
valve cover
valve rings
valve seals
valve springs
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Valve seals keep engine oil from leaking into the engine's combustion chamber.

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Where are the proper lifting points for where to place a jack?
running board
rocker panel
the oil pan
lifting points differ from car to car
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The lifting points are different from car to car. Any car with a frame, though, can be lifted with a jack by the frame.

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Why might your car have dim headlights, but only intermittently and only while you're driving?
a bad alternator
a bad distributor cap
a bad ignition coil
a broken rotor
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Dim headlights while you're driving is a good indication your car has a bad alternator. (Or you're hauling a really heavy load.)

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Which was the most common car repair of 2015?
tightening a loose fuel cap
replacing bad spark plugs
replacing a bad catalytic converter
replacing a bad oxygen sensor
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Replacing a bad oxygen sensor was the most common car repair among Americans in 2015. In second place, our cars needed catalytic converter replacements, and, third, replacement spark plugs. And all those loose fuel caps? Tightening them was the fourth most-common repair.

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