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What are a car’s water jackets?

Water jackets are hollow sections of the engine block through which coolant flows.

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What does an intake manifold do?

An intake manifold is the structure that delivers air to the intake ports of the engine’s cylinders.

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Define stoichiometric ratio.

The stoichiometric ratio is the ideal air-fuel mixture for insertion into the engine cylinder. For gasoline engines, this is 14.7:1 by weight.

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Between the drive axle and the CV joints is a short drive shaft called the .

half shaft

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Spent fuel gases exit the cylinder and pass into the .

exhaust manifold

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Diesel engines lack a (a common element in gasoline-burning engines).

spark-ignition system

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Does an alternator produce DC or AC power?

AC

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What does a camshaft do?

A camshaft opens and closes the cylinders’ intake and exhaust valves.

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The low-voltage winding in a car’s ignition system is called the .

primary coil winding

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What is chiefly responsible for generating fluid pressure to operate a car’s brakes?

the master cylinder

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What does a fuel rail do?

A fuel rail delivers fuel under pressure to the engine’s fuel injectors.

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Brakes work through pressure.

hydraulic (or fluid)

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The camshaft is driven by the crankshaft by means of a .

timing belt or timing chain

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Where is the oil filter positioned in an engine?

The oil filter filters oil after it leaves the oil pump and before it circulates through the engine.

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work by adjusting the brake pressure in each wheel depending on the wheel’s speed.

Anti-lock brakes (ABS)

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Diesel engines employ to ignite the air-fuel mixture.

a high compression ratio (or high pressure)

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What is a PCM?

powertrain control module—that is, a car’s computer

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Engine coolant is usually composed of a mixture of % antifreeze and % water.

50; 50

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The matches engine speed to the desired speed of the vehicle.

transmission

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Internal combustion engines take energy, convert it into energy and then into energy.

chemical; heat; mechanical

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Most internal combustion engines employ a -stroke cycle.

four

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Define viscosity.

The viscosity of a liquid is its resistance to flow; liquids with higher viscosity are thicker and flow less easily.

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What is the difference between disc brakes and drum brakes?

In disc brakes, brake pads on both sides of a rotating disc are pinched together to slow the disc’s rotation. In drum brakes, brake shoes inside a rotating drum expand to make contact with the interior of the drum, slowing its motion.

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A radiator cap has two valves: a(n) valve and a(n) valve.

pressure; vacuum (or vacuum; pressure)

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Define engine block.

The engine block is a framework in which the cylinders are arranged.

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In most cars, exhaust gases pass from the catalytic converter and through the before leaving the car.

muffler

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can transmit power through very steep angles in order to transfer mechanical energy to the car’s wheels.

constant velocity (CV) joints

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What are oil galleries?

Oil galleries are passages throughout the engine that deliver oil to various engine components.

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What flows through radiator hoses?

coolant flowing from the radiator to the engine and returning from the engine to the radiator

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What does a connecting rod do?

Connecting rods connect each piston to the engine’s crankshaft.

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What are ball joints?

Ball joints are ball-and-socket arrangements that allow the steering knuckle to turn and move up and down.

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OHV stands for .

overhead valve

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What do piston rings do?

Piston rings seal the cylinder so that exhaust gases do not leak out and oil does not leak in.

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Does a car’s battery provide DC or AC electricity?

DC

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protect other car parts from the energy produced by the up-and-down movement of the wheels.

Shock absorbers

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The high-voltage winding in a car’s ignition system is called the .

secondary coil winding

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What does a crankshaft do?

A crankshaft converts the linear motion of the piston into rotary motion.

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Why is a coolant recovery reservoir necessary?

A coolant recovery reservoir is needed to capture overflow when the radiator pressure cap valve opens, because the flow of coolant between the engine and radiator varies based on the heat of the engine.

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Which part of the ignition system protrudes into each engine cylinder?

spark plug

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What are the two major types of engine cooling systems?

air-cooling and water-cooling

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The is the main component of the charging system and converts mechanical energy into electrical energy.

alternator

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send data to a car’s computer; receive commands from a car’s computer.

Sensors; actuators

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The AC electricity produced by the alternator is converted to DC by the .

rectifier (or rectifier bridge)

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What happens in an engine’s oil pan?

Oil drips from various engine parts into the pan, cools, and is picked up by the oil tube and sent back to the oil pump.

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Define piston.

The piston is a cylindrically shaped object that moves up and down inside an engine’s cylinder.

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Instead of carburetors, most cars now have .

electronic fuel injection

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What does a catalytic converter do?

A catalytic converter processes the toxic gases in engine exhaust, turning them into carbon dioxide, water, and other less harmful substances.

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A car’s battery has plates made from immersed in a mixture of and water.

lead; sulfuric acid

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When a driver turns on the car’s lights or radio, this causes a decrease in system voltage. The responds to this by increasing the output of the alternator.

voltage regulator

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How is a car’s oil pump powered?

The oil pump is usually powered by the crankshaft.

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The camshaft turns at the speed of the engine’s crankshaft.

one-half

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What happens in an engine’s cylinder?

Fuel and air are ignited, pushing the piston downward, and then exhaust gases are expelled when the piston moves upward.