Mechanical Comprehension
Basic mechanical and physical principles, including simple machines, force, and motion.
~19m
Practice this sectionPractice Questions
- View question →
A yellow flame on a gas furnace indicates:
Easy - View question →
If a water tank on a toilet keeps overflowing, the problem is probably a:
Easy - View question →
Helical gears have:
Easy - View question →
Wheel A has a diameter of 10 feet. Wheel B has a diameter of 8 feet. If both wheels revolve at the same rate, Wheel B will cover a linear distance of 16 feet:
Medium - View question →
If a ramp is 8-feet long and 4-feet high, how much effort is required to move a 400-pound object up the ramp?
Easy - View question →
33,000 foot-pounds of work done in one minute is called:
Easy - View question →
A 130-pound woman is wearing shoes with high heels that measure 1-inch square. If the woman is standing on one heel, what psi does the heel exert as it rests on the ground? (Disregard atmospheric pressure from your calculations.)
Medium - View question →
The force that causes clothes from the dryer to stick together is called:
Easy - View question →
If Gear A is revolving in a clockwise manner, as seen in the figure above, Gear B:
Easy - View question →
Springs are used for the following purposes EXCEPT:
Easy - View question →
Universal joints are used to:
Easy - View question →
A gear and pinion have a ratio of 4 to 1. If the gear makes 200 revolutions per minute, the speed of the pinion is:
Easy - View question →
The gas gauge in an auto relies on what mechanical device to measure the amount of gas in the tank?
Easy - View question →
Using a runner gives you a mechanical advantage of:
Easy - View question →
In the diagram in question 4, if the wheel on the left turns clockwise, which way will the wheel on the right turn?
Easy - View question →
How can a gear system derive the greatest amount of mechanical advantage when a seven-tooth gear drives a
Easy - View question →
An above-ground suburban water tank holds 540 gallons of water when full. If the tank starts out full and is drained at a rate of 60 gallons per minute, how many seconds will it take to empty out halfway?
Medium - View question →
Which of the following is not a simple machine?
Easy - View question →
If you want to hammer in a heavy nail, it might be a good idea to use a hammer with a
Easy - View question →
In the pulley system in question 11, which pulley will rotate fastest?
Easy - View question →
Forces existing in pairs are sometimes called
Easy - View question →
When forces act in pairs they are
Easy - View question →
When you heat water that is confined in a closed container so that the steam cannot escape, the pressure inside the container___________and the temperature of the boiling water___________.
Medium - View question →
For two gears to mesh properly, they must
Easy - View question →
Kinetic energy is
Easy - View question →
The amount that a machine (simple or complex) multiplies your force or effort is called
Easy - View question →
The mechanical advantage of two meshing gears is calculated by dividing
Hard - View question →
A compound machine is one in which
Easy - View question →
When meshing or interlocking gears have different numbers of teeth,
Easy - View question →
Cranks are used to
Easy - View question →
Force is something that can change the velocity of an object by making it
Easy - View question →
The brakes on your car use the same force that stops your car if you just let it coast. This force is called
Easy - View question →
If you drop something, it Ms. The force acting on it is
Easy - View question →
Weight is directly proportional to the acceleration due to
Easy - View question →
The force that acts in an upward direction on anything submerged in a liquid or a gas is called
Easy - View question →
If an object is in equilibrium, it is said to be
Easy - View question →
A good example of a simple machine is a
Easy - View question →
The mechanical advantage of a winch is the ratio of the radius of the crank to the radius of the
Easy - View question →
The ideal mechanical advantage of a gear is the ratio of the number of teeth in the load gear to the number of teeth in the
Medium - View question →
The rate at which work is done is called
Easy - View question →
An induction clutch works by:
Easy - View question →
If a first class lever with a resistance arm measuring 2 feet and an effort arm measuring 8 feet are being used, what's the mechanical advantage?
Medium - View question →
Air weighs about 15 psi. What's the amount of pressure (force) exerted on the top of your head, given a surface area of 24 inches?
Easy - View question →
Work input is always more than work output because of
Easy - View question →
The ratio between work output and work input is called
Easy - View question →
The amount of magnification that a machine produces is referred to as the
Easy - View question →
A ramp is a device commonly used to aid in
Easy - View question →
A screw consists of a single continuous spiral wrapped around a
Easy - View question →
If a house key, a wooden spoon, a plastic hanger, and a wool jacket are all the same temperature, which one feels the coldest?
Easy - View question →
Springs used in machines are usually made of:
Easy - View question →
A clutch is a type of:
Easy - View question →
When Cam A completes one revolution, the lever will touch the contact point:
Easy - View question →
A way to determine the amount of power being used is to:
Easy - View question →
A wood tool, a silver tool, and a steel tool are placed in boiling water for cleaning. Which tool gets the hottest?
Easy - View question →
If a force of 200 pounds is exerted over an area of 10-square inches, what's the psi?
Easy - View question →
If a ramp measures 6 feet in length and 3 feet in height, an object weighing 200 pounds requires how much effort to move using the ramp?
Medium - View question →
A micrometer is used to measure:
Easy - View question →
The force produced when two objects rub against each other is called:
Easy - View question →
Normally, atmospheric pressure is approximately:
Easy - View question →
Torsion springs:
Easy - View question →
To move a 400-pound crate from the floor of a warehouse to the bed of a truck 4-feet off the ground, the most efficient device to use is a:
Medium - View question →
Water in an engine can cause damage in winter weather because:
Easy - View question →
A cubic foot of water weighs about 62.5 pounds. If an aquarium is 18 feet long, 10 feet deep, and 12 feet wide, what's the approximate pounds-per-square-inch pressure (psi) on the bottom of the tank?
Medium - View question →
A single block-and-fall is called a:
Easy - View question →
A simple pulley gives a mechanical advantage of:
Easy