Engineering is a field of study and practice that involves the application of scientific and mathematical principles to design and construct products, processes, and systems that solve real-world problems. From the construction of towering skyscrapers and bridges to the development of sophisticated computer systems and medical devices, engineers have been instrumental in shaping the world we live in today.
Engineering trivia questions are a fun and educational way to test your knowledge of this exciting and diverse field. Whether you are an engineer, an engineering student, or simply someone who loves to learn about technology and innovation, these questions will challenge you and help you to deepen your understanding of the world of engineering.
Here are some examples of engineering trivia questions: What is the world's longest suspension bridge? Who developed the first programmable computer? What is the name of the process used to produce metal parts by shaping a block of metal with a cutting tool? What is the equation used to calculate the power of a machine? What is the name of the engineer who designed the Eiffel Tower? These questions and others like them will help you to understand the complex and fascinating world of engineering and the role that engineers play in shaping our modern world.
121 Engineering Trivia Questions Ranked From Easiest to Hardest (Updated for 2024)
- What “A” term refers to the rate at which velocity changes over time, and the direction in which that change is acting? In terms of cars, it is used to refer to the act of increasing speed.
Answer: Acceleration
- Situated on the banks of the Red Sea, the 436-ft structure known as "Jeddah Light" is often cited as the tallest of what type of structure, despite the fact its primary purpose is as an observation tower?
Answer: Lighthouse
- What physical measurement is technically defined as force divided by the area over which that force is being applied? Queen and David Bowie performed a song about being under it.
Answer: Pressure
- What structure notorious for its 3.97 degree tilt is the freestanding bell tower of a cathedral in its namesake Italian town? The structure's tilt comes from the soft ground of its unstable foundation.
Answer: Leaning Tower of Pisa
- What “A” word defines the scientific study of sound, used to determine the efficiency of engineering projects? It is a word also used to describe a non-electric guitar.
Answer: Acoustics
- Better known as the maker of Galaxy smartphones, what Korean conglomerate was also the main contractor that built Dubai's Burj Khalifa?
Answer: Samsung
- Taken straight from Wikipedia, "naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electrically charged regions in the atmosphere or ground temporarily equalize themselves, causing the instantaneous release of as much as one billion joules of energy" is the definition of what natural phenomenon?
Answer: Lightning
- According to a group of Purdue engineering students, the answer is actually 252 licks! But what type of pop started advertising in 1969 that the world may never know how many it takes to get to the eponymous center of one of its confectioneries?
Answer: Tootsie
- What “A” word is a watercourse engineered to carry water from a source to a distribution point? Used today to describe pipes, canals, and tunnels, it was most famously used in Ancient Rome, construction that stands to this day.
Answer: Aqueduct
- The largest power station in the U.S. (measured by installed capacity) is a concrete gravity dam in Washington, built to produce hydroelectric power and provide irrigation water. What is the name of this dam that was first constructed in the 1930s?
Answer: Grand Coulee Dam
- What term is the popular phrase (in English) to describe the Japanese train known as the Shinkansen?
Answer: Bullet train
- Engineer Sherman Poppen is often credited as the inventor of the “Snurfer” – which was later renamed into what popularly-used winter sports equipment?
Answer: Snowboard
- Barbie’s spacious garage is cluttered with circuit boards, servo controllers, and actuators from her job working the robotics arm of what applied science that puts the “E” in STEM or STEAM?
Answer: Engineering
- A major potential in efforts to engineer environmental sustainability are attempts to breed bacteria that can eat what polymer-based materials that are difficult to recycle?
Answer: Plastic
- In civil engineering, Abrams’ law describes the strength of which type of building material that is composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together?
Answer: Concrete
- Topping accelerating speeds of 128 mph, engineers at Intamin Amusement Rides designed the 456-foot Kingda Ka – which opened as the world’s tallest and fastest rollercoaster at what numerically-named “Great Adventure” amusement park in New Jersey in 2005?
Answer: Six Flags
- What 72 story skyscraper on London Bridge street, designed by Renzo Piano, shares its name with a broken piece of glass with sharp edges?
Answer: The Shard
- In electrical engineering, which zen-sounding measurement of electrical resistance can be determined using the following equation: 1O = 1 V/A? (Hint: It was actually named for the German physicist who invented it, no word on whether he was also a yogi)
Answer: Ohm
- Volvo engineer Nils Bohlin invented the revolutionary V-type three-point version of what safety object in 1959?
Answer: Seatbelt
- In education, the acronym STEM stands for "science, technology, engineering, and mathematics." When an A is added to form the acronym STEAM, what does the A stand for?
Answer: Arts
- Alright nuclear engineering nerds, it’s your time to shine. What’s it called when two light atomic nuclei combine to form one heavy nucleus? (Hint: The other process—splitting a heavy one into two lighter ones—is called fission)
Answer: Fusion
- What is the moment of an 8 Newton force acting on a lever at a perpendicular distance of 5 meters?
Answer: 40 Nm
- What California structure designed in 1917 has an official color of "international orange?"
Answer: Golden Gate Bridge
- Homer Simpson may not have had a degree in it, but which atomic subfield of engineering would be helpful for someone working at a power plant?
Answer: Nuclear
- In a 2012 speech, Barack Obama compared Boulder City's Copper Mountain Solar Facility to what ginormous hydroelectric piece of infrastructure straddling the Arizona-Nevada border?
Answer: Hoover Dam
- Yun Hao Feng, the first woman to graduate with a Ph.D. in engineering in the United States, obtained her degree from what midwestern Buckeye-brimming university?
Answer: Ohio State University
- Describing how an object changes in size when the temperature changes, the abbreviation CTE stands for "coefficient of thermal" WHAT?
Answer: Expansion
- Which “hot” discipline of the physical sciences would be key for engineers who work with things like cooling systems, jet engines, and steam power?
Answer: Thermodynamics
- What device, an example of ancient engineering, uses stored potential energy to fling a projectile great distances without any propellant? It is sometimes referred to as a trebuchet.
Answer: Catapult
- What simple machine is a triangle-shaped tool, and is a portable inclined plane? It shares its name with a golf club, used for accurate short distance lobs.
Answer: Wedge
- The equation T = F x d x sin(?) will give you which “moment of force” measure that makes an object rotate?
Answer: Torque
- Sometimes called the Millenium Wheel, what paid tourist attraction in London with a biological name is a cantilevered observation wheel that allows people to see the city from high in the sky?
Answer: London Eye
- Mark Watney, an environmental engineer stranded on the Red Planet, is the title character of what 2011 Andy Weir novel and its film adaptation?
Answer: The Martian
- What is the generic term for building material which is used to buffer a structure against unwanted inclement temperature, acoustics, fire or impact?
Answer: Insulation
- The $600 million Zoji La tunnels project will connect the rest of India to its very militarized Himalayan border with what other superpower?
Answer: China
- What president of China, in office since 2013, studied chemical engineering in college before rising through the ranks of regional politics? He was portrayed himself as a heroic figure, standing strong against Western influences on behalf of the Chinese people.
Answer: Xi Jingping
- What is a branch of civil and environmental engineering beginning with S that deals with issues affecting public health, such as safe drinking water and sewage disposal?
Answer: Sanitary Engineering
- The falling counterweight has to be way heavier than the payload to achieve max speed with what slanging siege weapon whose name might be an old French word for "topple"?
Answer: Trebuchet
- When viewing the composition of petroleum by weight, what chemical makes up the majority?
Answer: Carbon
- China Energy Engineering Corp. has proposed a 1,000-megawatt floating solar plant to be constructed on the Kariba Dam in what country in southern Africa whose capital is Harare?
Answer: Zimbabwe
- In 1975 an engineer created the first electronic camera while working for what company?
Answer: Kodak
- "Liber Abaci," or "Book of the Abacus" introduced Euro audiences to the golden ratio-like sequence of what Italian math dude?
Answer: Fibonacci
- Snore! What Elon Musk-founded tunneling firm raised $118 million in venture capital funding in April 2018?
Answer: The Boring Company
- Located near Nimes, France, the Pont du Gard is a very well-preserved example of what Roman engineering feat? Another example of this particular engineering is located in Segovia, Spain.
Answer: Aqueduct
- What New Orleans structure failed in August 2005, leading to claims of "the worst engineering disaster in the world since Chernobyl?"
Answer: Levees
- What European explorer has a bridge named after him that connects Staten Island to Brooklyn?
Answer: Verrazano Bridge
- At a towering 406 feet, Nagarjuna Sagar Dam is the world’s tallest masonry dam built in 1969 in what heavily-populated Asian country?
Answer: India
- The last letter of the Greek alphabet represents what unit of electrical resistance?
Answer: Ohm
- At the center of Mecca's Masjid al-Haram mosque sits the big black Kaaba, a structure whose Arabic name translates to what Platonic solid it's shaped like?
Answer: Cube
- Described by Muammar Gaddafi as "the Eighth Wonder of the World," the Great Man-Made River delivers 6.5 million cubic metres of water daily to Tripoli, Benghazi, and other cities in what northern African country?
Answer: Libya
- What simple machine is a beam or rigid rod with a fixed hinge, also known as a fulcrum? It’s also the name of a body wash with a blue label.
Answer: Lever
- Often associated with mattresses and desk chairs, what is the term for the application of psychological and physiological principles to the engineering and construction of products? The goal is typically to reduce human error and enhance safety and comfort.
Answer: Ergonomics
- Rudolf Christian Karl Diesel was a 19th century inventor and mechanical engineer, most famous for the invention of his namesake engine. He's also well-known for a suspicious death at sea. Although born in France, Diesel was what nationality?
Answer: German
- What “S” 17th century English inventor designed the first commercially used steam powered device, a steam pump sometimes called an engine?
Answer: Thomas Savery
- What Hawaiian sugar company built a ditch to send water to its sugar fields in 1907, an engineering marvel that stands to this day?
Answer: Kekaha
- The resistance of stainless steel to rusting is due to the presence of which element with atomic number 24?
Answer: Chromium
- After he made history as the first man to walk on the moon, what astronaut served as a Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Cincinnati from 1971 to 1979?
Answer: Neil Armstrong
- What’s another name for civil engineering that's especially fitting since it often involves the construction of “weighty” infrastructure like airports and bridges?
Answer: Heavy
- In what country would you find the world's oldest school of engineering? The school was founded in 1707 by Emperor Josef I.
Answer: Czechia
- In December 2022, Verkada opened an engineering hub in which European country? Hint: This country only has red and white on their national flag.
Answer: Poland
- Which 20th-century U.S. president was also a successful mining engineer? There is also a huge engineering project in the U.S. named after him.
Answer: Herbert Hoover
- What material that sounds like something salmon would use to write a letter is also known as vulcanized fiber, and is a durable, flexible type of electrical insulation?
Answer: Fish paper
- Years before he founded Hubspot, Brian Halligan studied which kind of engineering at the University of Vermont?
Answer: Electrical
- IAEE is an international nonprofit that holds important conferences on seismic safety in design and keeps and updates the world list of member countries' seismic regulations. What does IAEE stand for?
Answer: International Association for Earthquake Engineering
- What function on Microsoft Excel, which has the same name as a Greek letter, is an engineering function to see if two values are the same?
Answer: Delta
- For what ill-fated ship was the chemical property of ductile-to-brittle transition at the below-freezing water temperatures misfortunate and likely a contributor to its first and final voyage?
Answer: Titanic
- The "Institute of Technology" in what U.S. state was the first college to offer a Bachelor of Science program in Renewable Energy Engineering? The campus of this school is in the city of Klamath Falls and there are additional campuses in Wilsonville and Salem.
Answer: Oregon
- The Rialto Bridge, the Bridge of Sighs, and a controversial bridge by Santiago Calatrava, are three of over 300 bridges in what city?
Answer: Venice
- Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Alcoa and Arconia are the two largest U.S.-based producers of what elemental metal?
Answer: Aluminum
- In which field of engineering would you work with things like glass, ceramics, metals, polymers, and nanocrystals, and even discover (or make) new substances?
Answer: Materials Engineering
- What was the name of the 2009 sci-fi horror film that followed the genetic engineering experiments of a young couple starring Adrien Brody? The film's name is also a process by which messenger RNA is edited.
Answer: Splice
- What “A” concept describes the tendency of dissimilar surfaces to cling to one another?
Answer: Adhesion
- The Washington monument is the tallest non-communications structure in D.C. and was the tallest monument in the U.S. until the completion of the San Jacinto Monument in 1939 in what state?
Answer: Texas
- Current Cadillac Fairview CEO John Sullivan holds a Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from what Quebecois school?
Answer: Concordia University
- What is the name of the genetic structure in a cell, typically circular in bacteria, that can replicate independently of the chromosomes and which is commonly used as a vector in genetic engineering?
Answer: Plasmid
- What is the name of the suspension bridge that connects the two major peninsulas of Michigan?
Answer: Mackinac Bridge
- What is the name given to the tall, main structure of a drilling rig? This word is also a relatively common male first name.
Answer: Derrick
- In electrical engineering, which term applies to a circuit that starts and ends at the same node as another, and the voltage for all the points is the same?
Answer: Parallel
- In which field of study would you think about what an object (like an airplane) does to the air around it?
Answer: Aerodynamics
- Which Ancient Greek mathematician and scientist is credited with a lot of discoveries and inventions, including his “screw”—an engineering principle that’s a key feature of hydraulics?
Answer: Archimedes
- Engineers might use which dynamic discipline of mechanics to understand how liquids and gases move and can be affected by factors like the atmosphere and various forces?
Answer: Fluid
- Because it features a shape that resembles a traditionally-woven "skep," the Executive Wing of New Zealand Parliament Buildings is often referred to by what name?
Answer: The Beehive
- What 363-mile traverse was opened in 1825 and was mocked during construction as a "big ditch" or "folly" but ended up dramatically transforming the transportation network in the United States?
Answer: Erie Canal
- What “Z” word is a massive structure from ancient Mesopotamia, a terraced compound of receding stories or levels? A testament to ancient engineering, it gets its name an Akkadian word meaning “pinnacle” or “height.”
Answer: Ziggurat
- What American university established a new engineering campus in New York City in 2012 as the result of an economic development initiative of Michael Bloomberg's to build on Roosevelt Island?
Answer: Cornell
- One of the world's largest construction projects, Al Maktoum aka Dubai World Central, is what kind of go-go piece of infrastructure?
Answer: Airport
- Though his fame exploded with a separate project nearly 30 years later, what European architect designed an iron bridge over the Garonne River in Bordeaux?
Answer: Eiffel
- The name of which equine follows “nodding” in a term used for a type of reciprocating pump used to extract oil from a well?
Answer: Donkey
- Before turning to airplane endeavors, the Wright brothers operated a bicycle repair shop in what Ohio city?
Answer: Dayton
- A mechanical engineer would want to know the difference between a gasket, which is placed between two flat surfaces to prevent leaks, and what other fixture that’s similar but is designed to go around a shaft prevent leaks on moving parts?
Answer: Seal
- What controversial structure, built along China's Yangtze River, became the world's largest power station in 2012 and is also the world's largest concrete structure?
Answer: Three Gorges Dam
- What is the SI derived unit of electrical conductance? This unit is the reciprocal of resistance and is named after the founder of a German electrical and telecommunications company.
Answer: Siemens
- What "magician of iron" engineer designed the skeletal framework for the Statue of Liberty?
Answer: Gustav Eiffel
- The Tacoma Narrows bridge, which collapsed four months after its opening on July 1, 1940, is known by what alliterative nickname? The bridge collapse was captured on film, and the remains of the bridge have been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Answer: Galloping Gertie
- An automobile factory totaling 1.5 million square feet located in Newark, Delaware produced more than 7 million cars before its 2008 closure. Which of the "Big Three" automobile manufacturers owned and operated the plant while in operation?
Answer: Chrysler
- Known for its high style of architecture designed by Richard Rogers, Su Rogers, Renzo Piano, and Gianfranco Franchini, what French landmark is named after the 19th president of France and is home to Europe’s largest modern art museum?
Answer: Centre Pompidou
- The metal alloy invar, which has a low coefficient in thermal expansion, leading to its application where high-dimensional security is required, comprises iron and which ferromagnetic element?
Answer: Nickel
- Benban Solar Park is a desert-located solar power station with planned capacity 3.8 TWh. It is currently the 4th-largest solar power plant in the world with plans to become the largest at some point. In what country would you find this massive installation that is visible from outer space?
Answer: Egypt
- What is the name of the robotic lander with an acronym for a name that launched in 2018 to study the interior of Mars? Its name implies that it will gain a deep understanding of its mission.
Answer: InSight
- Which famous British engineer (1806-1859) was widely regarded as one of the greatest engineers of all time, and was responsible for the first transatlantic steamer?
Answer: Isambard Kingdom Brunel
- What English man was a mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer, and is largely considered the originator of the concept of a digital programmable computer? Hint: His name rhymes with a common vegetable.
Answer: Charles Babbage
- The Engineers are the sports teams of what upstate New York technical university? You may give the three-letter abbreviation by which the school is often known.
Answer: RPI (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute)
- Hybrid engineers and manufactures what colorful kind of steel, which has a lower carbon footprint from its production?
Answer: Green Steel
- As defined by the American Society of Civil Engineers, which subfield of engineering involves studying and making use of Earth’s natural ground materials like rocks and soil?
Answer: Geotechnical
- In the 2010s, the size of photovoltaic power stations to generate and store solar energy has increased dramatically. Back in 2012, the largest project to-date was completed in Arizona and had a capacity of 247 megawatts. Only eight years later, there are now two power stations with capacity for more than 2,000 megawatts each, both of which are located in what country?
Answer: India
- Which type of bridge is characterized by two projecting beams or trusses that are joined in the center by a connecting member and are supported on piers and anchored by counterbalancing members? The Quebec Bridge is an example of this type of bridge.
Answer: Cantilever
- Not related to a '70s funk band, what property of PV semiconductors indicates the wavelengths of light the material can absorb and convert to electrical energy?
Answer: Bandgap
- Through what process does electrical energy get transformed into mechanical energy by a motor?
Answer: Electromagnetic Induction
- A civil engineer should know the difference between a bridge (which goes over a gap) and what other structure that goes over multiple gaps, and not just those created by water?
Answer: Viaduct
- Named after a German engineer born in 1832, what is the name of the idealized thermodynamic cycle that is the typical cycle used by internal combustion engines?
Answer: Otto cycle
- Which subfield of engineering that is a type of civil engineering would include working on foundations for buildings, mining, and offshore construction?
Answer: Geotechnical
- Howard P. Grant was the first Black graduate of the Berkeley Engineering, the first Black engineer for the City and County of San Francisco, and the first known Black member of what professional organization, the oldest of its type in the U.S.?
Answer: American Society of Civil Engineers
- A showcase of the city's recovery from the 1906 earthquake and fire, San Francisco's Panama-Pacific Exposition of 1915 was to celebrate the opening of what engineering marvel?
Answer: The Panama Canal
- What engineering theory strives to get “the right people” together at “the right time” to collaborate on ways to solve design problems by having all the “moving parts” (so to speak) work on design at the same time?
Answer: Concurrent
- In biomedical engineering, biopolymers, ceramics, and hydrogels, self-assembling peptides, and composites are examples of which biomaterial that can be made for organs in the human body?
Answer: Tissue
- What beachy slang term refers to the miners and construction workers who have built a large portion of New York City's infrastructure?
Answer: Sandhogs
- Developed by Belgian chemist Leo Baekeland in New York 1907, by which single word is the plastic polyoxybenzylmethylenglycolanhydride commonly known?
Answer: Bakelite
- When a heat circuit produces energy, what is the formal term for the “lost” energy that the electronic device essentially “lets go of” to prevent overheating? (Hint: It follows Newton’s Law of Cooling)
Answer: Dissipation
- Solar energy inventor and pioneer Frank Shuman wrote the following in the New York Times in what decade? "We have proved ... that after our stores of oil and coal are exhausted the human race can receive unlimited power from the rays of the Sun."
Answer: 1910s
- Inspired by how coral reefs make minerals, LBM (such as biocement and self-replicating concrete) has become popular in construction and design. What does LBM stand for?
Answer: Living Building Material
- Which English engineer was the first to call himself a ‘civil engineer’, and thus is regarded as the father of civil engineering?
Answer: John Smeaton
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About the Author
Eli Robinson is the Chief Trivia Officer at Water Cooler Trivia. He was once in a Bruce Springsteen cover band called F Street Band.
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