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Trivial Engineering Trivia Quiz

Engineering has had many high points and failures over the years. Here is a quiz on some of them.

A multiple-choice quiz by jmarlin. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
jmarlin

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
329,761

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
7 / 10

Plays
1430

Awards
Top 35% Quiz

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. What building, built to house the headquarters of a large auto manufacturer, was in a heated race to be the tallest building in the world in 1930. Its record was short lived since the Empire State Building surpassed it in 1931 to be the largest in the world (and the city)? Hint

Transamerica Building

John Hancock Center

Flatiron Building

Chrysler Building

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Question 2 of 10

2. This Washington state suspension bridge was officially known as the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. What nickname did it get after high winds caused vibrations to build to the point of catastrophic failure? Hint

Bronco Billy

Galloping Gertie

Brittle Becky

Rambling Wreck

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Question 3 of 10

3. A bridge near Dundee, Scotland famously failed in high winds in 1879 when a train with 75 passengers was crossing. What body of water did it span? Hint

River Clyde

Firth of Forth

Firth of Tay

Loch Ness

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Question 4 of 10

4. What man, who spent the Civil War building ironclads for the US Navy, went on to build the first bridge across the Mississippi River in 1867? (His middle name came from his mother's cousin who went on to become president.) Hint

John Augustus Roebling

John Ericsson

John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum

James Buchanan Eads

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Question 5 of 10

5. What man with a colorful name became famous for extinguishing oil well fires around the world? Hint

Red Adair

Red Barber

Red Auerbach

Red Skelton

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Question 6 of 10

6. General Leslie Groves led the Manhattan Project to build the first atomic bomb. But before that, what iconic Arlington landmark's construction did he oversee? Hint

DC Metro Subway

Lincoln Memorial

Washington Monument

The Pentagon

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Question 7 of 10

7. Although not the first attempt,what was the first submarine to sink a warship in combat? Hint

CSS Virginia

USS Holland

Turtle

H. L. Hunley

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Question 8 of 10

8. The St. Francis Dam failure with great loss of life ended the career of William Mulholland. For what city was Mulholland the chief engineer of the Bureau of Water Works and Supply? Hint

New York, NY

Sacramento, CA

Johnstown, PA

Los Angeles, CA

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Question 9 of 10

9. The Mars Climate Orbiter space probe was designed to orbit Mars to study its weather but crashed into the planet. What was the cause of the failure of the mission? Hint

A solar flare destroyed the electronics in flight

Mission control lost communication with the probe

Its fuel tank exploded as the thruster ignited

Confusion between English and metric units in thruster subsystem

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Question 10 of 10

10. What ancient Greek mathematician and engineer is credited with the boast "Give me a place to stand on and I will move the earth" after investigating the principles of levers? Hint

Archimedes

Phidias

Sophocles

Hippocrates

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

Answer: Chrysler Building

The competition with the Bank of Manhattan Trust building to be the tallest building included a secret 125 foot tower addition that was erected inside the frame of the building and attached to the structure only after the competing building was completed.

Answer: Galloping Gertie

The failure of what was the third longest suspension bridge in the world became a textbook case study in the dynamic effects of wind on large structures.

3. A bridge near Dundee, Scotland famously failed in high winds in 1879 when a train with 75 passengers was crossing. What body of water did it span?

Answer: Firth of Tay

The disaster was immortalized in an 1880 poem by William McGonagall who is touted as the worst poet in British history.

Answer: James Buchanan Eads

Roebling led the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, Ericsson designed the USS Monitor ironclad and Borglum carved the faces on Mount Rushmore.

5. What man with a colorful name became famous for extinguishing oil well fires around the world?

Answer: Red Adair

Red Auerbach was long time coach of the Boston Celtics basketball team, Red Barber was a baseball radio announcer, and Red Skelton was a movie and television comic actor.

6. General Leslie Groves led the Manhattan Project to build the first atomic bomb. But before that, what iconic Arlington landmark's construction did he oversee?

Answer: The Pentagon

The Pentagon is located across the Potomac River from Washington D.C. and was at the time the largest office building in the world.

7. Although not the first attempt,what was the first submarine to sink a warship in combat?

Answer: H. L. Hunley

The Confederate submarine H. L. Hunley sank shortly after sinking the USS Housatonic. It signaled a successful mission to the shore but never returned. The remains of the Hunley were found in 1995 by a team led by author Clive Cussler.
The CSS Virginia (aka Merrimack)was a part of the first ironclad combat encounter, The Turtle was an early submarine during the American Revolution but never managed to sink any ships, and the USS Holland was the first submarine commissioned in the US Navy.

8. The St. Francis Dam failure with great loss of life ended the career of William Mulholland. For what city was Mulholland the chief engineer of the Bureau of Water Works and Supply?

Answer: Los Angeles, CA

The Roman Polanski movie "Chinatown" was a fictional story set against the backdrop of the aggressive efforts of Mulholland to secure water from surrounding regions for the growing Los Angeles area.

9. The Mars Climate Orbiter space probe was designed to orbit Mars to study its weather but crashed into the planet. What was the cause of the failure of the mission?

Answer: Confusion between English and metric units in thruster subsystem

The investigation after the crash determined that the thruster subsystem was designed with thrust in units of pounds force; the flight control system issues commands in units of Newtons. The commanded thrust was off by a factor of 4.45 which is the conversion factor between the units.

10. What ancient Greek mathematician and engineer is credited with the boast "Give me a place to stand on and I will move the earth" after investigating the principles of levers?

Answer: Archimedes

Sophocles was a playwright, Phidias was the architect of the Parthenon in Athens and Hippocrates was the physician who inspired the Hippocratic oath.

Source: Author jmarlin

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Bruyere before going online.
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