"A" terms
Architecture
Geographic answers
Periodic table
Miscellaneous
100

This 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.

Acceleration

100

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?

Lighthouse

100

At a towering 406 feet, Nagarjuna Sagar Dam is the world’s tallest masonry dam built in 1969 in what heavily-populated Asian country?

India

100

This element, crucial for steel production and known for its high tensile strength, makes up about 80% of Earth's inner and outer cores.

Iron

100

Better known as the maker of Galaxy smartphones, what Korean conglomerate was also the main contractor that built Dubai's Burj Khalifa?

Samsung

200

This 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. 

Acoustics

200

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.

Leaning Tower of Pisa

200

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?

Texas

200

When viewing the composition of petroleum by weight, what chemical makes up the majority?

Carbon

200

What term is the popular phrase (in English) to describe the Japanese train known as the Shinkansen?

Bullet Train

300

Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Alcoa and Arconia are the two largest U.S.-based producers of what elemental metal?

Aluminum

300

What California structure designed in 1917 has an official color of "international orange?"

Golden Gate Bridge

300

 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.

Oregon

300

How many liquids are on the periodic table?

2

300

Engineer Sherman Poppen is often credited as the inventor of the “Snurfer” – which was later renamed into what popularly-used winter sports equipment?

Snowboard

400

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?

Arts

400

What device, an example of ancient engineering, uses stored potential energy to fling a projectile great distances without any propellant?

Catapult

400

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?

Libya

400

The resistance of stainless steel to rusting is due to the presence of which element with atomic number 24?

Chromium

400

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?

Plastic

500

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.

Aqueduct

500

In a 2012 speech, Barack Obama compared Boulder City's Copper Mountain Solar Facility to what large hydroelectric piece of infrastructure straddling the Arizona-Nevada border?

Hoover Dam

500

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?

Zimbabwe

500

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?

Nickel

500

Which “hot” discipline of the physical sciences would be key for engineers who work with things like cooling systems, jet engines, and steam power?

Thermodynamics