How does an engine make a car move?

An engine moves a car by burning fuel and air inside cylinders, where each burst shoves a piston downward. Those straight pushes are changed into spinning by a crankshaft, and that spin travels through gears and axles until the wheels turn.

The clever part is timing. Several pistons take turns, so the engine does not give one lonely shove and stop. It keeps making quick pushes in order, smooth enough that families mostly hear a steady hum from under the hood.