How does gasoline turn into exhaust?

Lots of cars, trucks and buses are powered by gasoline. You put the gasoline in a little hole on the side of the vehicle, it powers the engine and then it comes out of the tailpipe as exhaust fumes. But what’s going on inside that engine? And how does gas turn into exhaust anyway? We asked chemistry professor Dr. Josie Nardo to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s really exhausting you? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll steeryou toward the answer!