Adjacent shaft power transmission the two shafts must be _______________.

• A. Parallel
• B. Perpendicular
• C. Intersecting
• D. Concentric

Answer: (A)

Power is transmitted between adjacent shafts most effectively when their axes run side by side in parallel. This alignment allows belts, chains, or simple gear meshes to wrap around pulleys or sprockets smoothly, keeping tension consistent and maintaining a constant center distance. With parallel axes, the drive force stays aligned and efficient torque transfer occurs without unusual stresses or slipping. If the shafts were perpendicular, the arrangement would require a different gear geometry (like bevel gears) and wouldn’t suit a standard belt or chain drive. Intersecting axes would cause severe misalignment for these approaches, and concentric shafts would share the same axis with no separate power path between two distinct shafts. So, parallel is the correct condition for adjacent shaft power transmission.