Inside the motor you have the pistons, connecting rod and crankshaft -- the guts and powerhouse of the motor that makes it work.
The crankshaft (figure A) is the core of the whole underside of your engine.
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The up and down movement of the piston (figure B) is converted into rotary motion -- the same principle as when you push up and down on a bicycle pedal.
At the front of the engine, the crankshaft drives the camshaft; and the camshaft is constantly controlling the opening and closing of the valves as you can see on the other side of the cylinder head (figure C). The power from the crankshaft is driving that turning force up to the camshaft that will open and close the valves. That orchestrates all the breathing and power producing that goes on inside your engine.