Final answer:
The stress caused by a 5000 kg African elephant standing on all four legs is approximately 14 lb/in².
Step-by-step explanation:
An African elephant weighing 5000 kg and standing on all four legs exerts pressure on the ground. Pressure is defined as the amount of force applied per unit area. To calculate the pressure exerted by the elephant, we need to divide the weight of the elephant by the area of its foot pad.
Given that the diameter of each foot pad is 40 cm, we can calculate the area using the formula for the area of a circle (A = πr^2). The radius (r) of each foot pad can be found by dividing the diameter (40 cm) by 2. Using this information, we can determine the pressure exerted by the elephant.
Using the given information that the pressure exerted by each foot is about 14 lb/in², we can conclude that the stress caused by a 5000 kg African elephant standing on all four legs is approximately 14 lb/in².