Final answer:
To determine the maximum force the athlete's ACL can withstand, the cross-sectional area is required along with the tensile strength. As such, the answer cannot be determined from the information given because the maximum force depends on both tensile strength and area.
Step-by-step explanation:
Understanding ACL Tensile Strength
The question revolves around calculating the maximum force an athlete's anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) can endure based on its given tensile strength. The tensile strength of the ACL is given as 1.5 × 10⁷ N/m². To determine the maximum force, the cross-sectional area of the ACL would need to be known, as the tensile strength is a measure of force per unit area. Without this information, the maximum force that the ACL can withstand in newtons cannot be calculated simply based on tensile strength value alone. Thus, the answer to the question provided is not determinable with the information given.
Furthermore, in a situation addressing forces on joints during exercise or frictional forces, the numerical value of the ACL's tensile strength would still require the cross-sectional area to calculate a specific maximum force in newtons. However, it should be noted that the actual forces an ACL experiences can vary due to many factors such as speed of movement, angle of the joints, muscle strength, and overall body weight distribution. The provided tensile strength is a straightforward material property and does not translate directly into a force without additional context.