169k views
3 votes
Calculate the pressure exerted on the floor when an elephant who weighs 6000

lb stands on one foot which has an area of 20 in².

User Gerrie
by
8.8k points

1 Answer

5 votes

Answer:

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the pressure exerted on the floor, we need to use the formula:

pressure = force / area

where force is the weight of the elephant and area is the area of the foot in contact with the floor.

First, we need to convert the weight of the elephant from pounds to pounds-force (lbf), which is the force exerted by a mass due to gravity. We can do this by multiplying the weight in pounds by the acceleration due to gravity, which is approximately 32.2 ft/s²:

force = weight x acceleration due to gravity

= 6000 lb x 32.2 ft/s²

= 193200 lbf

Now we can calculate the pressure:

pressure = force / area

= 193200 lbf / 20 in²

≈ 9660 psi

Therefore, the pressure exerted on the floor by the elephant standing on one foot is approximately 9660 pounds per square inch (psi). This is a very high pressure and could cause damage to some types of flooring.

User Nxu
by
8.5k points

Related questions