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Chapter 1: Q23DQ (page 357)

The material in human bones and elephant bones is essentially the same, but an elephant has much thicker legs. Explain why, in terms of breaking stress.

Short Answer

Expert verified

Thus, in order to satisfy the ratio of compressive stress, and to exert greater force, the elephant has much thicker legs than humans.

Step by step solution

01

Compressive Stress

Compressive stress is a physical property that can be determined by the ratio of perpendicularly applied force to the surface area, that is:

σ=F⊥A

02

Comparison between breaking stress

Since humans and elephants have the same bones, thus, their compressive stress will also be the same. So, we have:

σe=σh

But, a human has two legs, and the elephant has four.

So, considering one leg for compressive stress, we have;

σe=σh14FeAe=12FhAhFeAe=2FhAh

Here, due to heavy weight, the force applied by an elephant is much greater than that applied by any human. So to satisfy the above relation of compressive stress between the two, the elephant must have thicker legs than a human.

That is why the elephant has thicker legs.

Hence, this is the required answer.

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