An elephant weighs 5000 kg, and its legs each have a circumference of 1.34 m. Assume for a moment that the leg muscles have to supply all of the force needed to keep the elephant standing.

a. By what factor does the maximum force produced by the legs exceed the elephant’s weight?

b. Studies of humans show that the leg muscles spend 0.002 kcal/min per newton of force they provide. Supposing that elephants have to spend the same energy to provide a force with their legs, how many kcal would an elephant burn if it stayed standing for 24 hours? (Assume again that the leg muscles have to provide all of the force needed to keep the elephant standing.)

c. Estimate the metabolic rate of the elephant, and compare it to your answer from part b. What can you conclude about how the elephant supports itself?