Question

Jason jumped off a cliff into the ocean while vacationing with some friends. His height as a function of time could be modeled by the function

h(t)= 16t² + 16t + 480, where t is the time in seconds and h is the height is feet. 

a. How long did it take for Jason to reach his maximum height?
(-b/2a)

b. What was the highest point that Jason reached?

c. Jason hit the water after how many seconds?

Answer 1

a) 1/2 sec; b( 504.25 ft)

Explanation:

Jason reached max height at the vertex of this parabolic path. The time value is t = -b/(2a), where a = -16, b + 16 and c = 480:

t(max height) = -(16) / [2*(-16)], or t = 1/2 sec.

a) It took Jason 1/2 sec to reach his maximum height.

b) The max height is found by substituting 1/2 for t in h(t)= 16t² + 16t + 480:

h(1/2) = 504.25 ft