Question

A ball is dropped from the top of a building with a height of 500 feet. The height of the ball at time, t, can be modeled by the function h(t)=-4.9t^2 + h_0 where h_0 is the initial height of the ball. Approximately how long does it take for the ball to reach the ground?

Answer 1

In this problem, your h_o is 500. Put this into your equation to make it:

h(t) = -4.9t^2 + 500

Next, you want to know how long it will take for the ball to reach the ground. The ground will then be equal to 0 in this problem, so you will simply set your equation equal to 0 and solve for x:

0 = 4.9t^2 + 500

Now, all you have to do is solve the equation for t, and this will be your answer.