Final answer:
To find when the ball hits the ground, set the quadratic function equal to zero and solve for x using the quadratic formula. The ball hits the ground at x = 5.04 seconds.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find when the ball hits the ground, we need to find the value of x when the height is zero. In the given quadratic function f(x) = -4.9x² + 24.5x + 1, we can set f(x) equal to zero and solve for x:
-4.9x² + 24.5x + 1 = 0
Using the quadratic formula, the roots of the function are approximately -0.04 and 5.04. The ball hits the ground at x = 5.04 seconds.