Question

After getting knocked off his boogie board, Randy watches it float up and down on the ocean waves. The board moves 9.6 feet from its low point to its high point, returning to its low point every seconds.

a) Write an equation that gives the board's vertical position y at time t if the board is at
its highest point when t = 0.

b) Explain why you chose a sine or cosine function for part a.

Answer 1

f(t)= (9.6/2)cosBt

= 4.8cosBt

where B=2pi/period

use cosine to avoid a phase shift