Question

The height, h (in feet), of a ball t seconds after it is thrown upward is given by the

equation h = 16t² + 60t + 5. What does the constant term 5 in the equation
represent?

A. time required for the ball to hit the ground

B. time required for the ball to reach the highest point

C. height after 5 seconds

D. height when first thrown

Answer 1

Answer: D. height when first thrown

Explanation:

The constant term, 5, in this equation represents the height of the ball when it was first thrown. This means that our answer is option D.

This constant term (5) is also the y-intercept. When we graph this equation, the line starts at (0, 5) if you ignore the negative values since we cannot have a negative time for this scenario. This is a visual representation of the ball being thrown.