A bird drops a stick to the ground from a height of 82 ft. The function h = -16t^2 +82 gives the stick’s approximate height h above the ground, in feet, after t seconds. At about what time does the stick hit the ground?

Answer 1

To find out at about what time the stick hits the ground, we need to set h = 0 in the function h = -16t^2 + 82 and solve for t:

0 = -16t^2 + 82

Rearranging the equation:

16t^2 = 82

t^2 = 82 / 16

t^2 = 5.125

t ≈ √5.125

t ≈ 2.26 seconds

Therefore, at about 2.26 seconds, the stick hits the ground.