Lynn hits a golf ball into the air. It lands. 60 feet away from her At it’s highest point, the ball is 39 feet in the air

Question

This scenario would best represent _____ equation. The ball lands 60 feet away from her would represent the _______. Half of the distance would be axis of symmetry. That would make the vertex ____. The ball starts at how many feet away from Lynn? ____ So another point on the graph would be ____. Using the information the only value that is not given and needs to be found is the _____

Answer 1

This scenario would best represent a quadratic equation because the path of a golf ball follows a parabolic trajectory. The ball landing 60 feet away from her represents the x-intercepts of the quadratic equation. Half of the distance to the point where it lands (30 feet) would be the axis of symmetry. The vertex of the parabola, which represents the highest point of the ball's path, would be located at \( (30, 39) \), meaning it is 30 feet away from Lynn and 39 feet in the air.

So another point on the graph would be its starting point at (0, 0), where the ball was hit from the ground. Using the information, the only value that is not given and needs to be found is the quadratic coefficients to express the entire equation of the parabola in the form \( y = ax^2 + bx + c \) or a vertex form.