A student throws a rubber ball upward from a height of 12 feet,initially at 8 feet per second.

a.Write the position function that models the height of the ball t seconds after it was thrown.
b.What is the maximum height of the ball?

1 answer

this is the "free fall" equation

a. h = -1/2 g t^2 + Vo t + Ho = -16 t^2 + 8 t + 12

b. the max height occurs on the axis of symmetry of the parabola
... tmax = -b / 2a

you can also set the 1st derivative equal to zero to find tmax