An object is dropped from a height of 256 feet. The amount of time, in seconds, the object takes to hit the ground can be found by solving the equation -16t^2 + 256 = 0. How many seconds will it take to hit the ground?

Answer 1

To find the amount of time it takes for the object to hit the ground, we need to solve the equation -16t^2 + 256 = 0 for t.

First, let's simplify the equation by dividing everything by -16:
t^2 - 16 = 0

Next, let's isolate t^2 by adding 16 to both sides:
t^2 = 16

Now, take the square root of both sides to solve for t:
t = ±√16

Since time cannot be negative, we can disregard the negative square root and focus on the positive square root:
t = √16

The square root of 16 is 4, thus:
t = 4

Therefore, it will take 4 seconds for the object to hit the ground.