An owl swoops down from its perch in a tree at 20 feet to catch field mice below. It follows the function h = -6f^2 - 24t + 20. Plots points to graph the equation. Which ordered pair represents the vertex?

1. (44, -2)
2. (1, 0)
3. (-5, 0)
4. (-2, 44)

1 answer

The given function is \( h = -6f^2 - 24t + 20 \). This equation represents a quadratic function in terms of the variable \( f \), where \( h \) is the height above the ground.

To find the vertex of a quadratic in the form \( h = af^2 + bf + c \), we can use the formula for the \( f \)-coordinate of the vertex, which is given by:

\[ f = -\frac{b}{2a} \]

In this case, comparing to the standard form, we have:

  • \( a = -6 \)
  • \( b = -24 \)

Now let's calculate the \( f \)-coordinate of the vertex:

\[ f = -\frac{-24}{2 \cdot -6} = \frac{24}{-12} = -2 \]

Next, we substitute \( f = -2 \) back into the original equation to find the corresponding \( h \)-coordinate (height):

\[ h = -6(-2)^2 - 24(-2) + 20 \] \[ = -6(4) + 48 + 20 \] \[ = -24 + 48 + 20 \] \[ = 24 \]

Thus, the vertex of the quadratic function is \((-2, 24)\).

However, it seems that the options given do not match this point. Therefore, we need to find which option corresponds to this calculation.

None of the provided options \((44, -2)\), \((1, 0)\), \((-5, 0)\), and \((-2, 44)\) actually represent the calculated vertex \((-2, 24)\).

If you need to plot points to graph the equation, you can choose various values for \( f \) and compute \( h \) to draw the parabola. The correct vertex based on the calculations done here is \((-2, 24)\).

Therefore, it appears there may have been an error in the options provided. The vertex of the quadratic as calculated here is:

\[ \boxed{(-2, 24)} \]

None of the answer choices accurately reflect this vertex.