As part of a fountain display, two jets of water travel from the surface of an upper pool and meet at the surface of a lower pool, as shown in the diagram. The paths of the two jets are modelled by y=-x^2-4 and y=-3x^2-15x, where x and y are measured in feet. What is the vertical height difference, d, of the pools? Round the answer to the nearest hundredth.

Question

(the diagram shows the two different height pools and two parabolas that both open downward. Both parabolas start at the same spot on the higher pool and land separate because ones bigger. I hope this helps, I don't know how to share pictures on here )
Please help and show steps, I tried and ended up with something wildly wrong.

Answer 1

The only interpretation I can make of this is that the water starts where the parabolas intersect once, and the lower pool is where they meet again. If so, then see the graphs at

https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=solve+y%3D-x%5E2-4+%2C+y%3D-3x%5E2-15x

and note the red dots. If this is not how your picture looks, then I'm at a loss as to how to interpret things. The two pools could be anywhere on the parabolas.