To determine how far above or below street level Luca's initial launching point is, we need to analyze the quadratic equation provided:
\[ y = -16t^2 + 40t - 5 \]
In this equation:
- \( y \) represents the height of the object above (positive) or below (negative) street level.
- \( t \) represents time in seconds.
- The constant term, in this case \(-5\), indicates the initial height of the object when \( t = 0 \).
To find the initial launching point (when \( t = 0 \)), we can substitute \( t = 0 \) into the equation:
\[ y(0) = -16(0)^2 + 40(0) - 5 \] \[ y(0) = -5 \]
Thus, the initial height, or the position of the launching point, is 5 feet below street level.
So the correct response is:
5 feet below.