To begin a football game, a kicker has to kick off. The football follows the path h(x)=−130x(x−61) , where h(x) is the height of the football and x is the horizontal distance it has traveled in yards. Solve the equation to determine how far the ball will have traveled when it hits the ground. 0=−130x(x−61)

1 answer

To determine how far the ball will have traveled when it hits the ground, we set h(x) equal to 0 and solve for x.

0 = -130x(x - 61)

Since x cannot be equal to 0 (since this would mean the ball hasn't traveled any horizontal distance), we can divide both sides of the equation by -130 to simplify it:

0 = x(x - 61)

Now we can solve for x by setting each factor equal to zero:

x = 0 or x - 61 = 0

For x = 0, the ball would not have traveled any horizontal distance and would be at the starting point, so we discard this solution.

For x - 61 = 0, we solve for x:

x = 61

Therefore, the ball will have traveled 61 yards when it hits the ground.