Quadratic Word Problems

Projectile Motion

Projectile: an object thrown, shot, or dropped (usually straight up or straight down).

These problems use a function that represents the objects height which depends on:
1.

The force of gravity pulling it back down (on Earth, it is -16 when dealing with ft/sec, and
on the squared term)

2.

The initial velocity (v0)at which it was thrown/dropped (always goes with the middle
term)

3. The initial height (h0)from which it was thrown/dropped

( )
t represents time (usually in seconds).
Examples:
A) An object is launched directly upward at 64 feet per second from a platform
80 feet high. Write the function for the height of this object at any given time
(t seconds)
( )

-16t^2+64t+80
________________________________________

2 secs
When will the object reach its maximum height? _____________________
145ft
What will the maximum height be? ________________________________

B) A baseball is thrown straight up in the air with an initial velocity of 29 feet per
second from a point exactly 6 feet off the ground. Write the function for the
height of this object at any time (t seconds)
-16t^2+29t+6
( ) ______________________________
2 secs
When will this object return and hit the ground? _____________________

1. Some fireworks are fired vertically into the air from the ground at an initial
velocity of 80 feet per second. Find the highest point reached by the
fireworks.

99ft
2. A ball is thrown vertically upward with an initial velocity of 48 feet per second.
If the ball started from a height of 8 feet off the ground, determine the time it
will take for the ball to hit the ground.

3.1secs
3. An arrow is shot vertically upward from a height of 10 feet above the ground.
If the arrow has an initial velocity of 80 feet per second, what maximum
height will it reach before it starts to fall back down to the ground?

108.8ft
4. A tennis ball is propelled upward from the face of a racket at 40 feet per
second. The racket face is 3 feet above the ground when it makes contact
with the ball. At what time will the ball be at its highest point? How high is
that highest point?

1.2secs 28.2ft
5. The International Space Agency has finally landed a robotic explorer on an
extra-solar planet. To demonstrate the crushing weight of gravity on this
planet, the camera is aimed at a probes ground-level ejection port which
launches a baseball directly upwards at 147 feet per second. The force due to
gravity on this planet is 98 ft/s2. Assuming no winds and that the probe can
move out of the way in time, how long will it take the ball to smack back down
to the surface of this planet? Explain your answer.

1.5secs