Both NASA and the Russian Space Agency have been conducting flights during which

the passengers experience weightlessness for 10 to 20 seconds. These flights are used for

training and testing of future astronauts.

The airplanes involved fly a parabolic flying path to create the simulation of zero gravity.

For this project, we were given three points with time and height of the flight. Using these points,

we were able to determine the equation for the parabola that the airplane follows in the flight.

In order to determine this equation, we substituted the three given points into the standard

form of a parabola involving height and time: ℎ(𝑡) = 𝑎𝑡 + 𝑏𝑡 + 𝑐. After these substitutions,

we solved the three equations generated with three unknown values (the coefficients a, b, and c),

using the elimination/addition and substitution methods

Once we solved for the coefficients of the parabola, we were able to determine the

maximum height of the flight using the 𝑉 = equation to find the time at which the flight

reached its maximum altitude and then substituting that time back into our parabolic equation in

order to find the maximum altitude of the flight. Finally, we sketched a graph of part of the

parabolic equation, most of the part during which the passengers felt weightless.

I think this project was very beneficial to show how mathematics can be applied to the

real world. Using the knowledge of the parabolic flight path needed, NASA pilots can plan the

ideal path to achieve a maximum amount of weightlessness time.

Car manufacturers can use parabolic equations to determine the ideal shape and size of

car headlights
 Another example of using parabolic equations would be in the design of radio antennae.

Antennae must be designed so that incoming radio waves are all focused at a single point, so that

the receiver can be located at that point.

In my study of micro and macroeconomics, I have already seen the key role that

mathematics plays in calculating predicted individual and national decisions. This project

reinforced my belief that math is all around us.