Campers launched a third rocket which can be modeled by the equation h = -16t2+ 160t + 1.

Question

a.) Did rocket 1 or Rocket 3 fly higher? How much higher?

b.) Did Rocket 2 or Rocket 3 stay in the air longer? How much longer?

Answer 1

Well, you haven't given us any information about rocket #1 or #2, but the height of rocket #3 can be found by calculating the vertex. That will be its maximum height,

For ax² + bx + c = 0, the x-value of the vertex is x = -b/(2a) so, for this case:

t = -160/(2(-16)) = 5 and at t = 5, the height is -16(5)² + 160(5) + 1 = 401