Help needed with homework

Question

According to legend, in 1589, the Italian scientist Galileo Galilei dropped rocks of different weights from the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa to prove his conjecture that the rocks would hit the ground at the same time. The height `h` (in feet) of a rock after `t` seconds can be modeled by`h(t)=196-16t^{2}.` How long would it take a rock to hit the ground?

Which one should be used to solve this?

Graphing

Isolating The Variable

Quadratic Formula

Answer 1

Hi, for this problem, one of the fastest solutions is to graph it and find the point at which the function crosses the x-axis.

The second best solution is to set the height equal to zero and solve for the value of t.

0=196-16*t^2

-196/-16=t^2

12.25=t^2

t=3.5 seconds.

Hope this helps.