How many seconds will the tightrope walker fall before landing on the safety net?

Question

If a tightrope walker falls, he will land on a safety net. .His height h in feet after a fall can be modeled by h(t) = 60 - 16t2, where t is the time in seconds.

Answer 1

The tightrope walker's distance after landing will be zero. We set the equation as

 

0 = 60 - 16t²

 

0 = 4(15 - 4t²)

 

0 = 15 - 4t²

 

-15 = -4t²

 

15/4 = t²

 

√(15/4) = t

 

1.936 = t

 

 

The tightrope walker will fall in 1.936 second before landing on the safety net.