a woman hit a golf ball on the ground with her driver with an initial vertical velocity of 100 feet per second. How long will the golf ball stay in the air?

Question

a woman hit a golf ball on the ground with her driver with an initial vertical velocity of 100 feet per second. How long will the golf ball stay in the air?

Answer 1

The formula for the height of a golf ball hit with an initial vertical velocity of 100 f/s is:

h(t) = -16t² + 100t

The ball starts on the ground and ends up back on the ground, so h(t) = 0 in both cases.

0 = -16t² + 100t

0 = -4t·(4t - 25)

t = 0 and t = 25/4 = 6 ¹/₄ sec

The t = 0 is just as the woman hits the ball. It lands back on the ground 6 1/4 seconds later.