Question

An Olympic diver is competing for a medal. His height in feet above the water

Answer 1

It takes the diver 5 s to reach the water.

Quadratic equations

These are mathematical equations in which the highest power of the unknown is 2 and in factored form are written as f(x) = (x -a)(x - b)

Since the Olympic divers height in feet above the water can be modeled by the function f(x) = -2(x-5)(x+1), where x is the time in seconds after he begins the dive.

The diver reaches the top of the water when f(x) = 0.

So, equating f(x) to zero, we have

f(x) = 0

-2(x-5)(x+1) = 0

Dividing through by -2, we have

(x-5)(x+1) = 0

So, (x - 5) = 0 or (x + 1) = 0

x = 5 or x = -1

Since time cannot be negative, x = 5 s.

So, it takes the diver 5 s to reach the water.

Learn more about quadratic equations here:

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