Question

A watermelon is dropped from the tenth story of a building. Solve the equation −16t2+144=0 for t to find the number of seconds it takes the watermelon to reach the ground.

Answer 1

ANSWER:  

Water melon takes 3 seconds to reach the ground from the tenth story of a building.

SOLUTION:

Given, a watermelon is dropped from the tenth story of a building.  

We have to solve the equation −16$t^2$ + 144 = 0 for t to find the number of seconds it takes the watermelon to reach the ground.

Now consider the given equation, $-16 t^{2}+144=0$

$\begin{array}{l}{144=16 t^{2}} \\\\ {t^{2}=\frac{144}{16}} \\\\ {t^{2}=\frac{12^{2}}{4^{2}}} \\\\ {t^{2}=\left(\frac{12}{4}\right)^{2}} \\\\ {t=\frac{12}{4}=3}\end{array}$

Hence, water melon takes 3 seconds to reach the ground from the tenth story of a building.