d="TexFormula1" title="y=-\frac{1}{170}(x-225)(x+225)" alt="y=-\frac{1}{170}(x-225)(x+225)" align="absmiddle" class="latex-formula">, where and are measured in feet. The -axis represents the ground. Find the width of the arch of the bridge at ground level.
The width of the bridge at ground level will be where the function intercepts the x-axis also known as the roots or zeros of the function. They are found using the zero product property to set each factor equal to 0.
This means (x-225) = 0 and (x + 225) = 0. So x = -225, 225.
This means the width is the absolute value of |-225| + 225 since distance cannot be negative. This makes it 450 feet.