A skydiver free falls from a plane 200 feet above the ground. Which of the following equations could represent the height of the

Question

2 years ago

15

A skydiver free falls from a plane 200 feet above the ground. Which of the following equations could represent the height of the

skydiver as a function of time?
1. h(t) = -16t2 + 200t

2. h(t) = t2 + 199

3. h(t) = -16(t - 3) + 200

4. h(t) = -16t2 + 200

Mathematics

2 answers:

jasenka [17] · Answer 1 · 2022-06-23T11:44:37+03:00

Answer:

Katie,

Once the skydiver reaches terminal velocity, then he will be falling with constant speed. The distance he falls in time t will then be d = (160 ft/s)·t. And his altitude above the ground (height h) will be his altitude when the parachute opened minus the distance he has fallen so we can write:

h = (3200 ft) - (160 ft/s)·t

As a point of interest, the time it will take him to fall all the way to the ground is t = (3200 ft)/(160 ft/s) = 20 s