Here, height is given which will be the distance for a freely falling object.
The velocity will be
and the acceleration will be
In this way, the formula works.
The question is looking for "ellipse" and "two" to fill in the blanks.
Given,
the initial velocity = 0 m /s.
acceleration = 3.20 m / s^2
time = 32.8 s
According to laws of motion.
s = ut + 1/2 at ^2
s = 1/2 at²
s=1/2(3.20)(32.8)²
s= 1721.344 m
the distance traveled before takeoff is 1731.3m