A ball was thrown upward into the air. The height, in feet, of the ball above the ground t seconds after being thrown can be determined by the expression - 16t^2 + 40t + 3. What is the meaning of the 3 in the expression?

Question

Mathematics

Kenny Shah

18 March, 20:55

A ball was thrown upward into the air. The height, in feet, of the ball above the ground t seconds after being thrown can be determined by the expression - 16t^2 + 40t + 3. What is the meaning of the 3 in the expression?

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Renee Schroeder · Answer 1

The 3 has no relation to time. Therefore, it is the starting position of the ball. Since the expression is the height, in feet, of the ball above the ground, the 3 means that the ball started 3 feet above ground when thrown.

For future knowledge, the t^2 means that - 16 is the initial acceleration of the ball, and the t means that 40 is initial velocity.