Name:________________________

Date:_______________

Algebra 2 & Trigonometry

Quadratic Word Problems 1

1. A child at a swimming pool jumps off a 12-foot platform into the pool. The childs
height in feet above the water is modeled by h(t) = -16t2 + 12, where t is the time in
seconds after the child jumps. How long, to the nearest hundredth of a second, will it
take the child to reach the water?

2. A worker drops a hammer from a second-story roof that is 10 meters above the
ground. If the hammers height in meters above the ground is modeled by h(t) = -4.9t2 +
10, where t represents the time in seconds after the hammer is dropped, about how
long, to the nearest hundredth of a second, will it take the hammer to reach the
ground?

3. A soccer ball is kicked from the ground, and its height in meters above ground is
modeled by the function h(t) = -4.9t2 + 19.6t, where t represents the time in seconds
after the ball is kicked. How long is the ball in the air?

4. A golf ball is hit from the ground, and its height in feet above the ground is modeled
by the function h(t) = -16t2 + 180t, where t represents the time in seconds after the
ball is hit. How long, to the nearest hundredth of a second, is the ball in the air?

5. The power, in megawatts, produced between midnight and noon by a power plant is
given by P = h2 12h + 210, where h is the hour of the day.
a. At what time does the minimum power production occur?
b. What is the minimum power production?

6. Each year a schools booster club holds a dance to raise funds. In the past, the
profit the club makes after paying for the bank and other costs has been modeled by
the function P(t) = -16t2 + 800t 4000, where t represents the ticket price in dollars.
a. What ticket price gives the maximum profit?
b. What is the maximum profit?
c. What ticket price(s) would generate a profit of $5424?

7. The owner of a company that produces handcrafted music stands hires a consultant
to help set the selling price for the product. The consultant analyzes the production
costs and consumer demand for the strands and arrives at a function for the profit.
P(x) = -0.3x2 + 75x 2000, where x represents the selling price of the stands.
a. At what price should the stands be sold to
earn the maximum profit?
b. According to the function given, what is the
maximum profit that the company can make?
c. What are the break-even points (the selling
prices for which the profit is 0)? Give your
answers to the nearest cent.

8. A professional pyrotechnician shoots fireworks vertically into the air from the ground
with an initial velocity of 192 feet per second. The height in feet of the fireworks is
given by h(t) = -16t2 + 192t.
a. How long does it take for the fireworks to
reach the maximum height?
b. What is the maximum height reached by the
fireworks?

ANSWERS FOR QUADRATIC QUESTIONS

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

0.87 seconds
1.43 seconds
4 seconds
11.25 seconds
a. 6:00 am
b. 174 megawatts
a. $25 b. $6000 c. $19, $31
a. $125 b. $2687.50
c. $30.35 and $219.65
a. 6 sec b. 576 feet