High School

Jerald jumped from a bungee tower. If the equation that models his height, in feet, is [tex]h=-16t^2+729[/tex], where [tex]t[/tex] is the time in seconds, for which interval of time is he less than 104 feet above the ground?

A. [tex]t \ \textgreater \ 6.25[/tex]

B. [tex]-6.25 \ \textless \ t \ \textless \ 6.25[/tex]

C. [tex]t \ \textless \ 6.25[/tex]

D. [tex]0 \leq t \leq 6.25[/tex]

Answer :

To solve this problem, we want to find when Jerald's height is less than 104 feet. The height equation is given by [tex]\( h = -16t^2 + 729 \)[/tex], where [tex]\( t \)[/tex] is the time in seconds.

We're looking for the time intervals when [tex]\( h < 104 \)[/tex].

### Step-by-step Solution:

1. Set up the inequality:

[tex]\[
-16t^2 + 729 < 104
\][/tex]

2. Isolate the quadratic term:

First, subtract 729 from both sides:

[tex]\[
-16t^2 < 104 - 729
\][/tex]

This simplifies to:

[tex]\[
-16t^2 < -625
\][/tex]

3. Divide by -16:

We need to divide both sides by -16, and remember that dividing or multiplying by a negative number reverses the inequality:

[tex]\[
t^2 > \frac{-625}{-16}
\][/tex]

Simplifying further gives:

[tex]\[
t^2 > 39.0625
\][/tex]

4. Find the square root of both sides:

To solve for [tex]\( t \)[/tex], take the square root:

[tex]\[
t > \sqrt{39.0625}
\][/tex]

Which gives:

[tex]\[
t > 6.25
\][/tex]

However, we also need to consider the square root of a negative result as:

[tex]\[
t < -\sqrt{39.0625}, \text{ but negative time does not make sense here.}
\][/tex]

So we discard the negative value.

Since time [tex]\( t \)[/tex] must be positive, the valid interval is [tex]\( t > 6.25 \)[/tex].

Therefore, Jerald's height is less than 104 feet above the ground for [tex]\( t > 6.25 \)[/tex] seconds. The correct interval is [tex]\( t > 6.25 \)[/tex].