The height 'h' (in feet) of a ball in a baseball game can be modeled by h = -16t² + 28t + 8 , where 't' is the time (in seconds).

a. Do both t-intercepts of the graph of the function have meaning in this situation? Explain.

b. No one caught the ball. After how many seconds did the ball hit the ground?

a) A graph of the function is shown below. It shows t-intercepts at t=-0.25 and t=2.0. We presume that t is measured forward from some event such as the ball being thrown or hit. The model's predicted ball location has no meaning prior to that event, when values of t are negative.

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b) It is convenient to use a graphing calculator to find the t-intercepts. Or, the equation can be solved for h=0 any of several ways algebraically. One is by factoring.

h = 0 = -16t² +28t +8 . . . . . . . . . . . . the ball hits the ground when h = 0

0 = -4(4t² -7t -2) = -4(4t +1)(t -2)

This has t-intercepts where the factors are zero, at t=-1/4 and t=2.

The ball will hit the ground after 2 seconds.