SOLUTION: I got this one wrong, can anyone enlighten me on how to do it? A circus clown at the top of a 60 foot platform is playing catch with another clown on the ground. The clown on th

Algebra ->  Algebra  -> Coordinate Systems and Linear Equations  -> Lessons  -> Linear Equations Lesson -> SOLUTION: I got this one wrong, can anyone enlighten me on how to do it? A circus clown at the top of a 60 foot platform is playing catch with another clown on the ground. The clown on th      Log On

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Question 91052: I got this one wrong, can anyone enlighten me on how to do it?
A circus clown at the top of a 60 foot platform is playing catch with another clown on the ground. The clown on the platform drops a ball at the same time as the one on the ground tosses a ball upward at 80 ft/sec. For what length of time is the distance between the balls less than or equal to 10 feet?
Answer by kev82(148) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Hi,

If you got it wrong then can you show us what you did, and we can figure out if it is just a numerical mistake, or a theoretical mistake.

The way I approached it was to find a function giving the height of both of the balls at time t. Then I calculated the distance between them in terms of time and solved the inequality Distance(t) <= 10.

Please post back with your working and someone can help see where your problem is.

Kev