SOLUTION: You are trying to dunk a basketball. You need to jump 2.5ft in the air to dunk the ball. The height that your feet are above the ground is given by the function h(t)=-16t^2 +12t. W

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Question 1171618: You are trying to dunk a basketball. You need to jump 2.5ft in the air to dunk the ball. The height that your feet are above the ground is given by the function h(t)=-16t^2 +12t. What is the maximum height your feet will be above ground? Will you be able to dunk the basketball?
Answer by ikleyn(52776)   (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
.

It is about finding the maximum of the quadratic function


    h(t) = -at^2 + bt + c.


The maximum is reached at t= - .


In your case,  a= -16, b= 12.


Therefore, the answer to the problem's question is  


    t = -  =  =  seconds.


The value of the maximum is


     =  = 2.25 ft.


ANSWER.  The maximum height is  2.25 ft.

Solved.

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On finding the maximum/minimum of a quadratic function,  see the lessons
    - HOW TO complete the square to find the minimum/maximum of a quadratic function
    - Briefly on finding the minimum/maximum of a quadratic function
    - HOW TO complete the square to find the vertex of a parabola
    - Briefly on finding the vertex of a parabola
in this site.

On solving similar problems to yours in this post,  see the lessons
    - Problem on a projectile moving vertically up and down
    - Problem on an arrow shot vertically upward
    - Problem on a ball thrown vertically up from the top of a tower
    - Problem on a toy rocket launched vertically up from a tall platform
in this site.



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