SOLUTION: Can someone please help me work through this word problem? A flare is fired directly upward into the air from a boat that is experiencing engine problems. The height of the flar

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Question 324748: Can someone please help me work through this word problem?
A flare is fired directly upward into the air from a boat that is experiencing engine problems. The height of the flare (in feet) above the water, t seconds after being fired, is given by the formula h = -16t2 + 128t + 15. If the flare is designed to explode when it reaches its highest point, at what height will this occur?
Thank you,
Alberto
beto@san.rr.com
Answer by solver91311(24713) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!




Note that the graph of is a parabola. It opens downward because the lead coefficient is negative, hence the vertex is a maximum. The value of the -coordinate of the vertex of a parabola which equation is in standard form is given by:



for this problem:



hence the maximum height is reached 4 seconds after the flare is fired. The maximum height reached is therefore .



You can do your own arithmetic.

John