Final Project

By Megan Hickman and Sydney

Winterton

Part One
In order to find the maximum altitude the plane reaches first, you have to write
your 3 by 3 system of equations. Take the time and height and make those a and
b. Use the equation h=at^2+bt+c and plug in the height values for h and the
time values for t.
once we plugged in the numbers we came up with the equations
23,635=a(2)^2+b(2)+c
32,015=a(20)^2+b(20)+c
33,715=a(40)^2+b(40)+c

Part Two
to solve the systems of equations we first chose two of the three equations and used the method of elimination. we chose
the following two equations and multiplied the first by negative 1.
(23,645=4a-2b+c) -1
32,015=400a+20b+c
once youve multiplied by the negative one you can cancel the cs and then youre left with a regular system which you
can solve by adding the two equations together to make one.
-23,645=-4a-2b-c
32,015=400a+20b+c
8,370=396a+18b
repeat previous steps using a different set of equations. for this step we used the equations
32,015=400a+20b+c
32,015=400a+20b+c
(33,715=1600a+40b+c)-1
-33,715=-1600a-40b-c
-17,00=-1200a-20b

Part Two Cont.

Use the two answers from both the systems you just solved to make a new system. Multiply to cancel
the b variable.
(8,370=396a+18b)20
(-1700=-1200a-20b)18
once weve multiplied we can cancel the b variable and add the two equations together.
167,400=7,920a+360b
-30,600=-21,600a-360b
solve for a
136,800=-13,680a
-13,680
-13680
-10=a

Part Two Cont.

since we now have the variable a we can plug it into one of the equations with two variables to find b.
solve.
-1,700=-1,200(-10) -20b
-1,700=12,000-20b
-13,700=-20b
-20
- 20
685=b
plug both a and c into one of the original equations with 3 variables. solve to find c.
23,645=4(-10)+2(685)+c
23,645=-40+1,370+c
23,645=1330+c
22315=c

Part Three
Take the solutions for part two and insert into the equation, x=-b(+-) b^2-4(a)(c)
Since the solutions are a=-10, b=685, and c=22315, our equation is
2(a)
x=-685(+-) (685)^2-4(-10)(22315)
2(-10)
Simplify
Take the inside of the square root and solve it.
685^2 is 469225
4*-10=-40
-40*22315=-892600
Take 469225-(-892600) which equals 1361825

x= -685 (+-) 1361825

Part Four
using the solution from part three we will foil to get our starting equation.

(x-93)(x+24)
x^2+24x-93x-2232
combine like terms. move the c value to the other side and solve by completing the square. to solve by
completing the square first divide the b term by 2 and then square. place in the spot of the c value.
make sure to add to both sides to keep equation balanced.
y+2232=x^2-69x+1190.25
factor the right side of the equation
y+3422.25=(x-34.5)^2
move the number back over to the right side to get your final equation.
y=(x-34.5)^2-3422

Part Five
minimum:3422
vertex: (34.5 , 3422)
5 25
10 100
15 225
20 400
25 625

Part 6
Megan: This project has changed the way i think about math in the outside
world. If i were to go on a 0G flight, I would love to see how high i could get
and if someone did not know how high the plane went and I would know how
to figure it out. I think it would be fun to figure out what someone else did not
know.
Sydney: This project did help me see math differently by applying it to real
world situations. This can be used for a lot of different things, not just this
scenario. Swimmers could use it to figure out the height and depth of their
dives to help cut their time, football players could use it to figure out how far
they need to throw the ball to make certain plays work, etc. While doing this
project I also learned that you have to be so careful while doing the work.
Simple mistakes such as a missed sign or a single missed step can change the
whole outcome of the problem.