THE EQUATION HAS TO BE IN THE FORMAT OF
ax2+bx+c=0
THE REAL-LIFE SCENARIO CAN BE ANYTHING... AS LONG AS IT HELPS ME GET THE RESULTS WITH THAT FORM OF EQUATION!!
HELPPP =[[[
2007-07-08 09:01:27 · 3 answers · asked by Confused Girl 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Mathematics
Here's one borrowed from physics:
Let's say you are standing on a platform s meters tall and you throw a ball upwards at v meters per second and assume the acceleration due to gravity (near the surface of the earth is -9.8 meters per socond squared (negative since gravity pulls the object down).
The position of the ball t seconds after you release it will be:
s(t) = -4.9t^2 + vt + s meters.
You can now use this formula to determine when the ball stops and turns around, and how long it will take for the ball to hit the ground as well as how fast it will be travelling when it hits the ground. Pretty real life!
2007-07-08 09:08:23 · answer #1 · answered by MathProf 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
An second-order function (one that has x^2 as the highest power) describes the shape called a parabola.
If you examine the shape of the reflectors at the back of a car's headlights, you'll find it's a 3D parabola. This shape has the unique property of taking light emitted from the bulb at the focal point and turning it into parallel rays.
2007-07-08 09:11:23 · answer #2 · answered by lithiumdeuteride 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What a beautiful equation.
A non-driven spring-mass-damper system.
A car suspension after its hit the speedbump. A pendulum in the air. A pendulum in the vacuum (no damping b=0). A decaying echo in the grand canyon.
A non-driven LRC system. An antenna after the signal has hit.
Books that are really good for this stuff are control systems engineering books.
2007-07-08 09:06:57 · answer #3 · answered by Curly 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋