Quadratics: the vertex
The Fountain
A three-minute film on why the maximum height is not written anywhere in the equation, and how symmetry finds it.
This browser has 3D graphics turned off, so the set cannot be drawn. The math and the narration still play.
The problem
A fountain shoots water from a nozzle 3 feet above a pool. The water's height in feet, t seconds after leaving the nozzle, is h(t) = −16t² + 32t + 3. What is the maximum height of the water?
19 feet
