# Thread: Urgent!!! Need help with this maths worded question.

1. ## Urgent!!! Need help with this maths worded question.

A ball blasted upwards follows a parabolic path. It reaches a maximum height of 200 m200 m when its horizontal distance from its starting point is 10 m10 m. When the ball’s horizontal distance from the starting point was 1 m1 m, the ball had reached a height of 38 m38 m. Suggest an equation to model the ball’s flight, clearly defining your chosen pronumerals.

2. ## Re: Urgent!!! Need help with this maths worded question.

You are going to have an equation of the form $height=ax^2+bx+c$. If you assume $c=0$, plug in the numbers you are given and you wind up with a system of equations. Show that you can get that far and if you still have trouble we can help you from there.

3. ## Re: Urgent!!! Need help with this maths worded question.

Actually, I thought more about this, and since you are given the maximum height, you really have:

$$(x-h)^2 = 4p(y-k)$$

where the maximum height reached is $(h,k) = (10,200)$. So, you just need to plug in $(x,y)=(1,38)$ and solve for $p$.