Mrs. Plump’s Crazy Field Trip
Partner 1_____________________ Partner 2_____________________ Partner 3______________________
Mrs. Plump’s algebra class went on a field trip to a park and had the craziest day ever. Please help her by solving
the following problems that her students encountered. Here is what you should do for the problem that you and
your assigned partner(s) are given:
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Write a meaningful title for your problem.
Attach your problem to the poster.
Work out the math on SCRATCH PAPER FIRST! Check in with me.
Draw an illustration of your problem; the more color, the better!
Write and solve a quadratic equation for your problem.
Write the answer to your problem in a full sentence.
Write your names at the bottom of the FRONT of the poster.
Poster should be held the long way.
This rubric should be turned in with your poster.
Grade will be based on the following:
Followed all directions
Wrote and solved a quadratic equation
All work CLEARLY shown
Answer(s) are correct including units
_____/10
_____/5
_____/5
_____/5
TOTAL
_____/25
Help save Mrs. Plump’s sanity!
1) While on the field trip, Sayak and Zach find out that Mason has quite an arm! Mason throws a ball upward from
an initial height of 6.5 feet above the ground at an initial vertical velocity of 80 feet per second. Sayak catches the
ball when it is 4 feet above the ground. How long after Mason throws the ball, does Sayak catch it? Round your
answer to the nearest second. What is the maximum height that the ball reaches? If Zach wants to play money in
the middle and stand halfway between them, how many feet away from Mason should he stand?
2) As usual, Aiden has a lot to contribute to this field trip. From the edge of a cliff directly over Jaylan, he yells out
words that have an initial downward velocity of 30 feet per second from a height of 80 feet. How long will it take
the words to reach Jaylan’s ears, assuming that his ears are four feet nine inches off the ground? Round your
answer to the nearest tenth of a second. They discover (a bit too late) that Mrs. Plump is hiding on a ledge 20 feet
off of the ground. How much sooner will Mrs. Plump hear Aiden’s words of wisdom?
3) Matt hits a golf ball from ground level with an initial upward velocity of 62 ft/s. After how many seconds will the
ball hit the ground? If Jonah is standing at ground 0, after how many seconds will it land on his head? Assume
Jonah is 5 ft. 3 inches tall.
4) On the day of the field trip, Brent is not in a math mood. In fact, he decides that he will probably never be in a
math mood again! He convinces Grant and Kyle that they will probably never be in a math mood again either. The
three boys decide to take their math textbooks on a hike to the top of 160-foot cliff. At the same moment Brent
drops his book (hoping it will land in the reflecting pool below), Grant chucks his book at an initial vertical velocity
of -48 feet per second (negative because he “chucks” it down) and Kyle tosses it in the air with an initial velocity of
8 feet per second. Whose book will land first? How much quicker will that book make a splash than the other two
books?
5) Conner brought his toy rocket to the park and he, Nick and Nate decide to test it out. They launched it vertically
upward from ground level with an initial velocity of 128 feet per second. How long will it take the rocket to return
to the ground? After how many seconds will the rocket be 112 feet above the ground? How long will it take the
rocket to hit its maximum height? What is the maximum height?
6) Not to be outdone by Conner, Nick and Nate; Will, Matt and Cian decide to take Matt’s toy rocket and launch it
from the top of a 101 – foot cliff with an initial velocity of 116 ft./s. How long will it take for their rocket to crash?
How long will it take the rocket to hit its maximum height? What is the maximum height?
7) Sarah, Emma G. and Allie K. are inspired by the carnival atmosphere of their classroom and they decide to go to
the other end of the park where a carnival is being held. One of the games at the carnival involves trying to ring a
bell with a ball by hitting a lever that propels the ball into the air. The ball is propelled at an initial vertical velocity
of 39 feet per second. How high will the ball go? If the bell is 25 ft. above the ground, will the ball hit it? How long
until the ball reaches the ground again?
8) Arya, Emma P. and Paige decide to go hiking in the mountains. They came up to a ledge that was 20 ft. above
them. They want to climb to the top of the ledge so that they can watch everything going on in the park. Arya
(who is always prepared) remembers that she brought a grappling hook. The height of the grappling hook she has
is given by the function h(t) = -16t² + 32t + 25. Could she throw the grappling hook high enough to reach the
ledge? If so, how long until it reaches the ledge?
9) Ali S., Amanda and Molly have better things to do than deal with all of the boys’ antics! They decide to use their
time to analyze their current business, which produces anti-immaturity widgets. They have been selling quite a few
lately. In fact, Mrs. Plump is one of their best customers. They know that each unit is cheaper if they produce
more units. But they also know that costs will eventually go up if they make too many widgets, due to the costs of
storage of the overstock. They have figured that the cost for producing x thousands of units a day can be
approximated by the formula C = 0.04x ² – 8.504x + 25302. What daily production level (the input level) will
minimize their costs (the output level). What is their minimum cost?
10) Zach, Donny and Jack are secretly basketball stars. They find a basketball court and start to practice. Donny
and Jack start arguing about who is a better player. Zach puts together a test to help decide. He tells Donny to try
to dunk a basketball. He needs to jump 2.5 ft. in the air to dunk the ball. The height that his feet are above the
ground is given by the function h(t) =-16t² + 12t. What is the maximum height his feet will be above the ground?
Will he be able to dunk the basketball? Then he tells Jack to try to score. The height that his feet are above the
ground is given by the function h(t) =-16t² + 14t. What is the maximum height his feet will be above the ground?
Will he be able to score if his feet need to be 2.5 ft. above the ground? If so, how long will his feet be at least 2.5
feet off the ground? Who is the better player? Explain.
11) Maya, Jordyn and Amanda also went hiking. It reminded Amanda of a time when she and her family went to
Acapulco. She decided to tell Maya and Jordyn the story. She said she jumped off of a cliff into the ocean with her
family and that the cliff was 480 feet above the ocean (Amanda sometimes exaggerates….). Her initial vertical
velocity was 16 feet per second. If Amanda was telling Maya and Jordyn the truth, what is the highest point that
she would have reached? After how many seconds would she reach her highest height? After how many seconds
would she reach the ocean?
12) Kennedy, Lauren and Maddie W. are sitting on a ledge 10 feet above the ground, watching a hawk fly
overhead at a height of 120 feet. The hawk has just spotted a cute little chipmunk on the ground and decides to
dive to catch it at a downward vertical velocity of 18 feet per second. How many seconds do the girls have if they
want to save the chipmunk? If one of them jumps to the ground, will they get to the chipmunk in time? Explain
your answer.
13) Cami, Sammie and Maddie D. are sitting by a river. They see some fishing spiders and know that these spiders
can propel themselves across water and leap vertically from the surface of the water. During a vertical jump, the
height of the body of the spider can be modeled by the function y = -4500x²+820x+43 where x is the duration (in
seconds) of the jump and y is the height (in millimeters) of the spider above the surface of the water. After how
many seconds does the spider’s body reach its maximum height? What is the maximum height? After how much
time will the spider hit the water again?