A rock is thrown from one side of a river to another. The function h(t) = −16t2 + 12t + 3 gives the height in inches of the rock t seconds after it has been thrown. What does 0 =−16t2 + 12t + 3 represent in the context of this problem?
The equation 0 = −16t2 + 12t + 3 represents the point at which the rock reaches its maximum height before falling back to the ground. This is the vertex of the parabolic function h(t) = −16t2 + 12t + 3, which is the highest point the rock reaches before descending.
