Stef is launching her model rocket from a 10-foot platform. On her first launch, the rocket sputtered, flew up about 10 feet, and fell to the ground. Which graph best represents this situation?
A. A graph is shown in the xy-plane. The x-axis is labeled as Time left parenthesis in seconds right parenthesis and the y-axis is labeled as Distance Above Ground left parenthesis in feet right parenthesis. A curve starts from the origin and goes up in the shape of a concave up curve. The graph is labeled as Rocket Launch.
B. A graph is shown in the xy-plane. The x-axis is labeled as Time left parenthesis in seconds right parenthesis and the y-axis is labeled as Distance Above Ground left parenthesis in feet right parenthesis. A line starts from a point on the vertical axis, goes down and ends at a point on the horizontal axis. The graph is labeled as Rocket Launch.
C. A graph is shown in the xy-plane. The x-axis is labeled as Time left parenthesis in seconds right parenthesis and the y-axis is labeled as Distance Above Ground left parenthesis in feet right parenthesis. A line starts from a point on the vertical axis, goes up then goes down rapidly in the form of a concave up curve and ends at a point on the horizontal axis. The graph is labeled as Rocket Launch.
D. A graph is shown in the xy-plane. The x-axis is labeled as Time left parenthesis in seconds right parenthesis and the y-axis is labeled as Distance Above Ground left parenthesis in feet right parenthesis. A line starts from a point on the vertical axis, moves parallel to the horizontal axis for some time then goes down and ends at a point on the horizontal axis. The graph is labeled as Rocket Launch.
option D best represents the situation. The graph shows the rocket starting from 10 feet above the ground (vertical axis) and staying at that level for some time (moving parallel to the horizontal axis) before falling back to the ground (ending at the horizontal axis).
The correct answer is C. A graph that starts from a point on the vertical axis, goes up then goes down rapidly in the form of a concave up curve, and ends at a point on the horizontal axis represents the situation described. This graph shows that the rocket launched from the 10-foot platform, went up about 10 feet, and then fell back to the ground.
To determine which graph best represents the situation, we need to analyze the given information about the rocket launch. Stef is launching her model rocket from a 10-foot platform, and on her first launch, the rocket sputtered, flew up about 10 feet, and fell to the ground.
Looking at the options:
A. A graph starting from the origin and going up in the shape of a concave up curve. This graph does not represent the situation because the rocket should start from a 10-foot platform and not the origin.
B. A graph starting from a point on the vertical axis, going down, and ending at a point on the horizontal axis. This graph does not represent the situation because the rocket should go up initially, not down.
C. A graph starting from a point on the vertical axis, going up, then rapidly going down in the form of a concave up curve, and ending at a point on the horizontal axis. This graph represents the situation where the rocket goes up about 10 feet and then falls back to the ground. It correctly shows the initial ascent and subsequent descent.
D. A graph starting from a point on the vertical axis, moving parallel to the horizontal axis for some time, then going down and ending at a point on the horizontal axis. This graph does not represent the situation because the rocket does not move parallel to the horizontal axis before going down.
From the given options, the graph that best represents the situation is C.