Height of a Zero Gravity Parabolic Flight

Math 1010 Intermediate Algebra Group Project

Your Name: Victoria O’Brien

Have you ever wondered what it might feel like to float

weightless in space? One way to try it out is to fly on a special
aircraft that astronauts use to train for their trips to space.
Both NASA and the Russian Space Agency have been flying
these for years. The way this is accomplished is to fly to a high
altitude, drop down to gain speed, and then start a large
parabolic path up in the sky. For a time ranging from 10 to 20 seconds, along the top part of the
parabolic flight, an environment simulating zero gravity is created within the plane. This effect can
cause some nausea in the participants, giving rise to the name “Vomit Comet”, the plane used by NASA
for zero-G parabolic training flights. Currently there is a private company that will sell you a zero-G ride,
though it is a bit expensive, around $5000.

This lab will have you take a look at the parabolic path to try to determine the maximum altitude the
plane reaches. First, you will work with data given about the parabola to come up with a quadratic
model for the flight. Then you will work to find the maximum value of the model. Now for the data:

Height of a Zero-G Flight t Seconds After

Starting a Parabolic Flight Path
Time t in seconds 2 10 20
Height h in feet 30,506 31,250 29,300

To find the quadratic model, you will be plugging the data into the model ℎ = at 2 + bt + c.
The data points given are just like x and y values, where the x value is the time t in seconds and
the y value is the altitude h in feet. Plug these into the model and you will get equations with a,
b and c.

Part 1: Write your 3 by 3 system of equations for a, b, and c.

30,506 = 2𝑎2 + 2𝑏 + 𝑐 → 𝑬𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝟏: 30, 506 = 4𝑎 + 2𝑏 + 𝑐

31,250 = 10𝑎2 + 10𝑏 + 𝑐 → 𝑬𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝟐: 31,250 = 100𝑎 + 10𝑏 + 𝑐
29,300 = 20𝑎2 + 20𝑏 + 𝑐 → 𝑬𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝟑: 29,300 = 400𝑎 + 20𝑏 + 𝑐
Part 2: Solve this system. Make sure to show your work.

Eliminate variable c:

Equation 1 minus Equation 2:

(30,506 = 4𝑎 + 2𝑏 + 𝑐 ) ∙ (−1)
−30,506 = −4𝑎 − 2𝑏 − 𝑐
+31,250 = 100𝑎 + 10𝑏 + 𝑐
𝑬𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝟒: 744 = 96𝑎 + 8𝑏

Equation 2 minus Equation 3:

(31,250 = 100𝑎 + 10𝑏 + 𝑐) ∙ (−1)

−31,250 = −100𝑎 − 10𝑏 − 𝑐
+29,300 = 400𝑎 + 20𝑏 + 𝑐
𝑬𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝟓: − 1950 = 300𝑎 + 10𝑏

There are now two new equations, Equation 4 and Equation 5, where c has been eliminated. Now
eliminate variable b by multiplying Equation 4 by -10 and Equation 5 by 8.

(744 = 96𝑎 + 8𝑏) ∙ (−10)

−7,440 = −960𝑎 − 80𝑏

(−1,950 = 300𝑎 + 10𝑏) ∙ (8)

−15,600 = 2,400𝑎 + 80𝑏

Add Equation 4 and Equation 5.

(−7,440 = −960𝑎 − 80𝑏)

+ (−15,600 = 2,400𝑎 + 80𝑏)
−23,040 = 1,440𝑎

Divide both sides of the equation by 1,440 to solve for a.

−23,040 = 1,440𝑎
1,440 1,440

𝒂 = −𝟏𝟔
Now, plug the value of a into Equation 5 and solve for variable b.

−1,950 = 300 ∙ (−16) + 10𝑏

−1,950 = −4,800 + 10𝑏
+4,800 + 4,800
2,850 = 10𝑏
10 10

𝒃 = 𝟐𝟖𝟓

Now, that we have the value of a and b, we can plug those values into Equation 1 and solve for c.

30,506 = 4(−16) + 2(285) + 𝑐

30,506 = −64 + 570 + 𝑐
30,506 = 506 + 𝑐
−506 − 506

𝒄 = 𝟑𝟎, 𝟎𝟎𝟎

Part 3: Using your solutions to the system from part 2 to form your quadratic model of the data.

Solution set:

𝑎 = −16
𝑏 = 285
𝑐 = 30,000

Quadratic Model:

𝒇(𝒙) = −𝟏𝟔𝒙𝟐 + 𝟐𝟖𝟓𝒙 + 𝟑𝟎, 𝟎𝟎𝟎

Part 4: Find the maximum value of the quadratic function. Make sure to show your work.

Using the formula:

−𝑏 𝑏2
(( ) , 𝑐 − ( ))
2𝑎 4𝑎

We plug in our values for a, b, and c.

 −𝑏
First ( ):
2𝑎

(−1) ∙ (285)
2(−16)

−285
= 𝟖. 𝟗𝟎𝟔
−32

𝑏2
Then (𝑐 − 4𝑎):

2852
30,000 − ( )
4(−16)

81,225
30,000 −
−64

30,000 − (−1,269.141) = 𝟑𝟏, 𝟐𝟔𝟗. 𝟏𝟒𝟏

X and Y: (8.906 , 31,269.141)

Maximum Value: 31,269.141

Part 5: Sketch the parabola. Label the given data plus the maximum point. A good way to start labeling
your axes is to have the lower left point be (0, 25000)

HEIGHT OF ZERO GRAVITY FLIGHT

31500 (8.906, 31269.141)

31000
(2, 30506) (10,31250)
30500
HEIGHT IN FEET (H)

30000
(20, 29300)
29500

29000

28500

28000

TIME IN SECONDS

Part 6: Reflective Writing.

Did this project change the way you think about how math can be applied to the real world?
Write one paragraph stating what ideas changed and why. If this project did not change the
way you think, write how this project gave further evidence to support your existing opinion
about applying math. Be specific.

The process I used to complete this assignment was to first create a system of three
equations by entering in the data from the given chart into the quadratic formula. Then I
took Equation 1 and Equation 2 and subtracted them in order to eliminate the variable “c”,
creating a new equation, Equation 4. Once that was done I repeated the process with
Equation 2 and Equation 3 to again eliminate the variable “c” and create Equation 5. In
order to eliminate the “b” variable I multiplied Equation 4 by -10, the constant of “b” in
Equation 5, and I multiplied Equation 5 by 8, the constant of “b” in Equation 4. When
adding Equation 4 and Equation 5 together, the “b” variable was eliminated and I was able
to solve for “a”. From there I plugged “a” back into Equation 5 and was able to solve for “b”.
Finally, I took the values of “a” and “b” and entered them into the original Equation 1 in
order to solve for “c”. With all of the variables solved I was able to create a new quadratic
model for the data and utilize it in order to find the maximum value.

This project didn’t change the way I think about how math can be applied to
the real world. Clearly there are many aspects of the real world in which math is vital. I
certainly didn’t assume that NASA was shooting people into the atmosphere on a whim and
a guess. I also don’t feel that I have a strong opinion about math applications, other than the
fact that they exist, so I suppose in that sense this project does support my opinion that
math does, in fact, exist and apply to the real world.