MATH 1001 (Quantitative Skills and Reasoning)

Gordon College, Barnesville, GA.

Quadratic Functions and Modeling

In this unit, we will study quadratic functions and the relationships for which they
provide suitable models. An important application of such functions is to describe the
trajectory, or path, of an object near the surface of the earth when the only force acting on
the object is gravitational attraction. What happens when you toss a ball straight up into
the air? What about an outfielder on a baseball team throwing a ball into the infield?
If air resistance and outside forces are negligible, what is the mathematical model for the
relationship between time and height of the ball?

Definition: Quadratic Functions

A quadratic function is one of the form

f ( x)  a x 2  b x  c ,

where a, b, and c are real numbers with a ≠ 0.

The graph of a quadratic function is called a parabola and its shape resembles that of the
graph in each of the following two examples.

Example 1

Figure 1 shows the graph of the quadratic function

y  f ( x)  x 2  4 x  1 .

figure 1
 2

Observe that there is a lowest point V(2, −3) on the graph in figure 1. The point V is
called the vertex of the parabola.

Example 2

Figure 2 shows the graph of the quadratic function

y  g ( x)   2 x 2  4 x  3 .

figure 2

Again, observe that there is a highest point V(1, 5) on the graph in figure 2. This point V
is also the vertex of the parabola.

By completing the square,

the quadratic function (example 1) f ( x)  x 2  4 x  1 can be written as
f ( x)  ( x  2) 2  3 ;
the quadratic function (example 2) g ( x)   2 x 2  4 x  3 can be written as
g ( x )   2 ( x  1) 2  5 .

Note that the parabola in example 1 opens upward, with vertex V(2, −3) and a vertical
axis of symmetry x = 2. The parabola in example 2 opens downward with vertex V(1, 5)
and a vertical axis of symmetry x = 1.

Standard Form of a Quadratic Function Whose Graph (a Parabola) has a Vertical

Axis

The graph of f ( x)  a x 2  b x  c , a0

 a ( x  h) 2  k

is a parabola that has vertex V(h, k) and a vertical axis.

 3

The parabola opens upward if a > 0 or downward if a < 0.

If a > 0, the vertex V(h, k) is the lowest point on the parabola, and the function f has a
minimum value f (h) = k.

If a < 0, the vertex V(h, k) is the highest point on the parabola, and the function f has a
maximum value f (h) = k.

Quadratic Models and Equations

Quadratic Population Models:

P (t )  P0  b t  a t 2 .

Here, we denote the independent variable by t (time) instead of x, and the constant c by
P0 because substitution of t = 0 yields P (0)  P0 .
We refer to P0 as the initial population.

Example 3

Suppose that the future population of Stockton City t years after January 1, 2000
is described (in thousands) by the quadratic model

P (t )  110  4 t  0.07 t 2 .

(a) What is the population of Stockton City on January 1, 2007?

(b) In what month of what calendar year will the population of Stockton City
reach 180 thousand?

Solution

(a) We only need to substitute t = 7 in the population function P(t) and calculate

P (7)  110  4 (7)  0.07 (7) 2  141.43 thousand.

(b) We need to find the value of t when P(t) = 180. That is we need to solve the
equation,
110  4 t  0.07 t 2  180     (i )

Equation (i) is an example of a quadratic equation which we can solve in a

 4

variety of ways.

First, by graphing both sides of the equation (figure 3):

Y1  110  4 t  0.07 t 2
Y 2  180

figure 3

The line Y 2  180 and the parabola Y1  110  4 x  0.07 x are shown in
2

the
calculator window −100 ≤ x ≤ 80, −100 ≤ y ≤ 300.

To solve equation (i), we find the x-coordinate of the intersection point in the first
quadrant. The negative solution of the intersection point in the second quadrant
would be in the past. Figure 3 indicates that we have already used the
intersection-finding feature to locate the point (14.047, 180).

Hence, t = 14.047 years

= 14 years + (0.047 x 12) months
= 14 years + 0.56 month.

Thus Stockton City should reach a population of 180 thousand 14 years, 0.56
month after January 1, 2000.

Hence, sometime during January 2014.

Alternatively, by using the Quadratic Formula:

The quadratic equation a x 2  b x  c  0 , a  0

b  b 2  4ac
has solutions x  .
2a

To use the quadratic formula, we first write equation (i) in the form
 5

0.07 t 2  4 t  70  0     (ii )

Here, a = 0.07, b = 4, c = −70, giving

4 4 2  4(0.07)(70)
t 
2(0.07)
 4  35.6
  14.046954 or  71.189811
0.14

The negative solution would be in the past. So, we only accept the positive
solution, t = 14.047 years = 14 years, 0.56 month.

The Position Function (Model) of a Particle Moving Vertically:

If an object is projected straight upward at time t = 0 from a point y 0 feet above ground,
with an initial velocity v 0 ft/sec, then its height above ground after t seconds is given by

y (t )   16 t 2  v 0 t  y 0 .

Example 4

A projectile is fired vertically upward from a height of 600 feet above the ground, with an
initial velocity of 803 ft.sec.

(a) Write a quadratic model for its height h(t) in feet above the ground after t
seconds.
(b) During what time interval will the projectile be more than 5000 feet above the
ground?
(c) How long will the projectile be in flight?

Solution

(a) Given y 0  600 ft and v 0  803 ft/sec,

 6

y (t )   16 t 2  803t  600 .

(b) We need to find the values of t for which the height y(t) > 5000 feet.
That is
 16 t 2  803t  600  5000     (i )

We solve the inequality (i) by graphing (figure 4) both the parabola

Y1   16 t 2  803t  600 and the line Y 2  5000 , in the calculator window
−20 ≤ x ≤ 70 and −2000 ≤ y ≤ 12000.

figure 4

The parabola in figure 4 shows the height of the projectile at time t and the
horizontal line is the graph of a height of 5000 feet.

The projectile is more than 5000 feet above the ground when the graph of the
parabola is above the horizontal line.

Using the intersection-finding feature of the calculator, we find the approximate

intersection points to be t = 6.3 sec and t = 43.9 sec.

Hence, the projectile is above 5000 feet when

6.3 sec < t < 43.9 sec.

(c) The projectile will be in flight until its height h(t) = 0. This corresponds to the
x-intercept (not the origin) in figure 4.

Using the root or zero feature of the calculator, we obtain

t = 50.9 sec.

EXERCISES

1. The population (in thousands) for Alpha City, t years after January 1, 2004 is
modeled by the quadratic function P(t )  0.3 t 2  6 t  80 . In what month of
 7

what year does Alpha City’s population reach twice its initial (1/1/2004)
population?

2. The population (in thousands) for Beta City, t years after January 1, 2005 is
modeled by the quadratic function P (t )  0.7 t 2  12 t  200 . How long will
it
take Beta City’s population to reach 350 thousand?

3. The population (in thousands) for Gamma City, t years after January 1, 2002 is
modeled by the quadratic function P(t )  1.5 t 2  21t  300 . How long will
it
take Gamma City’s population to reach 500 thousand?

4. The population (in thousands) for Delta City, t years after January 1, 2003 is
modeled by the quadratic function P (t )  0.5 t 2  7 t  90 . In what month of
what year does Alpha City’s population reach twice its initial (1/1/2003)
population?

5. The population (in thousands) for Omega City, t years after January 1, 2002 is
modeled by the quadratic function P (t )  0.25 t 2  5 t  100 . In what month
of
what year does Alpha City’s population reach 200 thousand?

6. A ball is thrown straight up, from ground zero, with an initial velocity of 48 feet
per second. Find the maximum height attained by the ball and the time it takes for
the ball to return to ground zero.

7. From the top of a 48 feet tall building, a ball is thrown straight up with an
initial velocity of 32 feet per second. Find the maximum height attained by the
ball and the time it takes for the ball to hit the ground.

8. A ball is thrown straight up from the top of a 160 feet tall building with an initial
velocity of 48 feet per second. The ball soon falls to the ground at the base of the
building. How long does the ball remain in the air?

9. A ball is dropped from the top of a 960 feet tall building. How long does it take
the ball to hit the ground?

10. Joshua drops a rock into a well in which the water surface is 300 feet below
ground level. How long does it take the rock to hit the water surface?

Fitting Quadratic Models to Data:

 8

Find the quadratic model P (t )  P0  b t  a t (with t = 0 for the earliest year given in
2

the data) that best fits the population census data in Problems 11 – 16.
In each case, calculate the average error of this optimal model, and use the model to
predict the population in the year 2007.

11. Iowa City, IA

t (years) 1970 1980 1990 2000

P (people) 46,850 50,508 59,735 62,220

12. Arizona

t (years) 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

P (thous) 5,131 5,320 5,473 5,581 5,744

13. Florida

t (years) 1970 1980 1990 2000 2004

P (thous) 6,789 9,746 12,938 15,982 17,346

14. Georgia

t (years) 1970 1980 1990 2000 2004

P (thous) 4,590 5,463 6,478 8,186 8,825

15. Nevada

t (years) 1970 1980 1990 2000 2004

P (thous) 489 801 1,202 1,998 2,315

16. U.S.

t (years) 1970 1980 1990 2000 2004

P (millions) 203 227 249 281 294

Answers to Exercises

1. February, 2013.
 9

2. 8 years, 143 days.

3. 6 years, 183 days.
4. February, 2011.
5. May, 2014.
6. 36 feet, 3 sec.
7. 64 feet, 3 sec.
8. 5 sec.
9. 7.75 sec.
10. 4.33 sec.
11. P(t )  46,963  807 t  9.5 t 2 ; 319 people ; 63,000 people .
12. P (t )  5,139  176 t  6.9 t 2 ; 14 thous ; 6,030 thous .
13. P (t )  6,777  298t  0.37 t 2 ; 44 thous ; 18,300 thous .
14. P (t )  4,610  59 t  1.93 t 2 ; 59 thous ; 9,400 thous .
15. P (t )  502  14 t  1.16 t 2 ; 31thous ; 2,600 thous .
16. P (t )  204  2 t  0.02 t 2 ; 1.4 thous ; 300 thous .

Note: Answers to questions 11-16 are approximate values.

References

1. Elementary Mathematical Modeling: Functions and Graphs.

Mary Ellen Davis & C. Henry Edwards. Prentice Hall, 2001.

2. Intermediate Algebra.
R. David Gustafson & Peter D. Frisk. Thomson (Brooks/Cole), 2005.

3. www.fairus.org

4. www.gpec.org

5. www.johnson-county.com