By solving a quadratic equation, we will see that the ball hits the ground after 2.6 seconds.
Here we need to solve the equation:
h(t) = 0 = -16t² + 40t + 4
This represents that the ball hits the ground.
So we just need to solve that quadratic equation, using the general formula we get:
[tex]t = \frac{-40 \pm \sqrt{(40)^2 - 4*4*(-16)} }{2*-16} \\\\t = \frac{-40 \pm 43.1 }{-32}[/tex]
We only care for the positive solution, which is:
t = (-40 - 43.1)/-32 = 2.6s
So the ball hits the ground after 2.6 seconds.
If you want to learn more about quadratic equations:
https://brainly.com/question/1214333
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