7.5 Exercise 67

Watermelon drop A springtime tradition at the University of California San Diego is the Watermelon Drop, where a watermelon is dropped from the seventh story of Urey Hall.

1. ⓐ The binomial $−16 t^{2} + 80$ gives the height of the watermelon $t$ seconds after it is dropped. Factor the greatest common factor from this binomial.
2. ⓑ If the watermelon is thrown down with initial velocity 8 feet per second, its height after $t$ seconds is given by the trinomial $−16 t^{2} - 8 t + 80$. Completely factor this trinomial.