b. quadratic function
If a baseball player hits a home run, the function that best represent the height of the ball over time because this is a problem of projectile motion, a type of motion we get when an object is thrown near the Earth's surface, so it moves along a curved trajectory affected just by the action of gravity, if we ignore the air resistance. So that function follows the form:
[tex]h(t)=-\frac{1}{2}gt^2+v_{0}t+h_{0}[/tex]
Where:
[tex]h(t) \ is \ the \ height \ of \ the \ ball \ at \ any \ time \\ \\ g \ is \ the \ gravitational \ acceleration \\ \\ v_{0} \ is \ the \ initial \ velocity \ of \ the \ ball \\ \\ h_{0} \ is \ the \ initial \ height \ of \ the \ ball[/tex]
As you can see, this function is a parabola that opens downward.