Height of the ball

12/9/2020

A ball was thrown into the air. The height, in feet, of the ball above the ground t seconds after being thrown can be determined by the equation y = -16t² + 40t + 3. What is the meaning of 3 in the expression?

In the graph of y = -16t² + 40t + 3, the 3 is the y-intercept. In other words it is the height (3 ft above ground) at which the ball is released.
That is the height, y, when the time, t, is equal to zero.