Vertical Motion Model: Word Problems

A gymnast dismounts the uneven parallel bars at a height of 8 feet with an initial upward velocity of 8 feet per second. Find the time t (in seconds) it takes for the gymnast to reach the ground. Is your answer reasonable?

An acrobat is shot out of a cannon and lands in a safety net that is 10 feet above the ground. Before being shot out of the cannon, she was 4 feet above the ground. She left the cannon with an initial upward velocity of 50 feet per second. Find the time t (in seconds) it takes for her to reach the net. Explain why only one of the two solutions is reasonable.

At a basketball game, T-shirts are rolled up into a ball and shot from a "T-shirt cannon" into the crowd. The T-shirts are released from a height of 6 feet with an initial upward velocity of 44 feet per second. If you catch a T-shirt at your seat 30 feet above the court, how long was it in the air before you caught it? Is your answer reasonable?