Balloon satellites are used to gather a variety of information from weather data

Question

Balloon satellites are used to gather a variety of information from weather data to reconnaissance

information. The balloon rises because the density of the helium in the balloon is less than the density

of the surrounding air outside the balloon. As the balloon rises, the surrounding air becomes less dense

and this slows the balloon’s ascent until it reaches a point of equilibrium at 16300 feet. During the day,

the sunlight warms the helium trapped inside the balloon which causes the balloon to rise higher.

During the night, the helium cools causing the balloon to descend to a lower altitude. The next day the

sun heats the helium again and the balloon rises once more. This motion of altitude changes can be

approximated with a polynomial equation as follows:

alt(t)=-0.12t^4+12t^3-380t^2+4100t+220

where the units of t are in hours. The corresponding velocity is in feet/hour as is shows as follows:

v(t)=-0.48t^3+36t^2-760t+4100

Your program should calculate the velocity and altitude of the balloon over a 48 hour period (if the

balloon falls below 1000 feet display a message indicating that the balloon has fallen below radar)

and display a three-column table with the time, velocity and altitude. Include a table caption and

column headers.

Explanation / Answer

public class Balloon {
   private float altitude,velocity;
   int timeInHours;
  
   public Balloon(){
       altitude=0.0f;
       velocity=0.0f;
       timeInHours=0;
   }
   public void calculateAltitudeAndVelocity(){
       System.out.println("Time | Velocity | Altitude");
       System.out.println("-----------------------------------");
       for(timeInHours=0;timeInHours<=48;timeInHours++){
           altitude=(float) (-0.12*Math.pow(timeInHours, 4)+12*Math.pow(timeInHours, 3)-380*Math.pow(timeInHours, 2)+4100*timeInHours+220);
           velocity=(float) (-0.48*Math.pow(timeInHours, 3)+36*Math.pow(timeInHours, 2)-760*timeInHours+4100);
           System.out.println(timeInHours+" | "+velocity+" | "+altitude);
       }
       if(altitude<1000){
           System.out.println("Balloon has fallen below the radar");
       }
   }
   public static void main(String[] args){
       Balloon b=new Balloon();
       b.calculateAltitudeAndVelocity();
   }
}

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