A group of students uses a rope swing to cross back and forth over a stream.The total distance the swing travels is 16 feet. What is the amplitude of the cosine function that models this motion?

The total distance from one extreme of the swing to the other is 16 feet. The amplitude is half of this distance, measured from the midpoint to either extreme: 16 ÷ 2 = 8 feet. Therefore, the amplitude is 8 feet.

AI-written and checked against the verified answer.