Beth sold Half of her comic books and then bought nine more. She now has 28. With how many did she begin with? ( I need the step by step of how to solve this)

Amodel rocket is launched from a roof into a large field. the path of the rocket can be modeled by the equation y = -0.04x^2 + 8.6x + 4.8, where x is the horizontal distance, in meters, from the starting point on the roof and y is the height, in meters, of the rocket above the ground. how far horizontally from its starting point will the rocket land? a. 0.56 m b. 215.56 m c. 431.11 m d. 215.74 m