What formulas was in October Sky?

Homer used the formula s=1/2at^2 where s is the altitude, a is the gravitational acceleration constant or 32 and t is the time it took for the rocket to land on its descending point.

They used 14 seconds--this datum was taken from AUK 12's records since AUK 13 and AUK 12's record are almost the same.

and then they solve it to know the altitude.

Once you know the altitude--you can now solve for the distance to locate the rocket's DESCENDING POINT... or simply where the rocket fall. Use trigonometry in solving it given that you have 90 degrees.