How far does the ruler fall in 0.25 seconds

Someone has a reaction time of 0.25 seconds. The ruler is dropped in between their thumb and index finger and I have to find how many centimeters the ruler falls by the time they catch it.

Here is what I think: gravity is 9.8 m/s^2 so that means it is 980 cm/s^2.

Then take 980 and divide by 4 to get the distance the ruler falls in a quarter second. Is this wrong?

Thanks.

the equation for how far an accelerating object falls is

dist = 1/2 a t^2 where a is accel, t is time and we assume it starts from rest

so...for accelerating objects

dist = 1/2*980cm/s/s *(0.25s)^2 = 30.6cm, which is just about a foot