Question

: Animal Services wanted to measure the population of squirrels in a local city park. First, a team of park rangers marked 40 random squirrels in the park. Five days later, the rangers went to the park and counted a total of 450 squirrels, of which 20 were marked. W hat is the best estimate for the squirrel population

Answer 1

Answer:

900 squirrels.

Step-by-step explanation:

Let x represent total squirrel population.

We have been given that a team of park rangers marked 40 random squirrels in the park. Five days later, the rangers went to the park and counted a total of 450 squirrels, of which 20 were marked.

We will use proportions to solve the squirrel population as:

$\frac{\text{Marked squirrel}}{\text{Total squirrel}}=\frac{\text{Marked squirrel}}{\text{Caught squirrel}}$

Upon substituting our given values, we will get:

$\frac{40}{x}=\frac{20}{450}$

Cross multiply:

$20x=450\cdot 40$

$\frac{20x}{20}=\frac{450\cdot 40}{20}$

$x=450\cdot 2$

$x=900$

Therefore, the best estimate for the squirrel population is 900 squirrels.