Question

Caleb, a farmer, buys a box of ladybugs to control pests in his greenhouse. To make sure that he was shipped as many ladybugs that he ordered, he decides to figure out approximately how many ladybug are in the box. He catches 30 lady bugs and marks them with special paint , and returns then to the box. Then a little later he catches 560 ladybugs and counts 21 marked ladybugs among them. To the nearest whole number, what is the best estimate or ladybug poputlation?

Answer 1

To estimate the population of ladybugs in the box, Caleb uses the mark and recapture technique. The estimated population size is approximately 9,120 (rounded to the nearest whole number).

Step-by-step explanation:

To estimate the population of ladybugs in the box, Caleb uses the mark and recapture technique. He marks 30 ladybugs and releases them back into the box. Later, he captures 560 ladybugs, of which 21 have the mark. To estimate the total population, he can use the equation:

N = (number of marked individuals in first sample * total number of individuals in second sample) / number of marked individuals recaptured in second sample

Using the given values, the estimated population size of ladybugs in the box is approximately 9,120 (rounded to the nearest whole number).