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

900 squirrels.

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:

`(40)/(x)=(20)/(450)`

Cross multiply:

`20x=450\cdot 40`

`(20x)/(20)=(450\cdot 40)/(20)`

`x=450\cdot 2`

`x=900`

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