Question

In the early 1900's, the deer population of the Kaibab Plateau in Arizona increased rapidly because hunters had reduced the number of predators. However, the food supply was not great enough to support the increased population and the population eventually began to decline. The deer population for the years 1905 to 1930 can be approximated by the polynomial where x is the number of years from 1900. Evaluate the polynomial to find the deer population in 1920.

Answer 1

The deer population in 1920 is 104000

Explanation:

Here we have the deer population is given approximately by the following equation;

Population of deer = -0.125·x⁵ + 3.125·x⁴ + 4000

Where x = number of years from 1900

Therefore, in 1920, we have x = 20

Hence, the deer population in 1920 is then

-0.125·20⁵ + 3.125·20⁴ + 4000

Which gives

-400000 + 500000 + 4000 = 104000

The deer population in 1920 is therefore, 104000.