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A researcher tagged 40 giant turtles in 2008. In 2009, she returned and captured 50 turtles, 16 of which were tagged. In 2010, she returned again and captured 30 turtles, 8 of which were tagged.
Use a proportion to estimate the turtle population for 2009.
Use a proportion to estimate the turtle population for 2010.
To estimate the turtle population for 2009:
We can set up the proportion:
number of tagged turtles in 2009 / total number of captured turtles in 2009 = number of tagged turtles in 2008 / total number of turtles in 2008
Plugging in the values we know, we get:
16/50 = 40/x
where x represents the estimated total turtle population in 2009.
Cross-multiplying and solving for x, we get:
16x = 2000
x = 125
So, the estimated turtle population for 2009 is 125.
To estimate the turtle population for 2010:
We can use the same proportion as above, but with the values from 2010:
8/30 = 40/x
Cross-multiplying and solving for x, we get:
8x = 1200
x = 150
So, the estimated turtle population for 2010 is 150.