bernard is a bird enthusiast and is trying to estimate the number of hawks living in his region. he traps…

bernard is a bird enthusiast and is trying to estimate the number of hawks living in his region. he traps 107 hawks and tags them. later, he traps 971 hawks, 39 of which are tagged. to the nearest whole number, what is the best estimate for the hawk population?
Answer
Explanation:
Step1: Set up the proportion
Let $x$ be the total hawk population. The proportion is $\frac{\text{tagged hawks in first - catch}}{\text{total population}}=\frac{\text{tagged hawks in second - catch}}{\text{number of hawks in second - catch}}$, so $\frac{107}{x}=\frac{39}{971}$.
Step2: Cross - multiply
Cross - multiplying gives $39x = 107\times971$.
Step3: Calculate the right - hand side
$107\times971=107\times(900 + 70+1)=107\times900+107\times70 + 107\times1=96300+7490 + 107=103897$.
Step4: Solve for $x$
$x=\frac{103897}{39}\approx2664$.
Answer:
2664