cara is a farmer who has noticed a lot of snails eating her vegetables and wants to estimate the number of…

cara is a farmer who has noticed a lot of snails eating her vegetables and wants to estimate the number of snails on her land. she sets up traps and catches 38 snails. she marks the snails, releases them, and replaces the traps. later, when she returns to the traps, she counts 170 snails, 17 of which are marked. to the nearest whole number, what is the best estimate for the snail population?

cara is a farmer who has noticed a lot of snails eating her vegetables and wants to estimate the number of snails on her land. she sets up traps and catches 38 snails. she marks the snails, releases them, and replaces the traps. later, when she returns to the traps, she counts 170 snails, 17 of which are marked. to the nearest whole number, what is the best estimate for the snail population?

Answer

Answer:

380

Explanation:

Step1: Set up proportion

Let $N$ be the total snail - population. The proportion is $\frac{\text{marked snails in first catch}}{\text{total population}}=\frac{\text{marked snails in second catch}}{\text{number of snails in second catch}}$. So, $\frac{38}{N}=\frac{17}{170}$.

Step2: Cross - multiply

Cross - multiplying gives $17N = 38\times170$.

Step3: Solve for $N$

$N=\frac{38\times170}{17}=380$.