a farmer wanted to estimate how many moles were living on his property, so he marked 39 of them with tags. a…

a farmer wanted to estimate how many moles were living on his property, so he marked 39 of them with tags. a few weeks later, the farmer drove around his property and noticed 21 tagged moles out of the 420 moles he counted. to the nearest whole number, what is the best estimate for the mole population?

a farmer wanted to estimate how many moles were living on his property, so he marked 39 of them with tags. a few weeks later, the farmer drove around his property and noticed 21 tagged moles out of the 420 moles he counted. to the nearest whole number, what is the best estimate for the mole population?

Answer

Answer:

780

Explanation:

Step1: Set up proportion

Let $x$ be the total mole population. The proportion is $\frac{39}{420}=\frac{21}{x}$.

Step2: Cross - multiply

$39x = 420\times21$.

Step3: Calculate right - hand side

$420\times21 = 8820$. So, $39x=8820$.

Step4: Solve for $x$

$x=\frac{8820}{39}\approx 780$.