Dr. Jordan studied a bat colony in a cave. He knew that 75 of the bats in the cave had been tagged the week before. Then, he counted 480 bats, of which 20 were tagged. To the nearest whole number, what is the best estimate for the bat population?
Q. Dr. Jordan studied a bat colony in a cave. He knew that 75 of the bats in the cave had been tagged the week before. Then, he counted 480 bats, of which 20 were tagged. To the nearest whole number, what is the best estimate for the bat population?
Set up proportion: Set up the proportion based on the data given.We know:- Tagged bats counted: 20- Total bats counted: 480- Total bats tagged previously: 75Let N be the estimated total bat population.We set up the proportion as follows:48020=N75
Solve proportion: Solve the proportion by cross-multiplying to find N. Cross-multiplying gives: 20×N=75×480
Continue solving: Continue solving for N.20×N=36000Divide both sides by 20 to isolate N:N=2036000N=1800
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