Randy is starting a beehive so that he can have fresh honey. He decides to check the current population of bees in the hive by marking 160 bees. Later, Randy collects 240 bees and observes that 30 of them are marked. What is the BEST estimate for the bee population?

Responses
A 1,2001,200
B 1,2401,240
C 1,2801,280
D 1,300

1 answer

Let x be the total number of bees in the hive.

We know that Randy marked 160 bees and collected 240 bees, with 30 of them being marked. This means that the proportion of marked bees in the total population is the same as the proportion of marked bees Randy collected, so we can set up the equation:

160/x = 30/240

Solving for x:

160/x = 30/240
160 = 30x/240
160 = 30x/240
160 = 30x
30x = 160 * 240
30x = 38400
x = 38400/30
x = 1280

Therefore, the best estimate for the bee population is 1,280.

So, the answer is C) 1,280.