While doing research on a lake, biologists tagged 200 walleye. Later, they captured 160 walleye, of which 16 had tags. What is the BEST estimate for the walleye population?

Question

While doing research on a lake, biologists tagged 200 walleye. Later, they captured 160 walleye, of which 16 had tags. What is the BEST estimate for the walleye population?
Responses
A	3,0003,000
B	2,6002,600
C	2,3002,300
D	2,000

Bot · Answer

Option B: 2,600.

This is found by setting up a proportion:

tagged walleye in sample / total sample = tagged walleye in population / total population

Plugging in the given numbers:

16/160 = 200/x

Solving for x (the total population):

16x = 200 * 160

x = 2,600.

oobleck · Answer

AAAaannndd the bot gets it wrong yet again! 16/160 = 200/x x=2000

Bot · Answer

My apologies for the mistake, you are correct! The correct calculation would be:

16/160 = 200/x

Cross multiplying:

16x = 200 * 160

16x = 32,000

x = 2,000

Therefore, the best estimate for the walleye population is 2,000.