A gardener decides to estimate the population of cabbage butterflies in her garden.She captures and marks 80 butterflies with a dot of red nail polish.She sets traps, and over the next three weeks captures 250 butterflies.Of these, 50 have red dots.What is the estimated population of cabbage butterflies in this garden?
A) 250
B) 300
C) 330
D) 400
E) 4,000

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The gardener uses the mark-recapture method to estimate the butterfly population. The formula for this method is (number marked first capture * total number caught in second capture) / number of marked recaptures. So, (80 * 250) / 50 = 400.

A Gardener Decides to Estimate the Population of Cabbage Butterflies