To determine the number of fish in a lake, a park ranger catches 240 fish, tags them, and returns them to the lake. Later, 144 fish are caught, and it is found that 24 of them are tagged. Estimate the number of fish in the lake.
A) 1440
B) 14
C) 40
D) 829,440

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The number of fish in the lake can be estimated using the capture-recapture method. The ratio of tagged fish in the second catch (24 out of 144) should be similar to the ratio of the originally tagged fish to the total fish population. So, $240 / X = 24 / 144$, solving for X gives 1440.

To Determine the Number of Fish in a Lake, a Park