Rangers in Montana wanted to estimate the number of elk in a certain area. They tagged 10 elk one Saturday and sent them back to mix with the other elk in the area. The rangers went back once a month for the next three months and recorded the following: Month 1 Month 2 Month 3
Tagged elk in sample 5 5 8
Total elk in sample 8 10 12

a. Estimate the size of the elk population using the data for Month 1.
b. Estimate the size of the elk population using the data for Month 2.
c. Estimate the size of the elk population using the data for Month 3.
d. Find the average of the three estimates for Months 1, 2, and 3 (parts a, b, and c).