Question

yellowstone national park has an average of about 4500 bison living in it. the park covers 3472 square miles. what is the population density of bison living in yellowstone?
a. \\(1.3\text{ bison/mi}^2\\)
b. \\(16\text{ bison/mi}^2\\)
c. \\(77\text{ bison/mi}^2\\)
d. \\(0.77\text{ bison/mi}^2\\)

please select the best answer from the choices provided

Explanation:

🆕 New Concept Discovered: Population Density
How many individuals live in a unit of area.

Step 1: Identify the formula

Population density measures how crowded a space is. It is calculated by dividing the total population by the total land area:

$$ \text{Population Density} = \frac{\text{Total Population}}{\text{Total Area}} $$

Step 2: Substitute the given values

From the problem, we have:

• Total population of bison = \( 4500 \)
• Total area of Yellowstone = \( 3472 \text{ mi}^2 \)

$$ \text{Population Density} = \frac{4500}{3472} $$

Step 3: Calculate the density

Divide the numbers to find the average number of bison per square mile:

$$ \text{Population Density} \approx 1.296 \text{ bison/mi}^2 $$

Rounding to the nearest tenth gives approximately \( 1.3 \text{ bison/mi}^2 \).

Answer:

A (or a. 1.3 bison/mi²)