A scientist is observing a particular species of bacteria growing in a petri dish. The number of bacteria can be represented by the equation n (t) = 50(1.2)^t, where n is the number of bacteria after t hours. If the scientist checks the population in 4 hours, what would be an appropriate domain for the problem?

Question

Option #1: 0 _< t _< 104
Option #2: 0 _< n _< 104
Option #3: 0 <_ t _< 4
Option #4: 0 <_ n _< 4

Answer 1

The appropriate domain for the problem would be option #3: 0 ≤ t < 4. This is because the scientist is checking the population after 4 hours, so the time cannot exceed 4 hours.