In this scenario, the scientist is observing the growth of bacteria over time. The equation given is \( n(t) = 50(1.2)^t \), where \( t \) represents time in hours and \( n(t) \) represents the number of bacteria after \( t \) hours.
Since we are particularly interested in the time the scientist checks the population, which is after 4 hours, an appropriate domain for \( t \) would be:
\( 0 \leq t \leq 4 \)
This means that the scientist is observing the bacteria growth from the start at \( t = 0 \) hours up to \( t = 4 \) hours.
The correct answer from the options provided is:
0 ≤ t ≤ 4