A researcher is trying to determine the doubling time for a population of the bacterium Giardia lamblia. He starts a culture in a nutrient solution and estimates the bacteria count every four hours. His data are shown in the table.

(a) Make a scatter plot of the data.
(b) Use a calculator or computer to find an exponential curve f (t) = a · b^t that models the bacteria population t hours later.
(c) Graph the model from part (b) together with the scatter plot in part (a). Use the graph to estimate how long it takes for the bacteria count to double.

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Time (hours) 4 8 12 16 20 24 Bacteria count 37 (CFU/mL) 47 63 78 105 130 173