A laboratory technician recorded the mass of a bacterial culture at 1-hour intervals. The results are shown below.
| Time, t (hours) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mass, m (grams) | 2.0 | 2.9 | 4.3 | 6.0 | 8.8 |
A scatterplot of the data (not shown) suggests an exponential growth pattern. Which equation best models the mass m in grams as a function of time t?