9 The number of bacteria in a population is modeled by the function \( f ( x ) = 50,000 ( 2 ) ^ { \frac { x } { 4 } } \) , where \( x \) is the time in hours. Based on the model, how many hours does it take for the number of bacteria to double?
A) \( 1 \)
B) \( 2 \)
C) \( 4 \)
D) \( 8 \)