The height of a certain tree, in feet, can be modeled by the function , where represents the number of years since the year 2000. Which of the following is the best interpretation of the number 12 in this context?
The estimated height of the tree in the year 2000
The estimated height of the tree in the year 2012
The estimated growth rate of the tree in feet per year
The estimated number of years it takes for the tree to grow 12 feet
