Great Question! The key is to understand what is being asked when we say "factor"?
What do we mean when we say "by factor"?When we use the term "factor" in mathematics, we're referring to a multiplicative relationship. It implies that one quantity is being scaled up or down by multiplying it by a certain number. This is different from an additive relationship where we're increasing or decreasing a quantity by adding or subtracting a fixed amount.
Examples of factor relationships:a) If a company's revenue grows "by a factor of 2", it means the new revenue is double the original (Revenue × 2).
b) When we say "the image is scaled by a factor of 0.5", it means the new size is half the original (Size × 0.5).
c) If a population increases "by a factor of 1.5 over a decade", it means the new population is 1.5 times the original (Population × 1.5).
How the question would be worded for addition:If the test maker wanted to imply addition instead of multiplication, the question could be worded as:
"What amount should be added to the smaller root of the equation 6x^2 - 13x + 6 = 0 so that it equals the larger root of the equation?"Examples of addition-based questions:
a) "How much must be added to 5 to obtain 12?"
b) "By what amount does the larger root exceed the smaller root in the equation x^2 - 5x + 6 = 0?"
c) "What is the difference between the larger and smaller roots of the equation 2x^2 - 7x + 3 = 0?"
I hope this helps!
-Rajat