How may times vs how many times more

[prabsahi]

Two circular road signs are to be painted yellow. If the radius of the larger sign is twice that of the smaller sign, how many times more paint is needed to paint the larger sign (assuming that a given amount of paint covers the same area on both signs)?

A. 2
B. 3
C. pi
D. 4
E. 3pi/2

OA:D

Larger circle area is 4 times the smaller circle.(Since the ratio of radius is 2:1)
But,since the problem is asking how many times more I subtracted the area of smaller circle and picked.
If the question would have asked how many times,I would have easily picked D as the answer
Experts can you please explain where is my GAP?

[Matt@VeritasPrep]

For the most part, "how many times" = "how many times more".

Logically I see your point, but idioms/usage conquer all, and in English in 2017 the equation above holds.

(In percent problems, though, the distinction is important: "percent of" ≠ "percent greater".)

[Scott@TargetTestPrep]

Two circular road signs are to be painted yellow. If the radius of the larger sign is twice that of the smaller sign, how many times more paint is needed to paint the larger sign (assuming that a given amount of paint covers the same area on both signs)?

A. 2
B. 3
C. pi
D. 4
E. 3pi/2

OA:D

Larger circle area is 4 times the smaller circle.(Since the ratio of radius is 2:1)
But,since the problem is asking how many times more I subtracted the area of smaller circle and picked.
If the question would have asked how many times,I would have easily picked D as the answer
Experts can you please explain where is my GAP?

We can let the area of the smaller sign = πr^2. The radius of the larger sign is twice that of the smaller sign, so its radius is 2r. Thus, the area of the larger sign is:

π(2r)^2 = π4r^2 = 4πr^2

Thus, we see that 4 times as much paint would be needed.

Answer: D