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word translation - when x increases by a factor of 4

Problem Solving — algebra and arithmetic (GMAT Focus Edition)
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by usfall13ivy » Tue May 29, 2012 12:27 pm
gmatsaturdayagain wrote:Hey all,

I have a general question ... when the problem says when x increases by a factor of 4, for example, does this mean x becomes 4x or x becomes x + 4x = 5x? I find this very confusing. Please shed light on this if possible

appreciate the help!

-Tee
"by a factor of " is used commonly to mean the same as "multiplied by" or "divided by."
If x is INCREASED by a factor of 4, it becomes 4x.
If x is DECREASED by a factor of 4, it becomes x/4.
The key word is the direction of change i.e. (increased / decreased) by a factor of.
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by Jim@StratusPrep » Sun Jul 08, 2012 4:54 pm
It basically means multiplied by... so 4x.
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by hnoor0066 » Mon Apr 11, 2016 2:22 am
does this mean x becomes 4x or x becomes x + 4x = 5x?
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by ceilidh.erickson » Mon Apr 18, 2016 12:37 pm
hnoor0066 wrote:does this mean x becomes 4x or x becomes x + 4x = 5x?
As the posters above stated, x becomes 4x.
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by Matt@VeritasPrep » Thu May 26, 2016 2:02 pm
hnoor0066 wrote:does this mean x becomes 4x or x becomes x + 4x = 5x?
Just for extra confusion, note that this doesn't work the same way if we're dealing with percentages!

If x INCREASES by 400%, we have x + 4x, or 5x.

But if we want 400% of x, we have only 4x.

English is the worst!
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