What does how many times more mean in math?

Answer 1

"How many times" and "how many times more" are often confused.

8 is four times 2

8 is three times more than 2.

The logic underlying the second statement is as follows:

8 is 6 MORE than 2 .. .. .. .. .. .. (I)

6 is three times 2 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. (2)

Substituting for 6, from (2) into (1) gives

8 is [three times 2] more than 2

and that is collapsed (simplified) to

8 is three times more than 2.

Given any pair of positive numbers, X and Y

Y is (Y/X - 1) times more than X.

Answer 2

In mathematics, "how many times more" refers to the ratio between two quantities. It is calculated by dividing the larger quantity by the smaller quantity. The result indicates how many times the larger quantity is greater than the smaller quantity. For example, if one quantity is 4 times more than another, it means the first quantity is 4 times larger than the second quantity.