Unambiguously true math.
If 30 “increases by three times”, does it become 90 or 120?
If 90, what happens if 30 “increases by 1 times”? Does it stay 30 or become 60?
If 60, then what does 30 “increases by 2 times mean?” Also 60?
If 30 “increases by three times”, does it become 90 or 120?
If 90, what happens if 30 “increases by 1 times”? Does it stay 30 or become 60?
If 60, then what does 30 “increases by 2 times mean?” Also 60?
"x increases three times" means 3x to most people. This is different from "increases by 300%" which usually means 4x. The article says "by a factor of up to three" in the first sentence but that is too wordy for a headline.
> what happens if 30 “increases by 1 times”?
Nobody would ever say this. We would say it doubled or stayed the same, or "increased by 100%" perhaps, but never "increased by 1 time".
> 30 “increases by 2 times mean?”
Nobody would ever say this either.
For reference, his homework question was something along the lines of:
If the auditorium currently has five rows of ten chars in place, and they need three times more chairs, how many more rows of ten chairs do they need?