Answer:
A dilation was applied because the diameter of the circle decreased.
Explanation:
Dilation is a process of either increasing or decreasing the size of a given figure without changing its shape. The resizing process make use of a scale factor to produce a dilated image of the given figure.
In the given question, it can be observed that the circle with center M has a diameter of 6 units, while that with center N has a diameter of 3 units. Thus circle M has been dilated with a scale factor of
to produce circle N.
Therefore, a dilation was applied because the diameter of the circle decreased.