When do we get extraneous roots?

Suppose you have two expressions $e_1$ and $e_2$ and you know $$e_1 = e_2.$$
Then, if you apply a function to both sides, you have $$f(e_1) = f(e_2).$$ However, this logic in general does not reverse, unless the function $f$ is 1-1. This is the mechanism by which extraneous roots get introduced.

When you square both sides of an equation, you are destroying information about the signs of the two sides. Now, the equality will match if the two sides have the same absolute value. This process can, and often does, introduce spurious roots.

Extraneous solutions are often the result of omitting a constraint during the formulation or solution of a problem. For example, the correct rule for solving absolute value equations is

$$|x| = y \iff (y \ge 0) \text{ and } ((x = y) \text{ or } (x = -y)).$$

If we use this rule then extraneous solutions do not occur.

$$|2x - 1| = 3x + 6,$$ $$(3x + 6 \ge 0) \text{ and } (2x-1 = 3x+6 \text{ or } 2x-1 = -3x-6),$$ $$(x \ge -2) \text{ and } (x = -7 \text{ or } x = -1),$$ $$x = -1.$$

However, it is customary to omit the condition $y \ge 0$ and instead use the weaker rule $$|x| = y \implies ((x = y) \text{ or } (x = -y)).$$ This makes the writing simpler, but the price you pay is that you have to check for extraneous solutions at the end.

Extraneous solutions often arise from using a rule of the form $$x = y \implies f(x) = f(y).$$ Squaring both sides of an equation is an example of such a rule.

If $f$ is one-to-one, then the rule $$f(x) = f(y) \iff x = y$$ is valid, provided that $x$ and $y$ are both in the domain of $f$. Ignoring this condition can lead to extraneous solutions. The equation $\log(x-4) = \log(2x-6)$ provides an example.

Extraneous solutions can also result from ignoring physical constraints in applied problems (e.g. length and mass are positive quantities).