According to the National Science Foundation, in 2003 there were

According to the National Science Foundation, in 2003 there were 198,113 female science and engineering graduate students, almost 42% of the graduate students in those fields, twice as much as 1981.

a. twice as much as 1981 comparing 198K to 1981, wrong

b. twice as many as 1981 comparing 198K to 1981, wrong

c. double the figure for 1981 ok

d. double what it was in 1981"it" is 198K or 42%? wrong

e. a number double that of 1981’s 1981 cannot be a possessive noun, wrong

Howdy all,

I think that @NYCAnalyst did a nice job of clearly explaining the answer choices, so I don't want to spend a lot of time analyzing them. I'd like to talk about a specific aspect of this question. In this sentence, what is the roll of "double?"

Let's start by looking at the correct answer in the sentence:



So in this sentence, it's important to realize that "double" is not modifying anything. It is not an adjective. In this sentence, it is a predeterminer. To learn more about pre-determiners, you can start here, and then read the Wiki article on Combinations of Determiner. You can see here that "double" can function as a predeterminer in its definition.

We could re-write the sentence by removing the modifying phrases and simplifying some of the language to make this clear:



So in this case, "double" is a predeterminer for "figure" which refers back to the 198,113 students. So what it really means is that the figure from 2003 is twice the number from 1981; it's twice as much. This is one of the reasons that (C) is the best choice. It is the most concise expression of "twice as much as the figure."

I hope that this helps everyone understand this question a little bit more. It's a tough one!
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Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended core meaning of this sentence is that in 2003, there were 198,113 female science and engineering graduate students, and this number is double the figure for 1981.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Pronouns + Comparison + Idioms

• A comparison must always be made between similar elements.

A: This answer choice incorrectly compares "198,113 female science and engineering graduate students" to "1981"; please remember, a comparison must always be made between similar elements. Further, Option A incorrectly uses "much" to refer to the countable noun phrase "198,113...students"; for a noun such as "students", the correct term is "many".

B: This answer choice incorrectly compares "198,113 female science and engineering graduate students" to "1981"; please remember, a comparison must always be made between similar elements.

C: Correct. This answer choice uses the phrase "the figure for 1981", conveying the intended meaning - that 198,113 is twice the number of female science and engineering graduate students for 1981. Further, Option C correctly compares "198,113" with "the figure for 1981". Additionally, Option C avoids the pronoun error in Option D, as it uses no pronouns. Moreover, Option C avoids the idiom error in Option A, as it does not use the term "much".

D: This answer choice suffers from a pronoun error, as the pronoun "it" lacks a clear and logical referent.

E: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "that of 1981’s"; the use of the possessive noun "1981’s" illogically implies that 198,113 is twice the number of 1981's number of female science and engineering graduate students; the intended meaning is that 198,113 is twice the number of female science and engineering graduate students for 1981.

Hence, C is the best answer choice.

All the best!
Experts' Global Team
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Hi All,
So, this was a question from MGMAT Cat. It was in the 700-800 range. Like some of you I had put B. But OA is C.

Here is their explanation:

In the original sentence, “much” incorrectly references the quantity of female graduate students. Students are countable, so “many” is the correct term. Additionally, “as 1981” incorrectly completes the comparison, illogically comparing the number of people (the “198,113 female science and engineering graduate students”) to a year (“1981”).


Choice B- “As 1981” incorrectly completes the comparison, illogically comparing the number of people (the “198,113 female science and engineering graduate students”) to a year (“1981”).

Choice C- “Double the figure” places the emphasis on the number of female graduate students, and correctly completes the comparison between the number of people in one year (198,133 in 2003) and the number of people in another year (the figure for 1981).

Choice D is wrong because- “What it was” is wordy, awkward, and unclear. The singular pronoun "it" has no clear antecedent.

Choice E is wrong because- “Double that of 1981’s” is wordy, awkward, and unclear. The singular pronoun "that" has no clear antecedent. The possessive "1981's" is not followed by a noun to possess.

Still thinking about if " double the figure IN 1981" is correct.....

A - as much for numbers is wrong
B - X, twice as many as - this is right construction. Needs the number right before twice to modify.
D - 'what it was' - wordy and it has no clear referent
E - 'that' has no clear referent.

IMO C.

GMATNinja

Sir if I had written option E in the following way,would it be right then?

" a number doubling the figure of 1981’s"

Good question. This wouldn't actually be correct, mostly because it's redundant. "The figure of" already indicates a possessive, so you definitely wouldn't need 1981 (or 1981's, in this case) to be possessive, too.

A similar issue is mentioned in GMATNinjaTwo's post on page 2 of this thread: https://gmatclub.com/forum/because-of-t ... 53061.html
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In the question below

is he comparing year or the no of female grads?
Sometimes, they twist what they are trying to compare, I am not able to figure it out.

Any other similar comparison examples like this?

Hi Viserion99 ,

The author is comparing the no. of female grads.

For more information, please look at the above explanations.

Thanks
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OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

In the original sentence, “much” incorrectly references the quantity of female graduate students. Students are countable, so “many” is the correct term. Additionally, “as 1981” incorrectly completes the comparison, illogically comparing the number of people (the “198,113 female science and engineering graduate students”) to a year (“1981”).

(A) This choice is incorrect as it repeats the original sentence.

(B) “As 1981” incorrectly completes the comparison, illogically comparing the number of people (the “198,113 female science and engineering graduate students”) to a year (“1981”).

(C) CORRECT. “Double the figure” places the emphasis on the number of female graduate students, and correctly completes the comparison between the number of people in one year (198,133 in 2003) and the number of people in another year (the figure for 1981).

(D) “What it was” is wordy, awkward, and unclear. The singular pronoun "it" has no clear antecedent.

(E) “Double that of 1981’s” is wordy, awkward, and unclear. The singular pronoun "that" has no clear antecedent. The possessive "1981's" is not followed by a noun to possess.
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hazelnut abhimahna

I go this question right, but I thought the 'figure' in the last part of the question stem was referring to the percentage of female grad students, not the number.

1. Is that interpretation wrong
2. is C still the correct answer even with my interpretation?

Thx!

Hi HappyQuakka ,

Actually NO. The figure is referring to the count rather than the %.

It is actually wrong to say double the % for another year.

As per the meaning of the sentence, we are comparing the females in one year with females in another. We are not comparing the % of graduates in one year with % of graduates in another year.

You might have got C as the right answer with POE because all others are wrong. (This is my assumption.)

Does that make sense?
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Dear abhimahna , GMATNinja , daagh,
Can you please justify the using of "for" after figure rather than using of "in". Please enlighten me. I feel a bit awkward because of that word "for", rendering me to roll down all options.

Thank you

Hey Nightmare007 ,

I am happy to help.

First of all, please note that AWKWARDNESS is NEVER a reason to reject any option. I have emphasized this alot many times. Please take this word out of your dictionary.

Now, I would not bother much about figure for vs figure in when I know why the other 4 options are incorrect.

Does that make sense?
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I really dont think this question has been answered clearly . Here is my interpretation of the correct answer :

According to the National Science Foundation, in 2003 there were 198- No of Females ,113 female science and engineering graduate students, almost 42% of the graduate students in those fields, twice as much as 1981.

Here we are comparing the no of Females in 2003 with the no of females in 1981. Lets try POE

(A) twice as much as 1981- Since you are comparing 2 numbers (Countable )you cannot use much (Un-countable )

(B) twice as many as 1981- Here you are comparing the no of females to year 1981 which is wrong comparison

(C) double the figure for 1981 - Double which means 2 times the figure (No of females ) for 1981 - Lets keep this one

(D) double what it was in 1981 - What does it refer to ? The No of females / the percentage of females ?

(E) a number double that of 1981’s - Usage of 'THAT OF' makes the usage of "1981's" (possessive) redundant. The usage of either "DOUBLE 1981's" or "DOUBLE THAT OF 1981" would be correct.

GMATNinja daagh AjiteshArun

I selected D because of the comparison:
According to the National Science Foundation, in 2003 there were 198, 113 female science and engineering graduate students, almost 42% of the graduate students in those fields, almost 42% of the graduate students in those fields,
double what it was in 1981

no other answer choice follows this comparison. so why is D wrong then and C right without the "in"?

Hi Kritisood,

This question appears to be very similar to this official question. The main problem is the (pronoun) it. It doesn't have a good antecedent. That is, there is no (good) noun for it.
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Hi GMATGuruNY - between B and C, how do you eliminate.

a) Do you eliminate based on the split - Double vs Twice ? If so, how