hogann wrote:
Because of less availability and greater demand for scientific research, platinum remains consistently expensive, like gold.
(A) Because of less availability and greater demand for scientific research, platinum remains consistently expensive, like gold.
(B) Because of less availability and increased demand for scientific research, platinum remains consistently expensive, like that of gold.
(C) Because of decreased availability and increased demand in scientific research, platinum remains expensive, like gold.
(D) Because of decreased availability and increased demand for scientific research, platinum remains expensive, like gold.
(E) Because of decreased availability and greater demand in scientific research, platinum remains at a consistently high price, like that of gold.
SaraLotfy wrote:
Hello Mike,
Would you be so kind as to take a look at the link above and tell me your take on this question.
thanks
Dear Sara,
I'm happy to help.
Overall, this seems like a solid question. I have no idea what the source is, but I like the splits, and it definitely has one unambiguously clear answer, the way a good SC question should. I don't know why they include
"because of" in the underline, since it's identical in all five answers, but that's a niggling stylistic detail. The question itself is of very high quality.
Split #1: (
less &
greater) vs. (
decreased &
increased). This is really a false split. It's true, the former pair will be more widely applicable than the latter pair, because the latter pair is limited to instanced in which there has been a change in quantity over time, but apparently that's true here, so either is fine.
Split #2:
demand for vs.
demand in. This is a very clever idiom split. The phrasing "
demand for scientific research" would mean that, overall, folks want more scientific research --- it doesn't matter the topic, the research area --- people just want more. That would be very non-specific, and would necessarily have a whole lot to do with platinum. The focus, the star, of the sentence is platinum. The "
availability" is clearly the availability of platinum, so for logical consistency, it should also be a "
demand" for platinum. The noun "
scientific research" is NOT the thing demanded, but instead
the context in which the platinum is demanded. Therefore, we must say "
demand in scientific research", which implies that the demand is
for platinum. The only answers consistent with this split are
(C) and
(E).
Split #3: the comparison with "
gold" at the end. Three answers have "
platinum remains consistently expensive, like gold," which is perfectly correct. Since there's no other noun in that clause, it's crystal clear that the comparison is between platinum and gold. Choice
(B) has "
platinum remains consistently expensive, like that of gold," which is logically incorrect --- we are comparing the metal platinum to what about gold???? Choice
(E) has "
platinum remains at a consistently high price, like that of gold" is grammatically & logically correct, but rhetorically unacceptable: it's a long, indirect, bulky way of saying something that can be said much more efficiently and succinctly, and in fact, is said that way in three other answer choices. Choice
(B) &
(E) cannot be correct.
On the basis of these splits, only
(C) can be the correct answer. Choice
(C) is mistake-free and elegant, and each of the other four answer choices has an unambiguous problem preventing it from being the answer. This is an an exceptionally good question. Kudos to whoever wrote it!!
Does all this make sense?
Mike
Hi Mike - In option E - Like that of Gold -- What is that referring to?