Another one where I need help

Geologists once thought that the molten rock known as lava was an underground remnant of Earth's earliest days, sporadically erupting through volcanoes, but they now know that it is continuously created by the heat of the radioactivity deep inside the planet.

a) was an underground remnant of Earth's earliest days, sporadically erupting
b) had been an underground remnant of Earth's earliest days and sporadically erupted
c) was an underground remnant of Earth's earliest days, which sporadically erupted
d) would be an underground remnant of Earth's earliest days that sporadically erupted
e) was an underground remnant of Earth's earliest days, having sporadically erupted

E- This sentence correctly modifying travels of Agatha.
A-awkward
B- awkward too
c- Modifying husband of Agatha other than travel
d- Agatha was inspired by the travel not with her husband.
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Collections:-
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DS of OG solved by GC members: http://gmatclub.com/forum/collection-ds-with-solution-from-gmatclub-110004.html
100 GMAT PREP Quantitative collection http://gmatclub.com/forum/gmat-prep-problem-collections-114358.html
Collections of work/rate problems with solutions http://gmatclub.com/forum/collections-of-work-rate-problem-with-solutions-118919.html
Mixture problems in a file with best solutions: http://gmatclub.com/forum/mixture-problems-with-best-and-easy-solutions-all-together-124644.html

For the original poster, what's the "fundamental belief" to which you referred?

It's typically most efficient to look for splits, but the fact that there is not an obvious split at the beginning of the sentence is a clue that we may be dealing with a MODIFIER issue.

(A) The prepositional phrase "with her archaeologist husband" incorrectly modifies "TRAVELS INSPIRED" (and implies that the HUSBAND and the TRAVELS were the source of inspiration, rather than the travels that she took with her husband). Eliminate.

(B) Unlike in choice A, there is no dangling modifier at the beginning here, but meaning-wise this choice is a little wonky. She USED her travels to inspire? Eliminate.

(C) The initial modifier is correct here, but notice that little pronoun "their" midway through the sentence. "Agatha Christie and her husband" has not appeared as a compound subject (even though we know that's what the sentence writer probably *means*, we can only treat what is actually present). Eliminate.

(D) Slightly sneakier version of choice C here. Even though "together with" lets us know that the sentence writer probably means "Agatha and her husband," the only word that would give us a compound subject is "AND." Without that conjunction, the pronoun "their" is still incorrect. Eliminate.

(E) No dangling or misplaced modifiers here. The travels themselves have become the subject, and the possessive pronoun "her" correctly refers back to the possessive antecedent "Agatha Christie's." This is our answer!
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JP Park | Manhattan GMAT Instructor | Los Angeles

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Hey Fluke,

"Agatha Christie" definitely does not appear as an antecedent, however, "her" is the possessive form (which stands in for the phrase "Agatha Christie's) and CAN take the possessive phrase "Agatha Christie's" as an antecendent.

What has traditionally NOT be considered ok is a subject case pronoun ("she") referring back to a possessive antecedent "Agatha Christie's husband thinks SHE should eat the pie" has in the past been considered INCORRECT, because "she" is a subject case pronoun that has no subject case antecedent. This has been referred to as "possessive poison" in years past. That grammatical violation shows up in the explanation to several OG questions, but the rule itself hasn't ever been the only reason to eliminate an answer, so it's not something to put high on your priority-stress list.
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JP Park | Manhattan GMAT Instructor | Los Angeles

Manhattan GMAT Discount | Manhattan GMAT Reviews

With her archaeologist husband, travels inspired several mystery novels by Agatha Christie; travelers to Egypt can still stay at the Old Cataract Hotel, the model for the hotel in one of Christie's most famous books.

a) With her archaeologist husband, travels inspired several mystery novels by Agatha Christie
Issue:In this it looks like travels is modifying husband. Secondly With is awkward.
b) Agatha Christie used her travels with her archaeologist husband to inspire several mystery novels
Issue:It looks like novels are inspired!
c) Because her husband was an archaeologist, Agatha Christie was able to use their travels as inspiration for several of her mystery novels.
Issue: Awkward +wordy
d) Together with her archaeologist husband, Agatha Christie was inspired to incorporate their travel into several of her mystery novels
Issue: Awkward
e) Agatha Christie's travels with her archaeologist husband served as inspiration for several of her mystery novels
Correct