The 19th-century proponents of the school of thought known as mechanis

The 19th-century proponents of the school of thought known as mechanism held that life process are not the products of some mysterious life force, but are the same chemical and physical processes that operate in inorganic systems, which is still a subject of debate between biologists today.

(A) systems, which is still a subject of debate between( which incorrectly modifies the systems, between is incorrect because biologists may be more than two)

(B) systems, which are still debated between( same as in A)

(C) systems still debated among( meaning change)

(D) systems, a theory still debated by( correct)

(E) systems, a theory still debated between( use of between is incorrect)

Will go with choice D

Thanks

Option A is incorrect because "which" is incorrectly modifying "inorganic systems".
Option B also has the same error. "inorganic systems" are not debated "between" biologists.
Option C again changes the meaning. There is no mention about the theory.
Option E is incorrect because the author is talking about a debate among biologists. "Between" is used for 2 entities and the correct form is "Between X and Y". This error can be found in all the above options.
Option D is correct as the modifier error is fixed, the meaning is intact and "between" is replaced by "by".

(A) which modifies systems, not the opinion/theory held by the school of thought. Eliminated.
(B) Again, which modifies the systems. Eliminated.
(C) Systems are not debated as is apparent from the option here. Eliminated.
(D) the emphasis put on 'theory' mentioned earlier, not on the systems. Keep it.
(E) Same as (D).

Between D and E, D is correct because between is used when two of something is mentioned. Here, it can't be that only two biologists are debating, in fact, the whole community of biologists is debating. Moreover, if 'between' is used, there is no antecedent for the two biologists debating it. Hence, IMO, Option D.

The 19th-century proponents of the school of thought known as mechanism held that life process are not the products of some mysterious life force, but are the same chemical and physical processes that operate in inorganic systems, which is still a subject of debate between biologists today.

(A) systems, which is still a subject of debate between

(B) systems, which are still debated between

(C) systems still debated among

(D) systems, a theory still debated by

(E) systems, a theory still debated between


The system is not subjected to debate; the theory, however, is

(E) between is wrong, without "and"

Ans: (D)

The 19th-century proponents of the school of thought known as mechanism held that life process are not the products of some mysterious life force, but are the same chemical and physical processes that operate in inorganic systems, which is still a subject of debate between biologists today.

(A) systems, which is still a subject of debate between --> a subject of debate is "mechanism." "which" makes a subject of debate "inorganic system"--> therefore, all "which" is eliminated.

(B) systems, which are still debated between --> same as the answer choice A

(C) systems still debated among --> what is debated by scientists is "mechanism," not "inorganic systems."

(D) systems, a theory still debated by --> the best choice among the answer choices

(E) systems, a theory still debated between --> "between" is used for specific individuals...debated between scientist A and B. In the case of group, "between" is not fit.

Official Explanation :

In choice A and B, “which” incorrectly refers to “inorganic system”.

In choice C, “inorganic systems still debated among biologists today” changes the meaning.

In choice E, “debated between biologists” is incorrect. “Between X and Y” is idiomatic.

In choice D, “still debated by biologists” rectifies the error in E. Hence, D is the best choice.

After reading and understanding the question, let's try to identify few mistakes: which should refer a place and not a statement.
Next step is elimination.

Options A, B have which. Since which only referers to a place, it's incorrect.
Option C is ambiguous. Are systems still debated or the theory?
Option E ends with between. Since between should be followed by and. It's not idiomatic.

Hence we are left with one correct option D

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6000 using GMAT Club Forum mobile app

Thanks. I chose E and was confused why between was wrong because “by” seemed to distort the intention of the sentence.

Now I know “between” must be used when there are 2 entities.

So D is definitely a better option.

Posted from GMAT ToolKit

The 19th-century proponents of the school of thought known as mechanism held that life process are not the products of some mysterious life force, but are the same chemical and physical processes that operate in inorganic systems, which is still a subject of debate between biologists today.

(A) systems, which is still a subject of debate between - which illogically refers to inorganic systems ; also verb "is" is incorrect for plural systems

(B) systems, which are still debated between - which illogically refers to inorganic systems

(C) systems still debated among - Illogical meaning - debated modifies systems

(D) systems, a theory still debated by - Correct

(E) systems, a theory still debated between - Idiom error - between X and Y

1. Isn't there a subject-verb agreement issue - life process is singular and thus should take verb 'is'?
2. Proponents held that life process are not X, but are Y that ... --> shouldn't the parts X and Y be parallel? Do we need to repeat the verb in part that follows "BUT" ?


3. Comma+ FANBOYS is used to join two independent clauses- but here the 2 clauses aren't independent.

AjiteshArun , GMATNinja , MagooshExpert , GMATGuruNY , VeritasPrepBrian , MartyMurray , daagh , DmitryFarber , generis , other experts - please enlighten


Answer D

Normally it is not wanted to deliberate on the ununderlined part in GMAT. Is there anything wrong in the underlined part? Otherwise, there is no need for underlining.

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