12 Days of Christmas GMAT Competition - Day 12: The fact that among

Experts' Global Official Explanation

Meaning + Comparison + Idioms + Redundancy/Awkwardness

Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended core meaning of this sentence is that borderline personality disorders and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent among juvenile detainees than in the general population.

• Comparison must always be made between similar elements.
• "more A than B" is the correct, idiomatic comparison; A and B must be comparable and parallel.
• “as A as B” is a correct, idiomatic usage.

A. Trap. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “the rates… are 10 to 12 times as prevalent”; the construction of this phrase illogically implies that the rates of the conditions, borderline personality disorder and substance abuse, rather than the conditions themselves are 10 to 12 times more prevalent among juvenile detainees than in the general population; the intended meaning is that borderline personality disorders and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent among juvenile detainees than in the general population.

B. Trap. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “the rates… are 10 to 12 times as prevalent”; the construction of this phrase illogically implies that the rates of the conditions, borderline personality disorder and substance abuse, rather than the conditions themselves are 10 to 12 times more prevalent among juvenile detainees than in the general population; the intended meaning is that borderline personality disorders and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent among juvenile detainees than in the general population.

C. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “the rates… are 10 to 12 times more prevalent”; the construction of this phrase illogically implies that the rates of the conditions, borderline personality disorder and substance abuse, rather than the conditions themselves are prevalent among juvenile detainees; the intended meaning is that borderline personality disorders and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent among juvenile detainees than in the general population. Further, Option C incorrectly compares “the rates” of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse among juvenile detainees to “the general population” rather than to the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse among the general population; please remember, comparison must always be made between similar elements. Additionally, Option C incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction “more A when compared to B” rather than the idiomatic construction “more A than B” to compare two elements; please remember, "more A than B" is the correct, idiomatic comparison; A and B must be comparable and parallel.

D. Correct. This answer choice uses the phrase “borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent” and correctly compares the prevalence of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse among juvenile detainees to the prevalence of the same among the general population, conveying the intended meaning- that borderline personality disorders and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent among juvenile detainees than in the general population. Further, Option D correctly uses the idiomatic construction “more A than B”.

E. This answer choice incorrectly compares the prevalence of the conditions, borderline personality disorder and substance abuse among juvenile detainees to “the general population” rather than with the prevalence of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse among the general population; please remember, comparison must always be made between similar elements. Further, Option E incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction “as A when compared to B” rather than the idiomatic construction “as A as B”; please remember, “as A as B” is a correct, idiomatic usage.

D is the best answer choice.
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rates cannot be prevalent. diseases can be. so a b c out.
Also comparison should have more..than
as...as doesn't show comparsion it shows equality.
when usage is also wrong. Unecessary.

(A) the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times as prevalent as in : as...as out
(B) the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent than in : Rates. so wrong. out.
(C) the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent when compared to : more...when compared wrong
(D) borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent than in : Correct
(E) borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times as prevalent when compared to : as...when wrong out

Ans: D

The fact that among juvenile detainees the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times as prevalent as in the general population demonstrates the need for specialized treatment programs.


More prevalent than in is better than as prevalent as in
D is more concise and correct


D is more concise and correct


The use of when compared to is incorrect


The fact that among juvenile detainees borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent than in the general population demonstrates the need for specialized treatment programs.
is a correct and concise sentence


The use of when compared to is incorrect

IMO D
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We need to compare rates. so D&E eliminated.

"Among JD, Rates of...are 10-12 times more/as prevalent than in the Gen population" is the right comparison

The fact that among juvenile detainees the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times as prevalent as in the general population demonstrates the need for specialized treatment programs.

10-12 times as prevalent as means if JD is 100, Gen Pop is 1000-1200
10-12 times more prevalent means if JD is 100, Gen Pop is 1100-1300
Rates are 10-12 times more is better compared to A)

Hence B)

(A) the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times as prevalent as in
(B) the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent than in
(C) the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent when compared to
(D) borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent than in
(E) borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times as prevalent when compared to

"rates" and "times" are redundant. Hence, A, B and C are out.
"when compared to" is always wrong on GMAT. Hence, C and E are out.

Answer is D because it is clear as stated.
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we have a
2/3 split
10 to 12 times as is correct over more
eliminate A,E

(B) the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent than in ; rates right usage goes with are .. plural.. correct
(C) the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent when compared to ; compared to is wrong as it is used for unlike things comparison

(D) borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent than in meaning error

OPTION B is correct

ABC all suffer from the same meaning error: rates cannot be more prevalent - to be prevalent means to be widespread. It is illogical to say that the "rates are more widespread". We can say that a disease is more prevalent in a specific population, or that the rate of a disease is higher in a specific population, but not that the rate is more prevalent. ABC all out.

D vs E.

E suffers from using "borderline and substance are 10 to 12 times more as prevalent when compared to. As prevalent doesn't really make sense here, nor does the usage of "when". That would imply that it is only as prevalent when it is compared to the general popluation.

D on the other hand uses a clear comparison:
"borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent than (borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are prevalent) in the general population.

Choice D.

(A) the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times as prevalent as in - Incorrect usage of idiom as X as

(B) the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent than in - correct

(C) the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent when compared to - Incorrect we should prefer using than with more

(D) borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent than in - Incorrect - we should use the word "Rate of "

(E) borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times as prevalent when compared to - - Incorrect - we should use the word "Rate of "

Correct Option - B

Explanation:
The intended meaning of the sentence is that, borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent among the juvenile detainees than in the general population and this fact demonstrates the need for specialized treatment programs.

(A) the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times as prevalent as in
It is not "The rates of" which is 10 to 12 times more prevalent among juveniles than general population but rather borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are. OUT.

(B) the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent than in
Same error as (A).

(C) the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent when compared to
Same error as (A). Also, "more" should be followed by "than" to maintain parallelism. Here, "than" is not present. OUT.

(D) borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent than in
Clearly conveys the intended meaning without any grammatical errors. KEEP IT.

(E) borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times as prevalent when compared to
The correct idiom is "As X as Y" and not "As X when Y". OUT.

ANSWER D.

The fact that among juvenile detainees the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times as prevalent as in the general population demonstrates the need for specialized treatment programs.

(A) the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times as prevalent as in Incorrect as the rates can't be prevalent; it is the disease which should be prevalent

(B) the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent than in Incorrect as the rates can't be prevalent; it should be the disease which is prevalent

(C) the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent when compared to Incorrect as more prevalent when is wrong usage

(D) borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent than in Correct
The fact that borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent among juveniles than in general population demonstrates the need for treatment programs

(E) borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times as prevalent when compared to Incorrect as prevalent when is wrong usage

The fact that among juvenile detainees the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times as prevalent as in the general population demonstrates the need for specialized treatment programs.

Meaning. rates are 'not' 10-12 times more prevalent ; rather it's the diseases ie, borderline personality disorder and substance abuse. which are more prevalent.

(A) the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times as prevalent as in
'rates of....' are not more prevalent

(B) the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent than in
here also, 'rates of....' are not more prevalent

(C) the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent when compared to
yet again, 'rates of....' are not more prevalent

(D) borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent than in
correct comparison structure using 'than'

(E) borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times as prevalent when compared to
comparison structure in the end ie,' as prevalent when compared to' is an unnecessary wordy and awkward grammatical structure

Hence, (D) will be the correct answer
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in statement A,B,C "the rates of" literally changed the main meaning of whole sentence

(D) borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent than in - "times, more" are also synonyms. I think using both of them is bit redundant
(E) borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times as prevalent when compared to - Correct

IMO E

The fact that among juvenile detainees the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times as prevalent as in the general population demonstrates the need for specialized treatment programs.

(A) the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times as prevalent as in
incorrect reference to the 'rates' being prevalent

(B) the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent than in
incorrect reference to the 'rates' being prevalent

(C) the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent when compared to
incorrect reference to the 'rates' being prevalent

(D) borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent than in
correct sentence structure using than...correct reference to the 'disorder' being prevalent

(E) borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times as prevalent when compared to
incorrect comparison structure towards the end

IMO, (D) is the correct choice

The fact that among juvenile detainees the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times as prevalent as in the general population demonstrates the need for specialized treatment programs.

(A) the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times as prevalent as in--- 12 times as prevelant as does not make sense
(B) the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent than in---rates cant be prevalent
(C) the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent when compared to-- when compaed to indicates as if the time when it is compared
(D) borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent than in----correct
(E) borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times as prevalent when compared to-- when compared to is wrong

Ans D

A- Seems correct. 10 to 12 times as prevalent as is correct because 10 to 12 times is an exact numeric hence, as should be used.

B- more prevalent than in is idiomatically incorrect.

C- more prevalent when compared to is idiomatically incorrect.

D- Same as B.

E- Same as C.

Hence, IMO A.

The fact that among juvenile detainees the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times as prevalent as in the general population demonstrates the need for specialized treatment programs.

(A) the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times as prevalent as in
wrong comparison referring to 'the rates of....'

(B) the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent than in
wrong comparison referring to 'the rates of....'

(C) the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent when compared to
wrong comparison referring to 'the rates of....'

(D) borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent than in
comparison correct using 'than'

(E) borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times as prevalent when compared to
unnessarily wordy in comparison to 'than' usage

Thus, (D) is correct

Answer is D
The fact that among juvenile detainees the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times as prevalent as in the general population demonstrates the need for specialized treatment programs.

(A) the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times as prevalent as in Rate cannot be prevalent
(B) the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent than in same as problem A
(C) the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent when compared to same problem as A
(D) borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent than in correct
(E) borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times as prevalent when compared to as ... as ..

The fact that among juvenile detainees the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times as prevalent as in the general population demonstrates the need for specialized treatment programs.

1.Notice the sentence uses multiplying factor 'times'. 'Times' cannot go with 'AS...AS' comparison. In this example '10-12 times more ...than' is appropriate.
2. In the original sentence, 'the rates' is compared with 'prevalent', which is wrong. The comparison should have, instead, used 'borderline personality disorder & substance abuse'.

(A) the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times as prevalent as in
'the rates' are 10 to 12 times prevalent is illogical. Eliminate

(B) the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent than in
'the rates' are 10 to 12 times prevalent is illogical. Eliminate

(C) the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent when compared to
'the rates' are 10 to 12 times prevalent is illogical. Eliminate

(D) borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent than in

x and y are 10 times more prevalent than in Z makes sense. Keep

(E) borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times as prevalent when compared to
'as compared to' is incorrect comparison with 'times' usage. Eliminate


So the best answer choice is D.

The fact that among juvenile detainees the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times as prevalent as in the general population demonstrates the need for specialized treatment programs.

(A) The fact that among juvenile detainees the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times as prevalent as in the general population demonstrates the need for specialized treatment programs. - The rate is not prevalent, it's the disease that is prevalent. - Eliminate
(B) The fact that among juvenile detainees the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent than in the general population demonstrates the need for specialized treatment programs.- The rate is not prevalent, it's the disease that is prevalent. - Eliminate
(C) The fact that among juvenile detainees the rates of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent when compared to the general population demonstrates the need for specialized treatment programs.- The rate is not prevalent, it's the disease that is prevalent. - Eliminate
(D) The fact that among juvenile detainees borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times more prevalent than in the general population demonstrates the need for specialized treatment programs. - Correct meaning and grammar, Correct
(E) The fact that among juvenile detainees borderline personality disorder and substance abuse are 10 to 12 times as prevalent when compared to the general population demonstrates the need for specialized treatment programs. - Wrong usage of the idiom, 'as X as Y', Eliminate

Ans : D