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A star will compress itself into a white dwarf, a neutron star, or a

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AndrewN

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13 Sep 2020, 15:18

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shanks2020

Hi AndrewN

Hope to learn the way you solve the questions!!!
Regarding common knowledge, it was based on that only i considered that "Mass" can not be "Passing". It can be increasing, decreasing, more, less, etc, but can not logical to associate with passing any stage. No need to know what kind of stage(red giant stage). Basically, associating mass with passing any "stage" made it sound illogical to me, so i thought there could be no ambiguity. Where am i getting any wrong...Hoping to get the right thinking!!!
Is it that Mass can be associated with passing of any stage?

Hello again, shanks2020. I agree that mass cannot pass through stages in the manner suggested by the sentence. The grammar, however, leaves that door open with the commas around the -ing phrase. You are not getting anything wrong with what you have written just above. In general, the GMAT™ prefers the clear and direct expression of vital meaning. Choice (D) introduces a subject followed immediately by a verb; choice (E) takes its time, introducing a subject that is unclear at first glance (mass or star?), then provides us with a verb, followed by it compresses itself. Great... now we have to backtrack to qualify it. That is anything but a streamlined sentence. It is not that longer sentences always lose out, just that if you narrow the answer pool down to two options and one of them uses several questionable elements while the other does not, choose the one that is harder to argue against.

Good luck.

- Andrew

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13 Sep 2020, 22:15

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AndrewN

shanks2020

Hello again AndrewN

But don't you think option D lacks the information of "mass of what"? It just mentions "mass determines...". This mass could be of anything under the sun. Hence, i thought at least E has that logical component available.
So basically it was a choice of choosing less correct...:-/. Your thoughts

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shanks2020

I understand your point, shanks2020, and you do indeed have to put qualifying the property of mass on hold until you reach star in (D), but once that occurs, there is no question as to what the sentence is driving at. I cannot say the same for (E). If I were to rewrite the sentence in a way I see fit, it would appear somewhat different, but we do not have that luxury on the GMAT™, so it is a matter of picking your poison, so to speak. Learn from this one what you can and see if you can apply that knowledge to the next similar challenge.

Happy studies.

- Andrew

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04 May 2021, 13:05

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Hi experts, MartyTargetTestPrep GMATNinja

It doesn't look like anyone addressed this but.. is "...a red giant stage.." incorrect? It seems like there is more than one red giant stage. But it seems there would only be one specific red giant stage that the sentence would be talking about -- i.e., "the red giant stage."

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04 May 2021, 13:38

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samgyupsal

This doesn't concern me too much. Perhaps each star's red giant stage is a bit different, such that any given star's red giant stage is merely "a" red giant stage, rather than "the" red giant stage. Perhaps at some earlier stage of its life the star had another red giant stage. Who can say? I'm not a stellar astrophysicist; are you? I mean, okay, I do have a background in physics and I did study stellar astrophysics, but... For the purposes of the GMAT? I know virtually nothing about the stages of a star's life.

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27 Jul 2021, 06:04

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daagh

Preamble:
1. The pronoun's first prerogative is to refer to the subject of the sentence, and if the subject does not suit, then it might antecede mostly a nearby noun that may be an object of the verb or object of the preposition. Perhaps even a third one might suit better than the subject or the object, in which case that will become the eligible referent. Logic and nothing but logic is the decider of the pronoun eligibility.
2. The adverbial modifiers modify the subject and the action of the previous clause and one must be adept at spotting the previous clause.

This is a crafty issue. Now let's move on to the question.

A star will compress itself into a white dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole after it passes through a red giant stage, depending on mass.

(A) A star will compress itself into a white dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole after it passes through a red giant stage, depending on mass.-- The pronoun refers to the star and the adverbial modifier ",depending" modifies the previous clause namely' after it(the star) passes through a red giant stage. The slip here is to mistake the previous clause as ' a star will compress', which is the first clause or the main clause but not the previous clause.

(B) After passing through a red giant stage, depending on its mass, a star will compress itself into a white dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole. --- No issue about 'its'. However, when you have two back to back modifiers that both modify a common noun, both the modifiers will be required to be intercepted by a conjunction 'and'. Otherwise, there is the risk of the second modifier modifying the first as do nested modifiers do

(C) After passing through a red giant stage, a star’s mass will determine if it compresses itself into a white dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole. -- Instant misfit since the initial modifier illogically modifies the mass rather than the star.

(D) Mass determines whether a star, after passing through the red giant stage, will compress itself into a white dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole. --- No issues with this choice.

(E) The mass of a star, after passing through the red giant stage, will determine whether it compresses itself into a white dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole. ---absolutely out because of the distortion that the mass passes through the red giant stage.

Vanam
As far as the referents for the pronoun 'it' in A and 'its' in B are concerned, I appreciate you are on the dot.
Can you please also see my comment on choice A especially with regard to the adverbial modifier? That is a sly pitfall.

Hi Sir,

My doubt in D is that can Mass determine something as it is not a living being can it perform the action of determining?

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27 Jul 2021, 12:11

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pranayeekarmakar

Hi Sir,

My doubt in D is that can Mass determine something as it is not a living being can it perform the action of determining?

Quote:

determine:

1. cause (something) to occur in a particular way; be the decisive factor in.
2. ascertain or establish exactly, typically as a result of research or calculation.

Per the first definition, yes, mass can absolutely determine (cause to occur in a particular way; be the decisive factor in) an event.

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22 Nov 2021, 13:02

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Hello,

I have a bit of a problem here.
In option E, why can't the modifier, 'after passing... stage', modify 'star?

Thanks!

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Anandanwar

Hello,

I have a bit of a problem here.
In option E, why can't the modifier, 'after passing... stage', modify 'star?

Thanks!

"After passing through the red giant stage" is a prepositional phrase that indicates WHEN an event occurred. Thus, it acts adverbially, and modifies the verb "will determine."

So, the subject of "will determine" must be the agent of "passing."

The subject of "will determine" is "the mass." Thus, the agent of "passing" is also "the mass."

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Anandanwar

Hello,

I have a bit of a problem here.
In option E, why can't the modifier, 'after passing... stage', modify 'star?

Thanks!

Hello Anandanwar,

We hope this finds you well.

Having gone through the question and your query, we believe we can resolve your doubt.

In Option E the modifier "after passing through the red giant stage" is linked by a comma to the noun phrase "The mass of a star"; this implies that the mass of the star passes through the red giant stage, but the intended meaning is that the star itself passes through the red giant stage; remember, in the “phrase + comma + noun” and “noun + comma + phrase” constructions, the phrase must correctly modify the noun; this is one of the most frequently tested concepts on GMAT sentence correction. You must also keep in mind that when a noun phrase is used in the “phrase + comma + noun” and “noun + comma + phrase” constructions, the phrase modifies the main noun of the noun phrase.

To understand the concept of "Phrase Comma Subject" and "Subject Comma Phrase" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1minute):

All the best!
Experts' Global Team

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Anandanwar

Hello,

I have a bit of a problem here.
In option E, why can't the modifier, 'after passing... stage', modify 'star?

Thanks!

Thanks Marty! This clarifies.

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mba757

GMATNinja, I have a similar question.
Option D and E have used the phrasing "the red giant stage". While attempting this question, I was down to B and E. Now in B, Modifier issue strikes as the first thing. But when comparing the meaning between "a red giant stage" and "the red giant stage", "the red giant stage" seems to refer to a very unique stage, which is of course not the meaning. I half-heartedly chose B over E thinking that B is more meaningful then E. I guess "meaningful" can also be subjective

.

Anyway, it would be great if you share you opinion on this.

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prince11goyal

mba757

.

Anyway, it would be great if you share you opinion on this.

Hello prince11goyal,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer this query, in this case, although the split between "a" and "the" does produce a slight shift in meaning, it is not strong enough to factor into the elimination process, as there are other, more concrete, errors.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
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prince11goyal

mba757

.

Anyway, it would be great if you share you opinion on this.

I assume you're talking about (B) vs (D), not (E)?

Between (B) and (D), the biggest difference is "depending on its mass" in (B) vs "Mass determines whether..." in (D). The structure in (D) is much clearer: we know right from the beginning that we are going to get a few different possibilities, and that the actual outcome depends on the mass. In (B), it's much harder to figure out what "depending on its mass" actually modifies.

As for "a red giant stage" vs "the red giant stage," I'd argue that the definite article ("the") makes a bit more sense. We're talking about a distinct phases of a star's life cycle, and the context suggests that the star is going to pass through the red giant stage once and only once (just as a human passes through adolescence once and only once).

The indefinite article ("a") makes it sound as if there will be multiple red giant stages throughout the star's life, while the definite article ("the") makes it sound like the star will in fact have only one red giant stage.

But if you aren't convinced and want to be conservative, you can ignore this decision point -- (D) still wins because of the modifier issue described above.

I hope that helps!

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A star will compress itself into a white dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole after it passes through a red giant stage, depending on mass.

(A) A star will compress itself into a white dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole after it passes through a red giant stage, depending on mass.

"depending on mass" should modify "star" - it's too far away from the subject. OUT

(B) After passing through a red giant stage, depending on its mass, a star will compress itself into a white dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole.

"depending on its mass" - because it's in between "red giant stage" and a "star," it's ambiguous. Which one is it modifying? OUT

(C) After passing through a red giant stage, a star’s mass will determine if it compresses itself into a white dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole.

(D) Mass determines whether a star, after passing through the red giant stage, will compress itself into a white dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole.

Yes. "whether" can be used to identify more than 2 options. e.g., "Whether I will study math, economics, or English"

(E) The mass of a star, after passing through the red giant stage, will determine whether it compresses itself into a white dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole.

SC43561.01

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A star will compress itself into a white dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole after it passes through a red giant stage, depending on mass.

depending on mass – present participle at the end of the sentence needs to modify the entire preceding clause

(A) A star will compress itself into a white dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole after it passes through a red giant stage, depending on mass.

Issues with this:
a. It has no ambiguity – it is correctly referring to star and not white dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole. There is no pronoun issue.
b. Depending on mass – a present participial modifying the entire preceding clause and modifies the previous clause namely' after it(the star) passes through a red giant stage. This is inappropriate because it should modify the ‘star’ and not the entire preceding clause.
c. Depending on mass of what? Does not make sense.

(B) After passing through a red giant stage, depending on its mass, a star will compress itself into a white dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole.
Issues with this:
a. Depending on its mass: what is ‘it’? and this is a present participle that is modifying the red giant stage and not star. The modifier is misplaced.

(C) After passing through a red giant stage, a star’s mass will determine if it compresses itself into a white dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole.
Issues with this:
a. After passing through a red giant stage, a star’s mass will determine if it – what is it?
b. A star’s mass – possessive
c. It - pronoun without an antecedent. No mention of star.

(D) Mass determines whether a star, after passing through the red giant stage, will compress itself into a white dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole.
correct because:
a. after passing through the red giant stage – prepositional phrase that is modifying the noun ‘star’.
b. Mass will determine whether a star will compress itself – subject agrees with verb.

(E) The mass of a star, after passing through the red giant stage, will determine whether it compresses itself into a white dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole.
Issues with this:
a. Mass of a star cannot pass through the red giant stage
b. The star passes through the red giant stage.

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29 Jul 2022, 12:48

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EMPOWERgmatVerbal

Hello Everyone!

Let's tackle this question, one thing at a time, and narrow down our options quickly so we know how to answer questions like this when they pop up on the GMAT! To begin, let's take a quick look at the question and highlight any major differences between the options in orange:

A star will compress itself into a white dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole after it passes through a red giant stage, depending on mass.

(A) A star will compress itself into a white dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole after it passes through a red giant stage, depending on mass.
(B) After passing through a red giant stage, depending on its mass, a star will compress itself into a white dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole.
(C) After passing through a red giant stage, a star’s mass will determine if it compresses itself into a white dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole.
(D) Mass determines whether a star, after passing through the red giant stage, will compress itself into a white dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole.
(E) The mass of a star, after passing through the red giant stage, will determine whether it compresses itself into a white dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole.

Whenever you see an entire sentence highlighted like this, and each option is organized very differently, there is one grammar issue you can typically count on to be the problem:

MODIFIERS!

We need to make sure that modifier phrases, such as "after passing through a red giant stage" and "depending on its mass" are organized clearly and convey the correct meaning. Let's see how each option handles this:

(A) A star will compress itself into a white dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole after it passes through a red giant stage, depending on mass.

This is INCORRECT because the phrase "depending on mass" is supposed to modify "star," and not "a red giant stage." It's not 100% clear to readers what that phrase should modify because it's in the wrong place. Let's rule this one out.

(B) After passing through a red giant stage, depending on its mass, a star will compress itself into a white dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole.

This is INCORRECT for a couple reasons. First, the phrase "depending on its mass" should only refer to "a star," but this placement makes it ambiguous. It could modify either "a star" or " a red giant stage." Second, the pronoun "its" is unclear - is it referring back to "a red giant stage" or "a star?" It's unclear, so let's rule this one out too.

(C) After passing through a red giant stage, a star’s mass will determine if it compresses itself into a white dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole.

This is INCORRECT because "a star's mass" doesn't pass through a red giant stage - a star does. The pronoun "it" is also too vague - it's not clear if "it" is referring to "a red giant stage" or "a star's mass." Either way, it would be wrong anyway. The modifier and antecedent don't make logical sense, so let's rule this one out also.

(D) Mass determines whether a star, after passing through the red giant stage, will compress itself into a white dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole.

This is OKAY for now. By rewriting it a little, we've gotten rid of the "determined by mass" modifier altogether - so we don't have to worry about that. The modifier "after passing through the red giant stage" is located directly after its antecedent "a star," which is clear and logical. Let's keep this one for now.

(E) The mass of a star, after passing through the red giant stage, will determine whether it compresses itself into a white dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole.

This one is INCORRECT because "the mass of a star" doesn't pass through the red giant stage - the star itself does. Since this doesn't make logical sense as written, let's rule this one out.

There you have it - option D is our correct choice! The modifiers and antecedents are logical and located clearly to show the intended meaning.

Don't study for the GMAT. Train for it.

EMPOWERgmatRichC
Is it right to say that, for option B - ", depending on its mass," being between two commas is non-essential and hence not to be considered while checking modifier? hence the sentence will be "After passing through a red giant stage~~, depending on its mass,~~ a star will compress itself into a white ...wherein passing through a red giant stage is correctly modifying a star and hence there is nothing wrong in terms of modifier
dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole."

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29 Jul 2022, 13:20

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Rickooreo

Is it right to say that, for option B - ", depending on its mass," being between two commas is non-essential and hence not to be considered while checking modifier? hence the sentence will be "After passing through a red giant stage~~, depending on its mass,~~ a star will compress itself into a white ...wherein passing through a red giant stage is correctly modifying a star and hence there is nothing wrong in terms of modifier
dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole."

No, it is not correct to eliminate or ignore nonessential modifiers when checking modifier issues.

Posted from my mobile device

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Rickooreo

EMPOWERgmatVerbal

Hi Rickooreo,

When dealing with Modifiers in an SC, the general rule you want to follow is "put the modifying word/phrase as close to what it's supposed to modify as possible."

With Answer B, the opening modifying phrase "After passing through a red giant stage,...." is clearly meant to modify "a star." However, the intervening phrase "depending on its mass" comes next - and that's a problem which we cannot simply ignore (since it distances the modifier from the noun that it's supposed to modify). The correct answer properly places the first modifier.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

Contact Rich at: [email protected]

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EMPOWERgmatRichC

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EMPOWERgmatRichC AnthonyRitz

Understood, just one follow-up question.

Had it been that other options have more glaring error, we would have selected B. Or B will ALWAYS be wrong