A study of food resources in the North Pacific between 1989 and 1996

Question

A study of food resources in the North Pacific between 1989 and 1996 revealed  that creatures of the seabed were suffering from dwindling food supplies, possibly a result from increasing  sea surface temperatures during the same period.

(A) that creatures of the seabed were suffering from dwindling food supplies, possibly a result from increasing

(B) that creatures of the seabed were suffering because food supplies were dwindling, possibly as a result of an increase in

(C) that creatures of the seabed were suffering because of food supplies, which were dwindling possibly as a result of increasing

(D) creatures of the seabed that were suffering from food supplies that were dwindling, possibly resulting from an increase in

(E) creatures of the seabed that were suffering because food supplies were dwindling, which possibly resulted from increasing

This is remarkably similar to  https://gmatclub.com/forum/a-study-of-food-resources-in-the-north-pacific-between-1989-and-24302.html#p1870400 . Option A is slightly modified.  request experts to help me to understand b/w A and B.I chose A because I though the entire thing is modified by absolute phrase in A. But the OA is B

Dreiodre · Accepted Answer

let's see the options here:

(A) that creatures of the seabed were suffering from dwindling  food supplies, possibly a result from increasing  (the word 'possibly' refers to food supplies instead of 'dwindling'

(B) that  creatures  of the seabed  were  suffering because  food supplies were   dwindling, possibly as a result of an increase in  (now this is correct grammatically and the meaning is also correct)

(C) that creatures of the seabed were suffering because of  food supplies, which were dwindling  (why not just put dwindling food supplies? wordiness) possibly as a result of increasing

(D) creatures of the  seabed that were  (supposed to be "that was" because "that" is referring to "seabed") suffering from food supplies that were dwindling, possibly  resulting from   (incorrect) an increase in

(E) creatures of the  seabed that were   (incorrect because of the same reason above) suffering because food supplies were dwindling, which possibly resulted from increasing

Sayantan1604 · Answer

B is the correct answer

(A) makes the modifier error 'possibly a result from increasing' which modifies the entire preceding clause 'that creatures of the seabed were suffering from dwindling food supplies.' This ambiguously states that the reason for the creatures' suffering is due to increasing sea surface temperatures

(C) is too wordy and never an appropriate answer for a GMAT SC

(d),(e) change meaning by saying the study revealed creatures and not a problem the creatures are facing

VerbalKnight · Answer

Can anyone explain why option C is incorrect? Although I agree that option B is the right answer, I just eliminated C on the basis of wordiness.

ArupRS · Answer

Option A and the underline part were not matching. Corrected the underlined part.

ArupRS · Answer

Answer Explanation 
 Logical predication; Grammatical construction; Idiom

The correct version of this sentence needs to clarify the causal logic of the study: increasing sea surface temperatures may cause dwindling food supplies which cause creatures of the seabed to suffer.

A. The placement of the final appositive (possibly a result . . . ) causes confusion as to what is being described—dwindling food supplies or suffering creatures; the preposition from is not idiomatic.

B.  Correct . This sentence clarifies the causal relationships among suffering creatures, dwindling food supplies and increasing temperatures.

C. This sentence claims the sea creatures were suffering because of food supplies; the nonrestrictive relative clause implies that the dwindling of these food supplies was only incidental, not a cause of suffering. If the final phrase possibly as a result is to modify the relative clause, which were dwindling, it should be preceded by a comma.

D. The series of relative clauses (that . . . dwindling) is wordy and confusing; it is not clear what the final participial phrase is modifying.

E. The reference of the relative pronoun which is ambiguous.

The correct answer is B.

sujaygmat · Answer

In option C, " ...which were dwindling possibly as a result of increasing " there is no comma after  dwindling  - Red flag

PalakDiwanji · Answer

Hi,

IMO you can also eliminate C because it distorts the meaning. The sentence basically means that creatures are suffering "because food supplies are dwindling."

Option C says that they're suffering "because of food supplies", and that makes absolutely no sense. For instance, a human being would suffer because of "a shortage of food" and not really just "because of food" (unless you have no self-control lol).

Also, which is used mostly for additional information (something that's not particularly relevant to the core meaning of the sentence), and what C does is that it makes the dwindling part (which I mentioned is absolutely necessary to the statement) additional information.

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svasan05 · Answer

A study of food resources in the North Pacific between 1989 and 1996 revealed  that creatures of the seabed were suffering from dwindling food supplies, possibly a result from increasing  sea surface temperatures during the same period.

(A) that creatures of the seabed were suffering from dwindling food supplies, possibly a result from increasing  "a result  from " is incorrect. The correct usage is "as a result of". Eliminate.

(B) that creatures of the seabed were suffering because food supplies were dwindling, possibly as a result of an increase in  Correct answer - correct idiomatic expression is used.

(C) that creatures of the seabed were suffering because of food supplies, which were dwindling possibly as a result of increasing  Meaning change. The creatures were suffering not due to the food supplies themselves (as stated in this option) but due to the fact that the food supplies were dwindling. Eliminate.

(D) creatures of the seabed that were suffering from food supplies that were dwindling, possibly resulting from an increase in  Meaning change - the study did not reveal creatures themselves but that the creatures were suffering. Also, "resulting from" is incorrect. Eliminate.

(E) creatures of the seabed that were suffering because food supplies were dwindling, which possibly resulted from increasing  Same meaning error as in (D). What "which" refers to is unclear. Eliminate.

Hope this helps.

PV66 · Answer

I think we all agree, that the answer was between B and C. C can be eliminated because, it makes the statement look as if the creatures were suffering because of food and not because the food supplies were dwindling.

Cheers,
PV66

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Cheers,
PV66

Posted from my mobile device

thangvietnam · Answer

A study of food resources in the North Pacific between 1989 and 1996 revealed  that creatures of the seabed were suffering from dwindling food supplies, possibly a result from increasing  sea surface temperatures during the same period.

(A) that creatures of the seabed were suffering from dwindling food supplies, possibly a result from increasing

(B) that creatures of the seabed were suffering because food supplies were dwindling, possibly as a result of an increase in

(C) that creatures of the seabed were suffering because of food supplies, which were dwindling possibly as a result of increasing

(D) creatures of the seabed that were suffering from food supplies that were dwindling, possibly resulting from an increase in

(E) creatures of the seabed that were suffering because food supplies were dwindling, which possibly resulted from increasing

a+noun can modify a noun in the preceding sentence or the preceding sentence. there is no noun in the preceding clause which " a result of..." can modify
it is not logical to say the fact that creature were suffering is a result of increasing temparature. so, "a result of..." can not modify the preceding clause

Basshead · Answer

A study of food resources in the North Pacific between 1989 and 1996 revealed  that creatures of the seabed were suffering from dwindling food supplies, possibly a result from increasing  sea surface temperatures during the same period.

Between A and B for this question.

Choice A sounds like food supplies were a result from increasing sea surface temperatures. Choice B corrects this modifier issue by stating 'food supplies were dwindling, possibly as a result of an increase in sea surface temperatures'. Makes sense. Answer is B.

(A) that creatures of the seabed were suffering  from   dwindling food supplies,  possibly a result from increasing

(B) that creatures of the seabed were suffering because food supplies were dwindling,  possibly as a result of an increase in

(C) that creatures of the seabed were suffering  because of food supplies , which were dwindling possibly as a result of increasing

(D) creatures of the seabed that were suffering from  food supplies that were dwindling , possibly resulting from an increase in

(E) creatures of the seabed that were suffering because food supplies were dwindling,  which  possibly resulted from increasing

Abhibarua · Answer

It took me 0:51 minute to solve this one.

"Revealed" should be succeded by "that", so eliminate D & E.

Creatures were suffering  because food supplies were dwindling ; they were not  suffering from dwindling food supplies  or  because of food supplies , so A & C are out.

Option B is the winner.

AbhishekDhanraJ72 · Answer

Why option A is wrong? I understand there is an idiom error but other than that what is wrong?

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EducationAisle · Answer

As the explanation above suggests:

A. The placement of the final appositive ( possibly a result  . . . ) causes confusion as to what is being described—dwindling food supplies or suffering creatures; the preposition  from  is not idiomatic.

ExpertsGlobal5 · Answer

Hello  AbhishekDhanraJ72 ,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, Option A alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "suffering from dwindling food supplies"; the construction of this phrase illogically implies that the sea creatures were suffering from the food supplies,   themselves  ; the intended meaning is that the sea creatures were suffering   because the food supplies were dwindling  .

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team

VerbalBot · Answer

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A study of food resources in the North Pacific between 1989 and 1996

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A study of food resources in the North Pacific between 1989 and 1996

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