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Around the World in 80 Questions (Day 8): As a result of Karl Lashley 27 Jul 2023, 06:31
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(A) information is the subject which is singular, so the verb used should be 'is' not 'are'
(B) same error as in a
(C) same error as in a
(D) to describe a number i.e 4 parts, merely should be used instead of mere
(E) correct option. Grammatically correct subject - verb pair and merely is correctly used

Option E
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Around the World in 80 Questions (Day 8): As a result of Karl Lashley Updated on: 27 Jul 2023, 08:14
Originally posted by Catman on 27 Jul 2023, 06:48.
Last edited by Catman on 27 Jul 2023, 08:14, edited 2 times in total.
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As a result of Karl Lashley’s work in the field of anatomy, neuroscientists now believe that the learned information encoded in 86 billion of the neurons found in a human brain are primarily stored in merely four small parts of the brain, the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, amygdala, and cerebellum.

(A) 86 billion of the neurons found in a human brain are primarily stored in merely ~ Incorrect, Information should be singular.

(B) 86 billion of the human brain’s neurons are primarily stored in a mere ~ Incorrect, Information should be singular.

(C) the 86 billion neurons found in human brains are primarily stored in merely ~ Incorrect, Information should be singular.

(D) the 86 billion neurons found in the human brain is primarily stored in a mere ~ Correct, Mere is used as a adjective and it is used for 4 parts.

(E) 86 billion of the human brain’s neurons is primarily stored in merely ~ InCorrect merely is used as an adverb.

IMO Choice D.
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Around the World in 80 Questions (Day 8): As a result of Karl Lashley 27 Jul 2023, 06:58
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As a result of Karl Lashley’s work in the field of anatomy, neuroscientists now believe that the learned information encoded in 86 billion of the neurons found in a human brain are primarily stored in merely four small parts of the brain, the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, amygdala, and cerebellum.

information is primarily stored or are primarily stored?

(A) 86 billion of the neurons found in a human brain are primarily stored in merely - subject-verb agreement error
(B) 86 billion of the human brain’s neurons are primarily stored in a mere - - subject-verb agreement error
(C) the 86 billion neurons found in human brains are primarily stored in merely - - subject-verb agreement error
(D) the 86 billion neurons found in the human brain is primarily stored in a mere - subject-verb is in agreement, correct adjective is used.
(E) 86 billion of the human brain’s neurons is primarily stored in merely - 86 B - human brain's neurons - does the sentence mean more than 1 brain makes up 86B here?No. we need mere, an adjective not merely

Answer: D
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Around the World in 80 Questions (Day 8): As a result of Karl Lashley 27 Jul 2023, 07:22
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-The subject is " the learned information"-which is singular=>Eliminate A,B,C because they use "are"-which is plural
-We must use "the 86 billion neurons" because there are only 86 billion neurons in our brain and there won't be more=>Eliminate E
The answer is D
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Around the World in 80 Questions (Day 8): As a result of Karl Lashley 27 Jul 2023, 07:24
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Bunuel
As a result of Karl Lashley’s work in the field of anatomy, neuroscientists now believe that the learned information encoded in 86 billion of the neurons found in a human brain are primarily stored in merely four small parts of the brain, the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, amygdala, and cerebellum.

(A) 86 billion of the neurons found in a human brain are primarily stored in merely
(B) 86 billion of the human brain’s neurons are primarily stored in a mere
(C) the 86 billion neurons found in human brains are primarily stored in merely
(D) the 86 billion neurons found in the human brain is primarily stored in a mere
(E) 86 billion of the human brain’s neurons is primarily stored in merely


 


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A--information is singular and "are" has been used, which is incorrect. ARE should be replaced with IS.

B--information is singular and "are" has been used, which is incorrect. ARE should be replaced with IS.

C--information is singular and "are" has been used, which is incorrect. ARE should be replaced with IS.

D--MERE used in this sentence at end is incorrect, it should be MERELY.

E--Correct, no worries.

IMO: E

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Around the World in 80 Questions (Day 8): As a result of Karl Lashley 27 Jul 2023, 07:41
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(A) grammatically correct and concise. Correct option
(B) mere is used incorrectly here
(C) definite article 'the' should not be used
(D) subject- verb error. 'are' should have been used
(E) Same error as in d

Option A
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Around the World in 80 Questions (Day 8): As a result of Karl Lashley 27 Jul 2023, 07:43
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Bunuel
As a result of Karl Lashley’s work in the field of anatomy, neuroscientists now believe that the learned information encoded in 86 billion of the neurons found in a human brain are primarily stored in merely four small parts of the brain, the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, amygdala, and cerebellum.

(A) 86 billion of the neurons found in a human brain are primarily stored in merely
(B) 86 billion of the human brain’s neurons are primarily stored in a mere
(C) the 86 billion neurons found in human brains are primarily stored in merely
(D) the 86 billion neurons found in the human brain is primarily stored in a mere
(E) 86 billion of the human brain’s neurons is primarily stored in merely


 


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The thing to notice is usage of "Is or Are" and "Mere vs Merely".

Is or Are is referring to learned information and not neurons. So "Is" has to be correct usage here.

Now Merely vs Mere, as it is being used to qualify the numbers so "mere" is the correct adjective. the only answer satisfying this is Option D. D is the answer.
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Around the World in 80 Questions (Day 8): As a result of Karl Lashley 27 Jul 2023, 07:55
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A) 86 billion of the neurons found in a human brain are primarily stored in merely- SV number error
(B) 86 billion of the human brain’s neurons are primarily stored in a mere- SV number error
(C) the 86 billion neurons found in human brains are primarily stored in merely-SV number error
(D) the 86 billion neurons found in the human brain is primarily stored in a mere - use of mere Is wrong
(E) 86 billion of the human brain’s neurons is primarily stored in merely- correct

Ans E

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Around the World in 80 Questions (Day 8): As a result of Karl Lashley 27 Jul 2023, 07:57
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(A) 86 billion of the neurons found in a human brain are primarily stored in merely
This option is grammatically incorrect because it uses the preposition "in" twice in the same sentence, making it awkward and redundant. Also, it does not use the possessive form for "human brain's neurons," which is the correct way to indicate possession.

(B) 86 billion of the human brain’s neurons are primarily stored in a mere
Use of plural verb 'are' is incorrect here

(C) the 86 billion neurons found in human brains are primarily stored in merely
This option omits the possessive form "human brain's neurons," which is necessary to indicate that the neurons belong to the human brain. Additionally, it uses the plural "brains" instead of the singular "brain," which is not appropriate given the context of the sentence.

(D) the 86 billion neurons found in the human brain is primarily stored in a mere
Singular verb 'is' matches with the singular subject 'information'. Correct choice

(E) 86 billion of the human brain’s neurons is primarily stored in merely
This option uses the singular verb "is" instead of the correct plural verb "are" to match the plural subject "86 billion of the human brain's neurons." Additionally, it does not use the possessive form for "human brain's neurons," which is necessary to indicate possession.

Option D
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Around the World in 80 Questions (Day 8): As a result of Karl Lashley 27 Jul 2023, 08:00
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Bunuel
As a result of Karl Lashley’s work in the field of anatomy, neuroscientists now believe that the learned information encoded in 86 billion of the neurons found in a human brain are primarily stored in merely four small parts of the brain, the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, amygdala, and cerebellum.

(A) 86 billion of the neurons found in a human brain are primarily stored in merely
(B) 86 billion of the human brain’s neurons are primarily stored in a mere
(C) the 86 billion neurons found in human brains are primarily stored in merely
(D) the 86 billion neurons found in the human brain is primarily stored in a mere
(E) 86 billion of the human brain’s neurons is primarily stored in merely


 


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A - are vs learned info - subject verb issue. Incorrect
B - are vs learned info - subject verb issue. Incorrect
C - are vs learned info - subject verb issue. Incorrect
D - mere - adjective modifying noun four correct
E - merely adverb noun incorrect

Therefore, option D is the correct answer.

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Around the World in 80 Questions (Day 8): As a result of Karl Lashley 27 Jul 2023, 08:35
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Bunuel
Bunuel
As a result of Karl Lashley’s work in the field of anatomy, neuroscientists now believe that the learned information encoded in 86 billion of the neurons found in a human brain are primarily stored in merely four small parts of the brain, the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, amygdala, and cerebellum.

(A) 86 billion of the neurons found in a human brain are primarily stored in merely
(B) 86 billion of the human brain’s neurons are primarily stored in a mere
(C) the 86 billion neurons found in human brains are primarily stored in merely
(D) the 86 billion neurons found in the human brain is primarily stored in a mere
(E) 86 billion of the human brain’s neurons is primarily stored in merely

Experts' Global Official Explanation:

Subject-verb Agreement + Meaning

Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of this sentence is that due to Karl Lashley’s work, it is now believed that the learned information encoded in the 86 billion neurons of the human brain is primarily stored in only four small parts of the brain, the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, amygdala, and cerebellum.

    • An adverb cannot modify a noun; to modify a noun, an adjective must be used.

A. This answer choice incorrectly uses the plural verb “are” to refer to the singular noun “information”. Further, Option A alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “encoded in 86 billion of the neurons…”; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that the learned information is encoded in only 86 billion of the (supposedly many more found in the human brain) neurons; the intended meaning of this sentence is that due to Karl Lashley’s work, it is now believed that the learned information encoded in the 86 billion neurons of the human brain is primarily stored in only four small parts of the brain, the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, amygdala, and cerebellum. Additionally, Option A incorrectly uses the adverb “merely” rather than the adjective “a mere” to modify the noun “four small parts”; remember, an adverb cannot modify a noun; to modify a noun, an adjective must be used.

B. This answer choice incorrectly uses the plural verb “are” to refer to the singular noun “information”. Further, Option B alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “encoded in 86 billion of the human brain’s neurons”; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that the learned information is encoded in only 86 billion of the (supposedly many more found in the human brain) neurons; the intended meaning of this sentence is that due to Karl Lashley’s work, it is now believed that the learned information encoded in the 86 billion neurons of the human brain is primarily stored in only four small parts of the brain, the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, amygdala, and cerebellum.

C. Trap. This answer choice incorrectly uses the plural verb “are” to refer to the singular noun “information”. Further, Option C incorrectly uses the adverb “merely” rather than the adjective “a mere” to modify the noun “four small parts”; remember, an adverb cannot modify a noun; to modify a noun, an adjective must be used. Besides, the usage of plural noun phrase “human brains” is inferior to the singular usage in other answer choices.

D. Correct. This answer choice correctly uses the singular verb “is” to refer to the singular noun “information”. Further, Option D correctly uses the phrase “the 86 billion neurons found in the human brain”, conveying the intended meaning of the sentence- that due to Karl Lashley’s work, it is now believed that the learned information encoded in the 86 billion neurons of the human brain is primarily stored in only four small parts of the brain, the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, amygdala, and cerebellum. Further, Option D correctly uses the adjective phrase “a mere” to modify the noun “parts”. Moreover, Option D correctly uses the adjective “mere” (rather than the adverb “merely” in some of the incorrect choices) to modify the noun “four small parts”.

E. Trap. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “encoded in 86 billion of the human brain’s neurons”; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that the learned information is encoded in only 86 billion of the (supposedly many more found in the human brain) neurons; the intended meaning of this sentence is that due to Karl Lashley’s work, it is now believed that the learned information encoded in the 86 billion neurons of the human brain is primarily stored in only four small parts of the brain, the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, amygdala, and cerebellum. Further, Option E incorrectly uses the adverb “merely” rather than the adjective “a mere” to modify the noun “four small parts”; remember, an adverb cannot modify a noun; to modify a noun, an adjective must be used.

D is the best answer choice.
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I don't understand why we use "a mere". What does "a" do when it goes with a plural noun "parts"? Can someone explain this, please?
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