Atmospheric scientists in recent years have observed increasing concen

Question

Atmospheric scientists in recent years have observed increasing concentrations of chlorofluorocarbons in the tertiary layer of the stratosphere,  findings consistent with the documented growth in chlorofluorocarbon emissions from industrial activity .

A. findings consistent with the documented growth in chlorofluorocarbon emissions from industrial activity
B. which are consistent with the documented growth in chlorofluorocarbon emissions from industrial activity
C. a finding consistent with growth in chlorofluorocarbon emissions from industrial activity, as documented
D. finding documented growth consistent with chlorofluorocarbon emissions from industrial activity
E. which findings are consistent with industrial activity’s documented growth in chlorofluorocarbon emissions

Source:   McGraw-Hill's GMAT  
Difficulty Level:   700

Pankaj1Agarwal · Answer

Bunuel   MartyTargetTestPrep   daagh   sayantanc2k   GMATNinja 
Your 2 cents, i went with C

AjiteshArun · Answer

The  as documented  in option C is a problem. The original sentence is trying to say that the  growth in emissions  is  documented . Option C just leaves that  documented  bit hanging at the end of the sentence.

Scientists have found something new (X), which is consistent with something documented (Y). 
vs.
 Scientists have found something new (X), which is consistent with something (Y), as documented.

AkshdeepS · Answer

AjiteshArun  : Isn't "findings" is different from "a finding"? Can we say this is also a difference between A and C. Also, why correct answer choice is using "findings" and not "finding".

AjiteshArun · Answer

Good question. Both sound okay to me, so maybe  findings / a finding  is not something that we can use to take a decision here.

Here is an official question  that also uses  findings  in the correct option.

jrk23 · Answer

can someone please elaborate the answer choices...

Debashis Roy · Answer

GMATNinja   generis   Bunuel 
My answer is C.."a finding" looks better to me than "findings"..Also as documented in choice C seems ok to me..
Pls shed ur thoughts.
Thanks

JoyBoy · Answer

Why can't we use "which are" in place of "findings" 
Thus, B can also be the answer right

Posted from my mobile device

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Hello  AkshdeepS   jrk23   Debashis  Roy  JoyBoy

Official Explanation

A  is idiomatic and makes clear that the  “findings”  in the second clause refers to the  “observed increasing concentrations”  in the first clause.  B  has no clear referent for  “which.”  In  C , it is unclear from the dangling  “as documented”  what exactly has been documented. In  D , it is unclear what is meant by  “finding documented growth” ; they could  “document growth”  if they published their findings, or they could find  “documented growth”  if they were looking through documents, but this latter scenario does not agree with the field observations described in the first clause. In  E ,  “which findings are consistent”  is unidiomatic.

ANSWER: A

Hope it helps

harshdev · Answer

Not able to comprehend , what does findings signify here , why is A correct? How are the two two parts before and after comma connected to each other

AjiteshArun · Answer

Hi  harshdev ,

We should try not to focus on the fact that  findings  is plural.  Findings  is just a way to refer to  what the scientists found  (that's how the word  findings  is used).

The whole "  findings  consistent with the documented growth in chlorofluorocarbon emissions from industrial activity " bit is a noun phrase, not an independent clause, so we don't really have to look for anything else (like a conjunction) in between those two parts of the sentence.

Atmospheric scientists in recent years have observed increasing concen

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Atmospheric scientists in recent years have observed increasing concen

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