Based on the growth rates of large modern reptiles such as the Galapag

Like v/such as and parallelism

such as =for example and like=similar to

clearly,we need "such as" in this case as sentence illustrates with examples

Eliminate C,D and E

And- is present so why not have some icing on the cake-parallelism

On the basis of growth rates of large modern reptiles such as the Galapagos tortoise and
examinations of fossils of juvenile dinosaurs


B

Based on the growth rates of large modern reptiles such as the Galapagos tortoise and examinations of fossils of juvenile dinosaurs, scientists estimate that the largest dinosaurs probably lived to be between 100 and 200 years old.
(A) Based on the growth rates of large modern reptiles such as
Not correct as 'Based on the growth rates of large.... ' is not parallel to 'examinations of fossils of juvenile....' Hence incorrect

(B) On the basis of growth rates of large modern reptiles such as
Correct.... 'On the basis of growth rates of large.... ' parallel to 'examinations of fossils of juvenile....' clause....

(C) Based on the growth rates of large modern reptiles like
Like is incorrect

(D) On the basis of growth rates of large modern reptiles, like those of
Like is incorrect

(E) Based on such growth rates as those of large modern reptiles like
Like is incorrect

Same, i picked B.

The reason is that a person noun cannot be "based on" something... the "findings" or "observations" can be "based on" x, not a person "based on" x.

On the basis of x, person <scientist> y
Based on x, <findings>, <observations>, <data> y

"scientists based on" is considered wrong in GMAT. Check similar OG question here
https://gmatclub.com/forum/qotd-based-o ... 40242.html

45 seconds. Answer B.

this looks like a self made question. Based on is incorrect here.
We can check the correct usage of based on by replacing based on by depend on. So, depend on growth rates...scientists, here scientists can not depend on growth rates.

Concept tested : Modifiers

Scientists are not based on any one.

They have done something on the basis of.........


Ans : B

(A) Based on the growth rates of large modern reptiles such as
When verb-ed is placed at the beginning of the sentence followed by a comma, it always modifies the subject of the clause. Here Based on modified scientists, which is incorrect

(B) On the basis of growth rates of large modern reptiles such as
No issue, correct choice

(C) Based on the growth rates of large modern reptiles like
When verb-ed is placed at the beginning of the sentence followed by a comma, it always modifies the subject of the clause. Here Based on modified scientists, which is incorrect
Like is used for comparison, Such as is used for examples, hence incorrect

(D) On the basis of growth rates of large modern reptiles, like those of
Like is used for comparison, Such as is used for examples, hence incorrect

(E) Based on such growth rates as those of large modern reptiles like
When verb-ed is placed at the beginning of the sentence followed by a comma, it always modifies the subject of the clause. Here Based on modified scientists, which is incorrect
Like is used for comparison, Such as is used for examples, hence incorrect

1. if the present participle and past participle (-ing / -ed), especially the ones that are placed at the beginning of the sentence, has a subject that is different from the subject in the main clause, then it is wrong --> same as A in the problem because "based on" cannot modify "scientists". And instead, [preposition+ noun] (e.g. on the basis of growth rates) would work here.

2. if we have present participle (-ing) at the end of the sentence, then it would mean 2 things: method / results

a) method

example: Too old to bear arms himself, Frederick Douglass served as a recruiting agent, traveling through the North and exhorting Black men to join the Union army.
Here, we use "traveling" because it is explaining the method of how Frederick served as a recruiting agent.

b) results

example: After the Arab conquest of Egypt in A.D. 640, Arabic became the dominant language of the Egyptians, replacing older languages and writing systems.
Here, we use "replacing" because it is a result of Arabic becoming dominant.

So let me check if i understood.
If the sentence was given as: "Based on the examinations of large reptiles...etc" the use of BASED here is correct, right?
It is incorrect on the original sentence because it cannont be "Based on growth rates"?

Based on the growth rates of large modern reptiles such as the Galapagos tortoise and examinations of fossils of juvenile dinosaurs, scientists estimate that the largest dinosaurs probably lived to be between 100 and 200 years old.


(A) Based on the growth rates of large modern reptiles such as
Based is the -ED verbal modifier which modifies the noun after comma, which is Scientist. In this way option A, C and E distorts the intended meaning.

(B) On the basis of growth rates of large modern reptiles such as
"On the basis" is a prepositional phrase modifier , which can modify a noun placed away. In this sentence prepositional phrase modifier correctly modifies dinosaurs which is placed slight away in the sentence. Also Such is used to given example , which is the correct usage.

(C) Based on the growth rates of large modern reptiles like
Reason explained in option A

(D) On the basis of growth rates of large modern reptiles, like those of
"On the basis" correctly modifies dinosaur but like is used to give example which is incorrect.

(E) Based on such growth rates as those of large modern reptiles like
Reason explained in option A

Why "based on" is wrong? I am confused. could someone help me solve this question? thanks

fighting750 i'll try to break down the solution for you.

Let's take two splits

Based on the growth rates of large modern reptiles such as the Galapagos tortoise and examinations of fossils of juvenile dinosaurs, scientists estimate that the largest dinosaurs probably lived to be between 100 and 200 years old.


(A) Based on the growth rates of large modern reptiles such as

(B) On the basis of growth rates of large modern reptiles such as

Option A starts with Based which is a modifier.
Based on the growth rates of large modern reptiles such as the Galapagos tortoise and examinations of fossils of juvenile dinosaurs
this is describing something which comes next after the comma i.e scientists. Now if you go by the meaning of this sentence , it would mean that scientists are based on the growth rate. which is incorrect.

Option B says

On the basis of growth rates of large modern reptiles such as

this makes better sense in terms of meaning , On the basis of growth rates of large modern reptiles scientists are estimating something.

Hope this helps