I guess not because it becomes a modifier issue. scientists are based on the growth rates is wrong. Scientists on the basis of growth rates is better. It's very tricky.

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

Answer B

Scientists are not based on growth rates. So, A, C and E are out. Further, in E, "such growth rates as those of" is awkward. In C, usage of "like" is wrong. "such as" is required to give examples, not "like".

In D, usage of "like those of" is used to show similarity between "growth rates of large modern reptiles" and "growth rates of Galapagos tortoise". This implies Galapagos tortoise are not reptiles but other animals and their growth rates are similar to large modern reptiles. This is distorting the meaning of the sentence.

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.
_________________