Last visit was: 19 Nov 2025, 09:00 It is currently 19 Nov 2025, 09:00
Home
GMAT
Messages
Tests
Schools
Events
Rewards
Chat
My Profile
Close
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Go to My Error Log Learn more
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
Back to Forum
Create Topic
505-555 Level|   Comparisons|      
User avatar
Bunuel
User avatar
Math Expert
Joined: 02 Sep 2009
Last visit: 19 Nov 2025
Posts: 105,389
Own Kudos:
778,279
 [2]
Given Kudos: 99,977
Products:
GMAT Club Tests Forum Quiz
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 105,389
Kudos: 778,279
 [2]
Determining which animal on Earth is the largest depends on ones refe 24 May 2023, 01:30
Kudos
Add Kudos
2
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
00:00
Start Timer
Pause Timer
Resume Timer
Show Answer
Hide
Show
History
B
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!

Difficulty:

15% (low)

Question Stats:

81% (01:09) correct 19% (01:12) wrong based on 118 sessions

History

Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
Determining which animal on Earth is the largest depends on one’s reference point: while the blue whale’s body is indeed larger than the sperm whale, the sperm whale’s brain is actually larger than the blue whale.


A. the sperm whale, the sperm whale’s brain is actually larger than the blue whale

B. that of the sperm whale, the sperm whale’s brain is actually larger than that of the blue whale

C. that of the sperm whale, the sperm whale’s brain is actually larger than the blue whale

D. the sperm whale’s brain, the sperm whale’s body is actually larger than the blue whale’s brain

E. that of the sperm whale, the sperm whale’s brain nevertheless is larger than that of the blue whale



ShowHide Answer
Official Answer
B
User avatar
chanhthang1802
User avatar
Joined: 17 Aug 2020
Last visit: 21 Jul 2025
Posts: 61
Own Kudos:
71
Given Kudos: 14
Location: Germany
GMAT 1: 760 Q50 V42
GPA: 3.49
Products:
My Reviews
GMAT 1: 760 Q50 V42
Posts: 61
Kudos: 71
Determining which animal on Earth is the largest depends on ones refe 24 May 2023, 23:10
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
(A) the blue whale’s body is incorrectly compared to the sperm whale itself
(B) "the blue whale’s body" is not quite parallel to "that of the sperm whale"
(C) same as (B)
(D) correct, this answer choice shows parallelism
(E) same as (B)
User avatar
Afn24
User avatar
Joined: 03 Aug 2021
Last visit: 16 Nov 2025
Posts: 84
Own Kudos:
25
 [1]
Given Kudos: 195
Location: India
Schools: Columbia CBS '24 Darden '24 ESADE Fuqua '24 Haas '24 Harvard '24 Kellogg '24 LBS '24 Said '23 Sloan '24 Stanford '24 Wharton '24 Yale '24 Anderson '24 CEIBS '24
GMAT 1: 470 Q27 V28
GMAT 2: 590 Q43 V28
GMAT 3: 600 Q39 V34
Products:
My Reviews
Schools: Columbia CBS '24 Darden '24 ESADE Fuqua '24 Haas '24 Harvard '24 Kellogg '24 LBS '24 Said '23 Sloan '24 Stanford '24 Wharton '24 Yale '24 Anderson '24 CEIBS '24
GMAT 3: 600 Q39 V34
Posts: 84
Kudos: 25
 [1]
Determining which animal on Earth is the largest depends on ones refe 25 May 2023, 01:06
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
chanhthang1802
(A) the blue whale’s body is incorrectly compared to the sperm whale itself
(B) "the blue whale’s body" is not quite parallel to "that of the sperm whale"
(C) same as (B)
(D) correct, this answer choice shows parallelism
(E) same as (B)
Show more

I think B should be the answer.
D doesn't make any sense when you look at the meaning

Posted from my mobile device
User avatar
chanhthang1802
User avatar
Joined: 17 Aug 2020
Last visit: 21 Jul 2025
Posts: 61
Own Kudos:
71
Given Kudos: 14
Location: Germany
GMAT 1: 760 Q50 V42
GPA: 3.49
Products:
My Reviews
GMAT 1: 760 Q50 V42
Posts: 61
Kudos: 71
Determining which animal on Earth is the largest depends on ones refe 25 May 2023, 01:21
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Afn24
chanhthang1802
(A) the blue whale’s body is incorrectly compared to the sperm whale itself
(B) "the blue whale’s body" is not quite parallel to "that of the sperm whale"
(C) same as (B)
(D) correct, this answer choice shows parallelism
(E) same as (B)

I think B should be the answer.
D doesn't make any sense when you look at the meaning

Posted from my mobile device
Show more

Oh I forgot about the meaning. Yes, the blue whale’s body should be compared to the sperm whale's, and the sperm whale’s brain should be compared to the blue whale's. So B is good.
User avatar
szcz
User avatar
Joined: 18 Nov 2022
Last visit: 01 Jan 2024
Posts: 131
Own Kudos:
173
 [1]
Given Kudos: 168
Location: India
GMAT 1: 700 Q50 V34
GMAT 2: 750 Q50 V41
GMAT 2: 750 Q50 V41
Posts: 131
Kudos: 173
 [1]
Determining which animal on Earth is the largest depends on ones refe 25 May 2023, 06:14
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
I have a question in this sentence. Doesnt the sentence " the blue whale's body is indeed larger than THAT of the sperm whale" imply that the "THAT" refers to the blue whale's body? A better way of writing the sentence would be "the body of the blue whale is indeed larger than that of the sperm whale" or "the blue whale's body is indeed larger than the sperm whale's".

I have seen this same logic being applied in official GMAT questions. Although I am unable to recollect which question that is now. Will update this thread once I do.
User avatar
chanhthang1802
User avatar
Joined: 17 Aug 2020
Last visit: 21 Jul 2025
Posts: 61
Own Kudos:
71
 [1]
Given Kudos: 14
Location: Germany
GMAT 1: 760 Q50 V42
GPA: 3.49
Products:
My Reviews
GMAT 1: 760 Q50 V42
Posts: 61
Kudos: 71
 [1]
Determining which animal on Earth is the largest depends on ones refe 25 May 2023, 06:38
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
szcz
I have seen this same logic being applied in official GMAT questions. Although I am unable to recollect which question that is now. Will update this thread once I do.
Show more

Yes, I also saw some similar questions before and it's like you said. It's the reason I eliminated this and choose option (D), which is obviously wrong on second read because it doesn't give the intended meaning.
User avatar
Bunuel
User avatar
Math Expert
Joined: 02 Sep 2009
Last visit: 19 Nov 2025
Posts: 105,389
Own Kudos:
778,279
Given Kudos: 99,977
Products:
GMAT Club Tests Forum Quiz
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 105,389
Kudos: 778,279
Determining which animal on Earth is the largest depends on ones refe 04 Jun 2023, 10:30
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Bunuel
Determining which animal on Earth is the largest depends on one’s reference point: while the blue whale’s body is indeed larger than the sperm whale, the sperm whale’s brain is actually larger than the blue whale.


A. the sperm whale, the sperm whale’s brain is actually larger than the blue whale

B. that of the sperm whale, the sperm whale’s brain is actually larger than that of the blue whale

C. that of the sperm whale, the sperm whale’s brain is actually larger than the blue whale

D. the sperm whale’s brain, the sperm whale’s body is actually larger than the blue whale’s brain

E. that of the sperm whale, the sperm whale’s brain nevertheless is larger than that of the blue whale



Show more


KAPLAN OFFICIAL EXPLANATION



(B)

Step 1: Read the Original Sentence Carefully, Looking for Errors

The underlined text both follows from and includes the comparison phrase “larger than,” so check that the two comparisons are both logical and in parallel form. The first comparison involves a body (the blue whale’s) and a whale (the sperm whale) and is thus illogical. The second comparison involves a brain (the sperm whale’s) and a whale (the blue whale)—another illogical comparison.

Step 2: Scan and Group the Answer Choices

There’s a 3-1-1 split here. (A) begins with “the sperm whale.” (B), (C), and (E) begin with “that of the sperm whale.” (D) begins with “the sperm whale’s brain.”

Step 3: Eliminate Choices Until Only One Remains

Eliminate (A) due to the illogical comparison identified in step 1, and since (D) introduces another illogical comparison—that is, between a body and a brain—eliminate that choice as well.

Now consider the remaining choices based on the sentence’s second comparison. (B) compares the sperm whale’s brain to “that [brain] of the blue whale”—a logical comparison. (C) compares the sperm whale’s brain to the blue whale, so eliminate this choice. (E) compares the sperm whale’s brain to “that [brain] of the blue whale” but introduces the word “nevertheless.” Since the author already uses the contrast key word “while,” the additional contrast key word “nevertheless” is unnecessary. Eliminate (E) and read (B) into the sentence to confirm it is correct:

Determining which animal on Earth is largest depends on one’s reference point: while the blue whale’s body is indeed larger than that of the sperm whale, the sperm whale’s brain is actually larger than that of the blue whale.
Moderators:
GMATNinja
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
7443 posts
GMATNinjaTwo
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
231 posts
miag
189 posts