Galileo was convinced that natural phenomena, as manifestations of the

Question

Galileo was convinced that natural phenomena, as manifestations of the laws of physics, would appear the same to someone on the deck of a ship moving smoothly and uniformly through the water as a person standing on land.

A. water as a

B. water as to a

C. water; just as it would to

D. water, as it would to the

E. water; just as to the

(A) water as a

(B) water as to a

(C) water; just as it would to

(D) water, as it would to the

(E) water; just as to the

egmat · Accepted Answer

Hi there,

Thank you for posting your question here.

"As" in this context doesn't show a role or a function, but presents a comparison. Note that in our concept file on "as", we include an explanation about the use of ellipsis. The part after "as" in this sentence is actually a clause, but the subject and verb have been left out because the comparison is logically clear without them. Without ellipsis, this is what the sentence would look like:

Galileo was convinced that natural phenomena, as manifestations of the laws of physics, would appear the same to someone on the deck of a ship moving smoothly and uniformly through the water as a person standing on land.

A. water as a

B. water as to a

C. water; just as it would to

D. water, as it would to the

E. water; just as to the

We don't need to repeat "natural phenomena would appear", because it's clear from the sentence that the comparison is between how natural phenomena would appear to someone on the deck of a ship and how they would appear to someone standing on land.

It's extremely interesting to see how option A  incorrectly  tries to use ellipsis. Without "to", the comparison becomes ambiguous. Now the comparison could mean either of the following:

1. Natural phenomena would appear the same to someone on the deck of a ship as natural phenomena would appear to a person standing on land. (Comparison between natural phenomena and natural phenomena)
2. Natural phenomena would appear the same to someone on the deck of a ship as a person standing on land would appear. (Comparison between natural phenomena and a person standing on land)

As you can tell, the second comparison is completely illogical. To clarify the meaning of the sentence and leave no ambiguity, "to" is necessary even when ellipsis is applied to this sentence.

I hope this helps to clarify your doubt!

Regards,
Meghna

user1M760 · Answer

I will go with the option B because the idiom used is "the same to X as to Y".

ExpertsGlobal5 · Answer

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Concepts tested here: Comparisons + Pronouns + Grammatical Construction + Idioms + Awkwardness/Redundancy

• A comparison must always be made between similar things.
• "same + as" is the correct, idiomatic construction.

A:  This answer choice incorrectly compares how natural phenomena would appear to someone on the deck of a ship moving smoothly and uniformly through the water to "a person standing on land"; remember, a comparison must always be made between similar things.

B:   Correct.  This answer choice avoids the pronoun error seen in Options C and D, as it uses no pronouns. Further, Option B correctly compares how natural phenomena would appear to someone on the deck of a ship moving smoothly and uniformly through the water with how natural phenomena would appear to a person standing on land. Additionally, Option B correctly uses the idiomatic construction "same + as". Besides, Option B is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.

C:  This answer choice incorrectly refers to the plural noun "phenomena" with the singular pronoun "it". Further, Option C incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction "same + semicolon + just + as"; remember, "same + as" is the correct, idiomatic construction. Additionally, Option C uses the needlessly wordy phrase "it would to", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

D:  This answer choice incorrectly refers to the plural noun "phenomena" with the singular pronoun "it". Further, Option D incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction "same + comma + as"; remember, "same + as" is the correct, idiomatic construction. Additionally, Option D uses the needlessly wordy phrase "it would to", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

E:  This answer choice incorrectly compares how natural phenomena would appear to someone on the deck of a ship moving smoothly and uniformly through the water to "the person standing on land"; remember, a comparison must always be made between similar things. Further, Option E incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction "same + semicolon + just + as"; remember, "same + as" is the correct, idiomatic construction.

Hence, B is the best answer choice.

All the best!
Experts' Global Team

scthakur · Answer

I will go for B.

C and D are out because of "it". E is out because of "just as".

SudiptoGmat · Answer

There is no doubt that B is the answer but don't you guys think that in D a do(appear) is missing ?

natural phenomena would appear the same to X as it (natural phenomena) would do (appear) to Y.

beat750 · Answer

D is wrong because the comma after water makes the comparison choppy and the "the person" is used in place of "a person". Completely different meanings.

vivesomnium · Answer

A compares manifestation to person, C and D use wrong pronoun, and E is wordy, also use of semi colon is wrong as the words after semicolon dont make a full sentence.

whamberto · Answer

I have chosen B for the answer:

A. This answer choice does not maintain parallelism with the comparison. The reason is because we are missing a "to."

You could look at the comparison like this:

Natural phenomena would appear the same:
- to someone on the deck of a ship moving smoothly and uniformly through the water   AS  
- to a someone (or person in this case) standing on land

B. This comparison is clear and maintains parallelism.

C. The semicolon creates a sentence fragment because we are left wondering where the other half of the comparison is. Also, the semicolon creates a break in logical meaning, but we want this to be continuous.

D. This answer does not maintain parallelism because of the addition of the word "would." I wasn't sure if the pronoun "it" was ambiguous, but this wasn't the deciding factor for me anyway.

E. Again, the semicolon creates a break in the comparison and it leaves the main clause as a fragment.

tejastalak · Answer

Why is  It  wrong in answer choice D,  it  clearly refers to  natural phenomena

stoy4o · Answer

Issue in D is subject verb agreement. Phenomena (plural) would appear to X as   IT   would to Y. Additionally, I feel that the comma is unnecessary.

Amit1408GMAThunk · Answer

This question tested Idioms and Intended Meaning in the sentence.

Option A: Changes the intended meaning of the sentence.

Option B: The correct Usage

Option C: You do not need a semi colon usage as it is straight forward Comparison between two people on different lands watching the same scenario

Option D: The article 'the' changes the meaning of the sentence.

Option E: Same as option C.

Hence the correct answer is B.

As per eGmat rules, always focus on the intended meaning of the sentence.

Thanks and regards,

GMATPill · Answer

Also in (D) - "water, as it would to the"

--the THE is a bit too specific when generally defining a law of physics. So the meaning is a bit too specific when using THE -- really you should be using A.

So in addition to the IT issue, we also have a THE issue. The presence of the word TO is correct, but the other issues make (D) wrong.

You may see our video explanation here:

https://www.gmatpill.com/sentencecorrection/og/q032.jpg

freakygeek · Answer

Hi Experts,

This is my understanding of the meaning of the sentence: 
galileo was convinced that natural phenomenon like the manifestations of laws of physics would appear same to someone sailing on the boat as to a person standing on the land.

Galileo  was  convinced   
- that  natural phenomenon , as manisfestations of the laws of physics,  would appear   same  to someone...ship moving smoothly and uniformly through the water  as  to a person standing on the land

I have highlighted subj-verb pairs in italics and parallel markers in bold.

I want to know what is the role of 'as' in 'natural phenomena, as manifestations of the laws of physics' ? Is it describing the role or is used for comparison ?

vinay240815 · Answer

Galileo was convinced that natural phenomena, as manifestations of the laws of physics, would appear the same to someone on the deck of a ship moving smoothly and uniformly through the water as a person standing on land.

A. water as a

B. water as to a

C. water; just as it would to

D. water, as it would to the

E. water; just as to the

ANS :

CHOICE A:

Incorrect:
The sentence has the parallelism and the idiom errors

CHOICE B:

Correct:
The two objects compared here “to someone” and “to a person” are now parallel to each other. This also rectifies the idiom error.

CHOICE C

Incorrect:
1) Semi-colon joins an Independent Clause with a Dependent Clause.
2) Singular pronoun “it” has been used to refer to plural noun “phenomena”.

CHOICE D

Incorrect:
This choice repeats the pronoun error spotted in Choice C.

CHOICE E

Incorrect:
Semicolon should be used to join two independent clause. Here, what follows semicolon is a fragment as it does not have a subject-verb pair.

hope this helps .

anuj4012 · Answer

In option D, can't we say that the two parts of the comparison used is " phenomena would appear the same to someone" and "as it would to the"
If yes, is the option D correct if "it" is replaced by "they"?

egmat · Answer

Hi Anuj, Thanks for posting your query here. :-)

In choice D, singular pronoun it has been used to refer to plural noun phenomena . Please note that the singular form of phenomena is phenomenon . Hope this helps. :-)

Thanks. Shraddha

EBITDA · Answer

Galileo was convinced that natural phenomena, as manifestations of the laws of physics, would appear the same to someone on the deck of a ship moving smoothly and uniformly through the water as a person standing on land.

A. water as a

B. water as to a

C. water; just as it would to

D. water, as it would to the

E. water; just as to the

A) water as a
 This means that someone is moving as a person standing on land, which makes no sense.
The comparison “would appear the same to someone… as   to   a” is not parallel. A “to” in the second part is missing. 
B) water as to a
C) water; just as it would to a
 The semi colon leaves the first sentence, which pretends to be a comparison, unfinished.
The pronoun “it” is singular, while the noun to which it refers “phenomena” is plural. 
D) water, as it would to the
 The comma breaks up the comparison.
The use of "the person" is not preferred to "a person".
The pronoun “it” is singular, while the noun to which it refers “phenomena” is plural. 
E) water; just as to the
 The semi colon leaves the first sentence, which pretends to be a comparison, unfinished.
The use of "the person" is not preferred to "a person".

Hero8888 · Answer

Just remember idiom: the  same   for  you  as   for  me. In this idiom any preposition can be used. Two parts have to be //.

EatMyDosa · Answer

Hi  egmat

I have two questions regarding your explanation above:

Can we say that there is  pronoun reference ambiguity  in option C/D -- "it" may also refer to ship or deck? Because the comparison would then be (keeping  ellipsis error  aside)

Galileo was convinced that natural phenomena, as manifestations of the laws of physics, would appear the same

-  to someone  on the deck of a ship moving smoothly and uniformly through the water

as ship (or deck) would appear

-  to a person  standing on land.

Do option C/D also have error w.r.t.  ellipsis  --- since my understanding is that we need to repeat the exact set of words that are dropped (as part of ellipsis) and option D/E fail to do so.

Galileo was convinced that natural phenomena, as manifestations of the

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Galileo was convinced that natural phenomena, as manifestations of the

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