In archaeology, there must be a balance between explanation of the val

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Concepts tested here:Parallelism + Idioms

• All elements in a list must be parallel.
• “between” is used for comparing two elements, and “among” is used for comparing more than two elements.

A: This answer choice fails to maintain parallelism among “explanation…archaeology”, “revealing…cultures”, and “to promote…sites”; please remember, all elements in a list must be parallel. Further, Option A incorrectly uses “between” rather than “among” to compare more than two elements; please remember, “between” is used for comparing two elements, and “among” is used for comparing more than two elements.

B: Correct. This answer choice maintains parallelism among “explaining the value…archaeology”, “revealing the mysteries…cultures”, and “promoting…sites”. Further, Option B correctly uses “among” to compare more than two elements.

C: This answer choice fails to maintain parallelism among “explaining…archaeology”, “revealing…cultures”, and “when promoting…sites”; please remember, all elements in a list must be parallel. Further, Option C incorrectly uses “between” rather than “among” to compare more than two elements; please remember, “between” is used for comparing two elements, and “among” is used for comparing more than two elements.

D: This answer choice fails to maintain parallelism among “explaining…archaeology”, “the revelation of…cultures”, and “to promote…sites”; please remember, all elements in a list must be parallel.

E: This answer choice fails to maintain parallelism among “explaining…archaeology”, “in the revealing…cultures”, and “in promoting…sites”; please remember, all elements in a list must be parallel. Further, Option E incorrectly uses “between” rather than “among” to compare more than two elements; please remember, “between” is used for comparing two elements, and “among” is used for comparing more than two elements.

Hence, B is the best answer choice.

To understand the concept of "Between" vs "Among" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):



All the best!
Experts' Global Team

B

if 2 use between if more than two use among

1. Use among when comparing three or more items.
2. Maintain parallelism.

B for me

This SC is based on a specific style issue and parallelism:

1) "Between" vs. "Among": the word "between" applies to 2 ideas; "among" applies to 3 or more. Here, we have a list of 3 items, so the word "among" is correct. Eliminate A, C and E

2) A 3-item List requires parallel items (in the same format). B uses 3 "-ing" verbs; D uses 1 "-ing" verb, 1 noun and 1 infinitive verb. Eliminate D.

Final Answer: B

Balance by its own virtue is between two objects/subjects - balance is not generally something you seek among three areas.
Can someone please help explain this?

Given balance was provided in the non-underlined portion, it seemed obvious to choose the options with between and ignore the ones with among

As noted by other users, we want to use "between" for two items and "among" for three or more items. Sure, "balance" is often used to describe two objects. But you can certainly have more than two things in balance, either physically or figuratively.

For example:


I hope that helps a bit!

Hi GMATNinja,

Could you please confirm something for me?

Is "the value and workings of archaeology" in the sentence a single noun entity, and is this confirmed by the usage of the denfinite article "the"?

When I first saw this question, I just saw the 'between X and Y ' structure and started solving the question, considering "revealing the mysteries of past and present cultures" as a modifier of "archeology"

Is there a way to figure when we have a list of 3 items vs. a list of 2 items (where the first item is being modified)

Hi PRNDL, even if you thought that was the case, "revealing the mysteries of past and present cultures" would not modify "archeology"; such participial phrases (towards the end of a clause preceded by a comma) modify the subject of the preceding clause.


afaik, only the intended meaning of the sentence can conclusively help you figure this out. However, even if you thought that there are only two items in the list, hopefully you should then be in a position to conclude that in options A, C, and E (all of which use between that indicates that there are only two elements in the list), these two items are not parallel.

EducationAisle

Why does the "the value and workings of archaeology" need not be parallel in the correct option?
Does the usaage of article "the" signifies anything here?

(B) among explaining the value and workings of archaeology, revealing the mysteries of past and present cultures, and promoting

Could you please help explain?

Of course they need to be parallel and they are Vegita - value and workings are both nouns.

"The" is used with plural nouns when you want to specify EXACTLY which nouns you are talking about.

Consider these examples:

1) Tim loves to devour khachapuri and khinkali.

2) Tim loves to devour the khachapuri and khinkali served at Pirosmani Restaurant.

In example 2), Tim still loves to devour two separate things: khachapuri and khinkali. "The" is just used to show exactly WHICH khachapuri and khinkali Tim enjoys -- the ones from a specific restaurant. (If you like grammar jargon, "the" is called a definite article -- it limits the meaning of a noun to one particular thing).

Back to the official example: "the" tells us exactly WHICH "value" and "workings" the author cares about: those "of archeology."

So, "the" doesn't imply that the noun is a single entity. Instead, it just limits the meaning of the two nouns a bit.

I hope that helps!

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