Kate San's study, published in Nature, shows that the

Question

Kate San's study, published in Nature, shows that the ancients lined up the pyramids with two stars whose alignment was only true around 4,500 years ago, which makes it possible to improve the margin of error in the archaeological chronology of ancient Egypt, from plus or minus 100 years to only five years, which makes it possible to pinpoint what people probably think was the start  of construction of Khufu's Great Pyramid at Giza to around the year 2467 BC.

A) which makes it possible to improve the margin of error in the archaeological chronology of ancient Egypt, from plus or minus 100 years to only five years, which makes it possible to pinpoint what people probably think was the start

B) which makes it impossible to stick to the margin of error in the archaeological chronology of ancient Egypt, which was plus or minus 100 years in favor of one which is only five years, pinpointing the probable start

C) suggesting that the margin of error for the archaeological chronology of ancient Egypt is no longer plus or minus 100 years, but rather only five years, which suggests the possibility of pinpointing the probable start

D) making improvements in the margin of error in the archaeological chronology of ancient Egypt, from plus or minus 100 years to only five years, pinpointing the probable start

E) making it possible to improve the margin of error in the archaeological chronology of ancient Egypt, from plus or minus 100 years to only five years, pinpointing the probable start

Source: 800score.com

vyassaptarashi · Accepted Answer

= E

Option A and B has modifier "Which". which modifies the noun just before "which". Hence in this case which is modifying "4500 years ago" hence wrong

In Option C "margin of error  for  the archaeological chronology " is wrongly worded .... instead of for there must be "in" 
Also, "rather only five years,  which  suggests the possibility of pinpointing".....which is modifying five years, that is sense less

Option D is changing the meaning of the original sentence. According to the sentence it is possible to improve the margin in chronology, .... possible but not definite 
by removing the word POSSIBLE in option D ..it suggests that it definite to improve .... hence alter intent and wrong

Option E .... both the clauses are starting with -ing ..hence correctly modifying previous clause .... correct FROM X TO Y idiom ....also shows possibility of the event ....hence correct.

gmatfighter12 · Answer

I wonder what is the source. I was lost half way reading the question, let alone making a grammatically correct choice.

vibhav · Answer

E. was confused between C & E . eliminated all the others because which after 4500yrs was not appropriate (reasons stated in previous posts). In C again the usage of which was not appropriate. As a general rule which must modify the noun immediately preceding it and the whole clause.

vibhav · Answer

must say was a long question stem, took an insane 4.5mins to mark my ans!

narangvaibhav · Answer

Thanks Nice explanation.. really helps

devpanda · Answer

Nice explanation...
could eliminate easily a,b ...took time for c and guessed with e.....

dexerash · Answer

Got confused between C and E. Finally eliminated C because of the present tense present.

Aki · Answer

Wow, this one was pretty long.

Drilled it down to C and E. Then just gave up at 2 min and selected C.

I understood the explanation mentioned above. But, can't we just simply say that using the word "suggesting" changed the meaning of the sentence and hence, we should discard C?

Edit: Sorry, my bad. devpanda already said that. This question really exhausted me

pavanpuneet · Answer

I get confused with the options when option mentions .. "it"..what does it refer to in statement E?

OldFritz · Answer

+1 for E.

"Which" cannot entire modify clauses. But present particles aka Verb-ing can.

Cheers,
Der alte Fritz.

thevenus · Answer

+1 for (E)
The original sentence is incorrect because WHICH after 4500 YEARS is not modifying the STUDY.
POE works,(C) has ...BUT RATHER.. which looked awkward.
(D)vs(E), WHICH in the second sentence is the determining factors, so (E) wins.

anshunadir · Answer

I have seen lots of such long SC questions appearing in Real GMAT exam and they are 
1) really very time consuming
2) difficult to interpret the meaning
3) force to re-read the original sentence (with different options) again and again.

Is there a quick way/Trick to solve such long questions ?

hamm0 · Answer

Long sentences can be challenging. One trick to help eliminate answers is to go through the possible answers noting the differences (splits). This will help you eliminate a few of the answers, leaving (usually) 2 or 3 potential solutions. Check out this post from MGMAT's blog: https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... n-problem/

thevenus · Answer

Break them into fragments, look for SV pairs, Modifiers, check out ICs. etc... e-gmat methods will suit you.

OldFritz · Answer

I agree! The longer sentences are, the better the odds of finding something (grammar, syntax, modifier) wrong with them. I say, the longer they come, the more easily they fall...

pavanpaone · Answer

Kate San's study, published in Nature, shows that the ancients lined up the pyramids with two stars whose alignment was only true around 4,500 years ago, which makes it possible to improve the margin of error in the archaeological chronology of ancient Egypt, from plus or minus 100 years to only five years, which makes it possible to pinpoint what people probably think was the start  of construction of Khufu's Great Pyramid at Giza to around the year 2467 BC.

A) which makes it possible to improve the margin of error in the archaeological chronology of ancient Egypt, from plus or minus 100 years to only five years, which makes it possible to pinpoint what people probably think was the start  First "which" modifying 4500 years instead of alignment

B) which makes it impossible to stick to the margin of error in the archaeological chronology of ancient Egypt, which was plus or minus 100 years in favor of one which is only five years, pinpointing the probable start  same error as "A" and distorted meaning

C) suggesting that the margin of error for the archaeological chronology of ancient Egypt is no longer plus or minus 100 years, but rather only five years, which suggests the possibility of pinpointing the probable start  usage of rather is wrong it should be "rather than" and tense "suggesting" is incorrect it should be suggested

D) making improvements in the margin of error in the archaeological chronology of ancient Egypt, from plus or minus 100 years to only five years, pinpointing the probable start  "making improvements " wrongly suggesting that that study itself making improvements which distorts the meaning of the sentence

E) making it possible to improve the margin of error in the archaeological chronology of ancient Egypt, from plus or minus 100 years to only five years, pinpointing the probable start  clarity in meaning and parallelism in maintained

Please explain.

katelyntanglu · Answer

Can someone please provide the SOURCE or a screenshot of the question?

E) making it possible to improve the margin of error in the archaeological chronology of ancient Egypt, from plus or minus 100 years to only five years,  (AND?)  pinpointing the probable start

I don't quite understand why there is no  AND  between these two "comma +doing" sentences?
Is that allowed in Gmat exam?

Thanks in advance.

nks2611 · Answer

hey , happy to respond see first thing you when you comma+and then the sentence must be IC after comma+and ,means you can only join two ICs with comma+and , so there will be not and before 2nd modifier . hope its clear . hit kudos if you liked it . :-D

katelyntanglu · Answer

Ummmm, yep, these two sentences starting with "ing" are  both IC  and they are both modifying the main clause, and that's why I think we need a " AND " here.

Hope I don't miss sth. And I still dont understand why E is correct. Can someone explain it?
Thx.

Kate San's study, published in Nature, shows that the

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