Over a range of frequencies from 100 to 5,000 hertz, monkeys and marmo

Question

Over a range of frequencies from 100 to 5,000 hertz, monkeys and marmosets have a hearing sensitivity remarkably similar to humans , above which the sensitivity begins to differ.

(A) Over a range of frequencies from 100 to 5,000 hertz, monkeys and marmosets have a hearing sensitivity remarkably similar to humans

(B) Compared to humans, the hearing sensitivity of monkeys and marmosets are remarkably similar over a range of frequencies from 100 to 5,000 hertz

(C) Compared to humans over a range of frequencies from 100 to 5,000 hertz, the hearing sensitivity of monkeys and marmosets is remarkably similar

(D) The hearing sensitivity of monkeys and marmosets, when compared to humans over a range of frequencies from 100 to 5,000 hertz, is remarkably similar

(E) The hearing sensitivity of monkeys, marmosets, and humans is remarkably similar over a range of frequencies from 100 to 5,000 hertz

GMATNinja · Accepted Answer

(A) sounds pretty good! But it’s wrong, anyway.

For starters, the comparison is off: the phrase “monkeys and marmosets have a hearing sensitivity remarkably similar to humans…” literally compares “hearing sensitivity” to humans themselves. And that doesn’t make sense: we’d need to compare the hearing sensitivities of the various creatures.

Plus, the non-underlined portion, “above which the sensitivity begins to differ” should modify the “range of frequencies from 100 to 5,000 hertz.” Ideally, those two phrases should be next to each other, and they aren’t in (A).

So (A) is gone.

(B) has lots of tasty problems. The comparison is still wrong: “humans” themselves are being compared to “the hearing sensitivity” of monkeys and marmosets.

There’s also a nice subject-verb error: “the hearing sensitivity… ARE remarkably similar…” Nope, that’s bad.

We can eliminate (B), too.

We still have a clean comparison error here: “compared to humans… the hearing sensitivity of monkeys and marmosets…” Nope, that still compares humans themselves to the hearing sensitivity of these other creatures. Not cool.

(C) is out.

Once again, it doesn’t really make sense to compare “the hearing sensitivity” to humans themselves. Basically, (D) repeats the same mistake as the previous three answer choices.

Plus, I don’t really like the use of “when” in this situation: “when compared to” suggests that the hearing sensitivities are similar only  in the exact moment  when they’re being compared to each other – and that really doesn’t make sense. That’s subtle, but there are a few other official GMAT questions that misuse the word “when,” so I figure that the issue deserves a quick mention.

Finally, the modifier in the non-underlined portion (“above which the sensitivity begins to differ”) should ideally be placed right next to “the range of frequencies from 100 to 5,000 hertz”. And that’s not happening in (D).

So we have lots of reasons to eliminate (D).

This looks fine. The comparison is now clear at the beginning of the sentence: humans, monkeys, and marmosets all have similar hearing sensitivities. The non-underlined modifier (“above which the sensitivity begins to differ”) is right next to the thing it modifies (“a range of frequencies from 100 to 5,000 hertz”).

So (E) is our answer.

vvijay26 · Answer

Hi, Isn't there a subtle meaning change in option E? It seems that the comparison is between the hearing sensitivity of monkeys and marmosets with that of humans. But as E is worded, it seems to compare the hearing sensitivity of the 3 -> monkeys vs. marmosets vs. humans. For example, we could infer the meaning that above 5kHz, the hearing sensitivity of monkeys and marmosets starts to differ, whereas it seems to me thats not what the original intent (Monkeys/Marmosets hearing vs. Hearing of humans) was. 
Please help clarify.

daagh · Answer

Can we count sensitivity as one sensitivity, two sensitivities, and three sensitivities? Can we say that we have two sensitivities, one in the morning and another in the evening? Sensitivity is the generic name given to the kind of general feeling that emanates within us. It is similar to hunger, appetite or anger and we do not say we have hungers, appetites, or angers.

daagh · Answer

The core idea of the passage is to bring out the levels of haring sensitivity among three types of organisms, say A, B, and C and not to compare the sensitivity of A and B on one hand with C on the other. That the sensitivity of the all three happens to be similar up to 5000 Hertz is stated to highlight the difference among the three beyond that range.

This is the essence of the passage from top to bottom and in all the choices and so, there is no need to read in - between - the - lines that E distorts the original intent.

The choice of the correct answer is made easy here because the first four choices are popping up a visible goof-up

Over a range of frequencies from 100 to 5,000 hertz, monkeys and marmosets have a hearing sensitivity remarkably similar to humans , above which the sensitivity begins to differ.

(A) Over a range of frequencies from 100 to 5,000 hertz, monkeys and marmosets have a hearing  sensitivity remarkably similar to humans  --  illegal comparison between sensitivity and humans. 
 
(B)  Compared to humans, the hearing sensitivity  of monkeys and marmosets are remarkably similar over a range of frequencies from 100 to 5,000 hertz --  illegal comparison
 
(C)  Compared to humans  over a range of frequencies from 100 to 5,000 hertz,  the hearing sensitivity  of monkeys and marmosets is remarkably similar --  illegal comparison
 
(D)  The hearing sensitivity  of monkeys and marmosets,  when compared to humans  over a range of frequencies from 100 to 5,000 hertz, is remarkably similar--  Illegal comparison 
 
(E) The hearing sensitivity of monkeys, marmosets, and humans is remarkably similar over a range of frequencies from 100 to 5,000 hertz--  This choice cleverly avoids the comparison altogether.

09173140521 · Answer

quick solving = 
"Compared to" and "similar" is redundancy hence  B D E  out .
between A and E

(E) The hearing sensitivity of monkeys, marmosets, and humans is remarkably similar over a range of frequencies from 100 to 5,000  hertz ,  above which  the sensitivity begins to differ.  correct   1= "which" correctly modify hertz .    2= correct comparison

(A)Over a range of frequencies from 100 to 5,000 hertz,  monkeys and marmosets have a hearing sensitivity remarkably   similar to humans , above which the sensitivity begins to differ. =  1= INCORRECT use of "which" 2= incorrect comparison as I COLORED !

Tracy95 · Answer

Before "above which" there must be the frequencies => strike out A, C, D

(B)  Compared to humans, the hearing sensitivity of monkeys and marmosets  are remarkably similar over a range of frequencies from 100 to 5,000 hertz
=> Mistake in parallelism when comparing humans with hearing sensitivity

So E is correct!

minalgambhir · Answer

ERROR ANALYSIS -

1) 'which' is a relative pronoun which must be preceeded by the thing it describes - here 100-5000 Hz

ANSWER CHOICE ANALYSIS -

A) 'which' is a relative pronoun which must be preceeded by the thing it describes - here 100-5000 Hz
B) Here S-V does not agree in number - use of 'are' is incorrect
C) 'which' is a relative pronoun which must be preceeded by the thing it describes - here 100-5000 Hz
D)'which' is a relative pronoun which must be preceeded by the thing it describes - here 100-5000 Hz
E) CORRECT

Jainam24 · Answer

I eliminated A on the basis that the Over a range of frequencies from 100 to 5,000 hertz was wrongly modifying monkeys. It should be modifying the hearing sensitivity. I'm curious to know whether my basis for elimination is correct or not.  GMATNinja   GMATNinja Two  gmatexam439   VeritasKarishma   chetan2u   mikemcgarry  and all the experts and anyone who knows about this, would love to have your take on this. Thanks

thangvietnam · Answer

I choose e but there is a problem
we can say that 2 things begin to differ. we can not say a thing begins to differ. so, we need plural form for choice e

KarishmaB · Answer

"over a range ..." is not modifying the noun "the hearing sensitivity". It is modifying "similar" (an adjective). 
Over what range/when is it similar? Over a range of frequencies from 100 to 5,000 hertz. It acts as an adverbial modifier. Hence, even if we place it at the beginning of the sentence, there is no problem.

For example,
Over the past 10 years, the company has seen rising profits.

mohitwadhwa28 · Answer

GMATNinja   KarishmaB

I too have the similar doubt as Vvijay26. Could you please clarify this?

ExpertsGlobal5 · Answer

Hello  mohitwadhwa28 ,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, since the comparison here is meant to denote sameness among the three elements, both comparison construction convey the same meaning.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team

GMATNinja · Answer

It sounds like you might be using choice (A) to determine the "original intent"? If so, that's not what you want to do. There's nothing special about choice (A), and we certainly are not required to stick to the meaning expressed in choice (A). As described in this post , (A) has to go, so we can forget about it and any meaning that it implies.

ExpertsGlobal5 · Answer

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem: 
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of this sentence is that the hearing sensitivity of monkeys, marmosets, and humans is remarkably similar over a range of frequencies from 100 to 5,000 hertz, and above this range, the sensitivity begins to differ.

Concepts tested here: Subject-Verb Agreement + Meaning + Modifiers + Comparisons 
• A comparison can only be made between similar things.
• "who/whose/whom/which/where", when preceded by a comma, refer to the noun just before the comma.

A: 
1/ This answer choice incorrectly modifies "humans" with the phrase "above which the sensitivity begins to differ", illogically implying that the hearing sensitivity of monkeys, marmosets, and humans begins to differ above   humans  ; the intended meaning is that the hearing sensitivity of monkeys, marmosets, and humans begins to differ above   the range of frequencies from 100 to 5,000 hertz  ; remember, "who/whose/whom/which/where", when preceded by a comma, refer to the noun just before the comma.
2/ Option A incorrectly compares "a hearing sensitivity" to "humans"; remember, a comparison can only be made between similar things.

B:  
1/ This answer choice incorrectly refers to the singular noun "the hearing sensitivity" with the plural verb 'are".
2/ Option B incorrectly compares "a hearing sensitivity" to "humans"; remember, a comparison can only be made between similar things.

C: 
1/ This answer choice incorrectly compares "a hearing sensitivity" to "humans"; remember, a comparison can only be made between similar things.

D: 
1/ This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "when compared to humans"; the use of "when" incorrectly implies that the hearing sensitivity of monkeys and marmosets is remarkably similar,   at the point in time when   compared to humans over a range of frequencies from 100 to 5,000 hertz; the intended meaning is that the hearing sensitivity of monkeys, marmosets, and humans is,   as a matter of fact  , remarkably similar over a range of frequencies from 100 to 5,000 hertz. 
2/ Option D incorrectly compares "hearing sensitivity of monkeys and marmosets" to "humans"; remember, a comparison can only be made between similar things.

E:   Correct. 
1/ This answer choice correctly refers to the singular noun "The hearing sensitivity" with the singular verb "is".
2/ Option E uses the phrase "is remarkably similar over a range of frequencies from 100 to 5,000 hertz" and correctly refers to "100 to 5,000 hertz" with the phrase "above which the sensitivity begins to differ", conveying the intended meaning - that the hearing sensitivity of monkeys, marmosets, and humans is,   as a matter of fact  , remarkably similar over a range of frequencies from 100 to 5,000 hertz, and above   this range   the sensitivity begins to differ.
3/ Option E correctly compares the hearing sensitivity of monkeys with that of marmosets and of humans.

Hence, E is the best answer choice.

To understand the concept of "Which", "Who", "Whose", and "Where" on GMAT you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMYpyHDVVOo

All the best!
Experts' Global Team

raahulthakur · Answer

Hi  mohitwadhwa28   vvijay26 , taking a  wild  guess here but if the sentence says that the hearing sensitivity of Monkeys and Marmosets is similar to the hearing sensitivity of humans, then doesn't this mean that the hearing sensitivity of all three is similar within that range?
Think about it this way,  the hearing sensitivity of Monkeys and the hearing sensitivity of Marmosets are similar (these two are similar to) to the hearing sensitivity of humans => All three are similar

We can't have one hearing sensitivity for Monkeys and Marmosets .

Another way,  which is extremely and totally unrelated , is A & B = C -> A = C and B = C, so we can write A, B, and C are equal (Choice E mentions this).

I could be totally wrong but just wanted to simplify the logic behind saying all three are similar.

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Over a range of frequencies from 100 to 5,000 hertz, monkeys and marmo

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