Balding is much more common among White males than males of other race

Question

Balding is much more common among White males  than  males of other races.

(A) than
(B) than among
(C) than is so of
(D) compared to
(E) in comparison with

B, the best choice, correctly uses the idiomatic construction more common among x than among y. In A, the
comparison is not parallel and not clear; one illogical but available reading is that balding is more common
among White males than are males of other races. To be clear, the sentence should read more common
among White males than among .... In C, the phrase is so cannot refer to the process Balding, and more
common among ... than is so lacks parallelism. In D and E, the phrases more common... compared to and
more common ... in comparison with are redundant and unidiomatic. The correct form is more common
than.

CrackverbalGMAT · Accepted Answer

These questions are a good way to understand how GMAT plays around with  parallel structures .

This question can be a little tricky. But if you pay close attention to the question, you’ll see that what is given does not make a lot of sense. It compares ‘balding’ with ‘males’ and seems to suggest that ‘males’ are not that common among White males!

So let’s look at the options one-by-one:

(A) than 
 Wrongly compares ‘balding’ with ‘males’.   Eliminate.

(B) than among
 This is the correct parallel structure and it resolve the comparison error.   This is the best choice.

(C) than is so of
 This is awkward. Substitute it back into the question to check.   White males than is so of males of .  Eliminate.

(D) compared to
 This does not fit into the parallel structure that is given. Similar to A, this compares different things and is logically incorrect.   Eliminate.
 
(E) in comparison with
 This option does not fit into the parallel structure of the question.   Eliminate.

Hope this helps!

gmatwarrior · Answer

156. Balding is much more common among White males than males of other races.

(A) than
(B) than among
(C) than is so of
(D) compared to
(E) in comparison with

A - than does not seem correct due to presence of among

B - seems correct as among is required otherwise we can not use among to compare between two things or items

C - awkard and does not make sense

D - compared to is unidiomatic
E - does not parallel with the given sentence

Hope this helps and I am correct !

nsp007 · Answer

I think it's B.

Balding is much   more common among   White males   than among   males of other races.

Indien · Answer

Yeah B in order to compare males with males. The original compares balding to males.
Hopefully the OA is not D.

gladiator999 · Answer

Nice and Tricky one. This one belongs to the category of parellelism .
Correct Answer Is B . Maintain the parellel structure of the sentence by keeping among with than.

onedayill · Answer

In A

--> Occurrence of Balding among white males 
--> males of other races..

Occurrence of Balding among white males is compared with males

B sets the comparison right both grammtically and logically

Taulark1 · Answer

egmat , could you please help me on this one!

, Why is option A wrong ? According to my reasoning - If we say for example - 'Bob is more handsome than Jack' It can only be interpreted in 1 way , i.e 'Bob is more handsome than Jack' and the other way is wrong since it doesn't make sense to say - 'Bob is more handsome than Bob is more Jack'. Similarly in option A- Balding is much more common among White males than males of other races. If we interpret - Balding is more common among white males than males of other races are common among white males , then it doesn't make sense? The correct interpretation is - Balding is much more common among White males than males of other races. . (Isn't ellipses at play here? ) I suppose why option B is the correct answer is because the use of 'among' after 'than' maintains parallelism? I don't think theres any ambiguity in the first place.. Also , when the comparison is clear, isn't repeating the helping verb/preposition optional ? Would appreciate your help on this one!

brianmontanaweb · Answer

A, C, D and E don't maintain parallelism of "among white males" "among males of other races"

B is correct for maintaining parallelism

AbhishekDhanraJ72 · Answer

I see no ambiguity without among.I didn't see any wrong comparison with option A. I felt option A is right. I know that when there is preposition in comparison we need to repeat the preposition or verb to remove ambiguity.For example: I am into videogames more than girls. Here sentence can have two meaning. One is I am more into videogames than girls are into videogames. Second is I am more into videogames than into girls(kind of less interested in girls). But in this question i think there is no ambiguity. Please some experts clear my doubt. And let me see how this question is wrongly compared with white males and males of other races.

Posted from my mobile device

Posted from my mobile device

Taulark1 · Answer

Yes there is no ambiguity , its just that option B is better since it maintains paralellism and GMAT prefers parallel elements a lot.
If there was no option B , then A would have been right.

AbhishekDhanraJ72 · Answer

I crossed B because I thought it will be redundant to write among again, if there is no ambiguity. Some experts please guide me here.

Sachinpri · Answer

A-Balding is much more common among White males  than  males of other races
Sentence can have two meanings-Balding is more common among White males than among males of other races OR In white males, males of other races are less common than balding-A is out because of ambiguity

B-Balding is much more common among White males  than among  males of other races
B solves the ambiguity problem of A

C-Balding is much more common among White males  than is so of  males of other races
Balding is...among A  than  is so of B; among and is so are not //.

D-Balding is much more common among White males  compared to  males of other races
compared to is used on its own without more or less,For eg : Sales were 60,000 compared to 30,000 last year.

E-same as D

Tanchat · Answer

Dear experts,

Why is (A) wrong?
We cannot compare Balding and males. Thus, it can convey correct meaning even there is no "among".

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

Yes, the (A) version is not clearly incorrect, and probably, in another question, the (A) version could be considered the best one.

This is an old SC question from a time when the quality of the questions was lower than the quality of today's SC questions.

GMACOG · Answer

Hello  GMATNinja  &  GMATNinja Two,
Please tell why Opt D and E aren't correct.

I was confused between D and E and end up marking D.
Only to realise the ground slipping under my feet.

Thanks

GMATNinja · Answer

Here's an example where "compared to" might work:

"Compared to Iowa, Nebraska is a very exciting place."

We're not saying that Nebraska is, in a vacuum, a very exciting place. Instead, we're saying that Nebraska is very exciting RELATIVE to Iowa. In other words, Nebraska is very exciting ONLY WHEN compared to Iowa. That makes sense, and this sentence is fine.

"Nebraska is more exciting than Iowa."

This simple "more/than" comparison is also fine.

"Compared to Iowa, Nebraska is more exciting."

This isn't great. Like the first example above, this one seems to suggest that the main clause is only true when compared to Iowa. So Nebraska is  more  exciting ONLY WHEN compared to Iowa? That doesn't work because saying, "Nebraska is more exciting" doesn't mean anything unless we add a "than" part. This sentence leaves us wondering, "Nebraska is more exciting  than what , compared to Iowa?

(D) and (E) have a similar issue. They leave the reader wondering, "Balding is more common  than what  compared to males of other races?"

That's an awfully subtle point, and this question is very old. So don't pull your hair out worrying about this one!

VerbalBot · Answer

Hello from the GMAT Club VerbalBot!

Thanks to another GMAT Club member, I have just discovered this valuable topic, yet it had no discussion for over a year. I am now bumping it up - doing my job. I think you may find it valuable (esp those replies with Kudos).

Want to see all other topics I dig out? Follow me (click follow button on profile). You will receive a summary of all topics I bump in your profile area as well as via email.

Balding is much more common among White males than males of other race

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

Balding is much more common among White males than males of other race

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards