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Researchers hypothesize that granitic soil is the ideal construction
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08 May 2006, 12:36
08 May 2006, 12:36
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Researchers hypothesize that granitic soil is the ideal construction material for the desert tortoise because it is not so hard that it makes burrowing difficult or so soft that it could cause tunnels to collapse.
(A) so hard that it makes burrowing difficult or so soft that it could cause
(B) hard enough to make burrowing difficult or soft enough as to cause
(C) so hard as to make burrowing difficult or soft enough so it causes
(D) as hard as to make burrowing difficult or as soft as to cause
(E) too hard, making burrowing difficult, nor too soft, so as to cause
(A) so hard that it makes burrowing difficult or so soft that it could cause
(B) hard enough to make burrowing difficult or soft enough as to cause
(C) so hard as to make burrowing difficult or soft enough so it causes
(D) as hard as to make burrowing difficult or as soft as to cause
(E) too hard, making burrowing difficult, nor too soft, so as to cause
Show Spoilernytimes article
https://www.nytimes.com/1996/05/14/science/tortoises-get-some-unusual-help-from-the-military-s-spy-satellites.html
Mr. Ahmann hypothesized that granitic soil was ideal for a tortoise because it was not too hard, which could make burrowing difficult, or too soft, which could cause tunnels to collapse. He said dirt high in calcium was frequently too hard and collected water.
Mr. Ahmann hypothesized that granitic soil was ideal for a tortoise because it was not too hard, which could make burrowing difficult, or too soft, which could cause tunnels to collapse. He said dirt high in calcium was frequently too hard and collected water.
EMPOWERgmat Instructor
Joined: 23 Feb 2015
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Re: Researchers hypothesize that granitic soil is the ideal construction
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10 Jul 2019, 13:23
10 Jul 2019, 13:23
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Expert Reply
Hello Everyone!
While I've seen some good discussion here, it seems like this question is pretty challenging for everyone! Let's take a closer look at it to figure out how to best answer this difficult SC question!
Researchers hypothesize that granitic soil is the ideal construction material for the desert tortoise because it is not so hard that it makes burrowing difficult or so soft that it could cause tunnels to collapse.
(A) so hard that it makes burrowing difficult or so soft that it could cause
(B) hard enough to make burrowing difficult or soft enough as to cause
(C) so hard as to make burrowing difficult or soft enough so it causes
(D) as hard as to make burrowing difficult or as soft as to cause
(E) too hard, making burrowing difficult, nor too soft, so as to cause
After a quick scan over the options, there are a few things we can focus on to narrow down our choices:
1. so hard / hard enough / as hard / too hard
2. that it makes / to make / as to make / making
3. so soft / soft enough / as soft as / nor too soft
4. that it could cause / as to cause / so it causes
With so many things to choose from, where do we start? There aren’t any “either/or” options to choose from, so we need to look at the bigger picture to determine what type of issue we’re dealing with:
Researchers hypothesize that granitic soil is the ideal construction material for the desert tortoise because it is not so hard that it makes burrowing difficult or so soft that it could cause tunnels to collapse.
We are trying to determine how to word two different phrases, so it’s most likely what we’re dealing with here is PARALLELISM! We need to make sure both phrases are worded similarly so they “flow” together nicely.
Let’s take a close look at each option to determine which ones use parallel structure. To make the parallelism issues easier to spot, let’s add the non-underlined portion from the end of the sentence:
(A) so hard that it makes burrowing difficult or so soft that it could cause tunnels to collapse
This is OKAY for now because both phrases are written using parallel structure, so let’s save this one for later.
(B) hard enough to make burrowing difficult or soft enough as to cause tunnels to collapse
This is INCORRECT because it’s not parallel. If it had said “soft enough to cause,” then it would be parallel.
(C) so hard as to make burrowing difficult or soft enough so it causes tunnels to collapse
This is also INCORRECT because it’s not parallel. The beginnings of both phrases are clearly worded differently.
(D) as hard as to make burrowing difficult or as soft as to cause tunnels to collapse
This is OKAY for now because both phrases are written using parallel structure, so let’s save this one for later.
(E) too hard, making burrowing difficult, nor too soft, so as to cause tunnels to collapse
This is INCORRECT because “making” and “so as to cause” are not parallel.
We can eliminate options B, C, and E because they do not use parallel structure for both phrases. Now that we have it narrowed down to only 2 options, let’s take a closer look to see if we can find any other problems:
(A) so hard that it makes burrowing difficult or so soft that it could cause tunnels to collapse
This option is CORRECT! It is written using parallel structure, and there are no other problems we can find!
(D) as hard as to make burrowing difficult or as soft as to cause tunnels to collapse
This is INCORRECT because the sentence uses the phrases “as soft as” and “as hard as” incorrectly. Whenever you see “as X as” in a sentence, the word immediately after it MUST be a noun. In this case, there is a verb after each one, which is not grammatically correct.
There you have it – option A was the correct choice all along! It uses parallel structure and doesn’t contain any idiomatic problems!
I hope this helps!
While I've seen some good discussion here, it seems like this question is pretty challenging for everyone! Let's take a closer look at it to figure out how to best answer this difficult SC question!
Researchers hypothesize that granitic soil is the ideal construction material for the desert tortoise because it is not so hard that it makes burrowing difficult or so soft that it could cause tunnels to collapse.
(A) so hard that it makes burrowing difficult or so soft that it could cause
(B) hard enough to make burrowing difficult or soft enough as to cause
(C) so hard as to make burrowing difficult or soft enough so it causes
(D) as hard as to make burrowing difficult or as soft as to cause
(E) too hard, making burrowing difficult, nor too soft, so as to cause
After a quick scan over the options, there are a few things we can focus on to narrow down our choices:
1. so hard / hard enough / as hard / too hard
2. that it makes / to make / as to make / making
3. so soft / soft enough / as soft as / nor too soft
4. that it could cause / as to cause / so it causes
With so many things to choose from, where do we start? There aren’t any “either/or” options to choose from, so we need to look at the bigger picture to determine what type of issue we’re dealing with:
Researchers hypothesize that granitic soil is the ideal construction material for the desert tortoise because it is not so hard that it makes burrowing difficult or so soft that it could cause tunnels to collapse.
We are trying to determine how to word two different phrases, so it’s most likely what we’re dealing with here is PARALLELISM! We need to make sure both phrases are worded similarly so they “flow” together nicely.
Let’s take a close look at each option to determine which ones use parallel structure. To make the parallelism issues easier to spot, let’s add the non-underlined portion from the end of the sentence:
(A) so hard that it makes burrowing difficult or so soft that it could cause tunnels to collapse
This is OKAY for now because both phrases are written using parallel structure, so let’s save this one for later.
(B) hard enough to make burrowing difficult or soft enough as to cause tunnels to collapse
This is INCORRECT because it’s not parallel. If it had said “soft enough to cause,” then it would be parallel.
(C) so hard as to make burrowing difficult or soft enough so it causes tunnels to collapse
This is also INCORRECT because it’s not parallel. The beginnings of both phrases are clearly worded differently.
(D) as hard as to make burrowing difficult or as soft as to cause tunnels to collapse
This is OKAY for now because both phrases are written using parallel structure, so let’s save this one for later.
(E) too hard, making burrowing difficult, nor too soft, so as to cause tunnels to collapse
This is INCORRECT because “making” and “so as to cause” are not parallel.
We can eliminate options B, C, and E because they do not use parallel structure for both phrases. Now that we have it narrowed down to only 2 options, let’s take a closer look to see if we can find any other problems:
(A) so hard that it makes burrowing difficult or so soft that it could cause tunnels to collapse
This option is CORRECT! It is written using parallel structure, and there are no other problems we can find!
(D) as hard as to make burrowing difficult or as soft as to cause tunnels to collapse
This is INCORRECT because the sentence uses the phrases “as soft as” and “as hard as” incorrectly. Whenever you see “as X as” in a sentence, the word immediately after it MUST be a noun. In this case, there is a verb after each one, which is not grammatically correct.
There you have it – option A was the correct choice all along! It uses parallel structure and doesn’t contain any idiomatic problems!
I hope this helps!
Re: Researchers hypothesize that granitic soil is the ideal construction
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03 Feb 2014, 05:31
03 Feb 2014, 05:31
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Researchers hypothesize that granitic soil is the ideal construction material for the desert tortoise because it is not so hard that it makes burrowing difficult or so soft that it could cause tunnels to collapse.
A. so hard that it makes burrowing difficult or so soft that it could cause OK - "so X that" is the correct idiom because "that" allows for a subordinate clause to follow, and a clause is needed. Trap is the "so x that" clause, since it is not frequently used.
B. hard enough to make burrowing difficult or soft enough as to cause "hard enough to" or "soft enough as to" are not parallel; "hard enough" should be replaced with "as hard as" as to convey an equal degree
C. so hard as to make burrowing difficult or soft enough so it causes "so hard as to" and "soft enough so it" is not parallel
D. as hard as to make burrowing difficult or as soft as to cause "as hard as" and "as soft as" should be used between two nouns for proper comparison
E. too hard, making burrowing difficult, nor too soft, so as to cause "making burrowing difficult" or "so as to cause" are not parallel
A. so hard that it makes burrowing difficult or so soft that it could cause OK - "so X that" is the correct idiom because "that" allows for a subordinate clause to follow, and a clause is needed. Trap is the "so x that" clause, since it is not frequently used.
B. hard enough to make burrowing difficult or soft enough as to cause "hard enough to" or "soft enough as to" are not parallel; "hard enough" should be replaced with "as hard as" as to convey an equal degree
C. so hard as to make burrowing difficult or soft enough so it causes "so hard as to" and "soft enough so it" is not parallel
D. as hard as to make burrowing difficult or as soft as to cause "as hard as" and "as soft as" should be used between two nouns for proper comparison
E. too hard, making burrowing difficult, nor too soft, so as to cause "making burrowing difficult" or "so as to cause" are not parallel
