Tektites, which may have been propelled to Earth from lunar volcanoes

Question

Tektites, which may have been propelled to Earth from lunar volcanoes, are much like the volcanic glass obsidian, but their chemical composition is different than any terrestrial lava; they contain far less water than obsidian does and none of its characteristic microcrystals.

(A) is different than any terrestrial lava; they contain
(B) is different than any terrestrial lava's, containing
(C) is different from that of any terrestrial lava; they contain
(D) differs from any terrestrial lava in containing
(E) differs from that of any terrestrial lava's, containing

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SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
August 1978
Volume 239, Issue 2

In widely scattered locations around the world small glassy pebbles of curious surface configuration and distinctive composition are found, often in vast "strewn fields" that stretch across land masses and, on the evidence of cores drilled from the deep-sea floor. across intervening seas and oceans. These tektites. as they are called from the Greek word tektos, meaning molten, are much like the volcanic glass obsidian, but their chemical composition is different from that of any terrestrial lava and they contain far less water and none of obsidian's characteristic microcrystals. And, as the Austrian mineralogist Josef Mayer pointed out in 1787, no one has ever found the Mutterstein. or mother lode, of a field of tektites. They cannot, therefore. be the product of terrestrial volcanism.

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Official Answer

C

Skywalker18 · Accepted Answer

Tektites, which may have been propelled to Earth from lunar volcanoes, are much like the volcanic glass obsidian, but their chemical composition  is different than any terrestrial lava; they contain  far less water than obsidian does and none of its characteristic microcrystals.

(A) is different than any terrestrial lava; they contain- idiom issue- different THAN is incorrect. To convey that X and Y are different, we say that X is different FROM Y; comparison issue- incorrectly compare chemical composition to lava
(B) is different than any terrestrial lava's, containing- idiom issue -same as A;
COMMA + VERBing generally refers to the subject of the preceding clause. Thus, in B and E, containing refers to 'composition', implying that the COMPOSITION is containing far less water than obsidian. The composition itself does not CONTAIN far less water; the TEKTITES do. It is illogical to compare composition to obsidian. Eliminate B and E. 
(C) is different from that of any terrestrial lava; they contain- Correct
(D) differs from any terrestrial lava in containing- comparison issue - incorrectly compare chemical composition to lava
(E) differs from that of any terrestrial lava's, containing- that of and lava's usage is redundant

Answer C

dipaksingh · Answer

either you have the "possesive form" or you use the construction "that of", but not both.

taking your example-

My car is faster than Jane's ----> - CORRECT

My car is faster than that of Jane ----> - CORRECT

My car is faster than that of Jane's ----> INCORRECT

christoph · Answer

C)...the right idiom is "different from". A) and B) are out. D) is out because it compares chemical composition to the lava. E) is out because it is not clear if "containing" refers to "lava" or to "composition".

gmat2me2 · Answer

I think C is flawed too ..."They" looks suspicious....I would go with D

jpv · Answer

It is (C) for Parallelism.

(D): "in containing far less water than obsidian  does  .." : wrong : "does" does not have any verb to refer.

gmataquaguy · Answer

A, B eliminated because of "different from".....

D bad comparison.

Both C and E seen right. 

I chose C. But i aint sure what is wrong with E. 

 IC = Tektites, which may have been propelled to Earth from lunar volcanoes, are much like the volcanic glass obsidian, but their chemical composition differs from that of any terrestrial lavaâ€™s 

 Phrase   = containing far less water than obsidian does and none of its characteristic microcrystals.  

 IC ,  Phrase 

Any explain what is wrong with E???

dipaksingh · Answer

E says as if the chemical composition contains far less water-------

but it is tektites, which contains far less water-----.

thats why E is wrong and C correct.

gmataquaguy · Answer

To me here is what E says:

Tektites, which may have been propelled to Earth from lunar volcanoes, are much like the volcanic glass obsidian, but their chemical composition  differs from that of any terrestrial lavaâ€™s, containing  far less water than obsidian does and none of its characteristic microcrystals. 

the  phrase in green  is an  absolute phrase  modifying the subject Tektities. Absolute phrases dont have to modify the noun right next to it. It could modify a) a subject of the previous clause b) object of a previous clause or c) the entire clause. 

Any solid explanations why?

dipaksingh · Answer

gmataquaguy,

"their chemical composition differs from that of any terrestrial lavaâ€™s, containing far less water than obsidian does and none of its characteristic microcrystals". --- this is a independent clause joined to another independent clause with the help of a coordinating conjunction "but".

the other I.clause is " Tektites, which may have been propelled to Earth from lunar volcanoes, are much like the volcanic glass obsidian"

again the possesive form (lava's) is wrong.

E compares "chemical composition of tektitis" with "chemical composition of lava's containing far less water----" isn't it wrong.

gmataquaguy · Answer

I dont agree with your comparison. Here is why: Here is what the IC after but says in E. their chemical composition differs from that of any terrestrial lavaâ€™s. Step1: The possessive form of lava is correct because enables comparison between Teckites's chemical composition and lava's. This statement is analogous to My car is faster than Jane's ----> Here Jane's = Jane's care . Step2: IC , containing far less water than obsidian does and none of its characteristic microcrystals. I'm saying that "containing....." isnt a participle phrase. Its an absolute phrase that modifies the subject teckites. Please read absolute phrases from and https://www.gmatclub.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=1540 and you will see why i'm asking these questions.

gmataquaguy · Answer

Di,
 Good Call - i didnt know about this rule!!! Will the OP please confirm that the aphostrophe wasnt a typo. If not then your explanation is good!! Could you point me to some online documentation on the aforementioned rule. Just wanna read it to validate some of my other queries about possesives.....

dipaksingh · Answer

sorry i dont remember at present any site where you will get this ,but please check "comparision" section on any of the "english usage" sites. most probably you will get it some where.

gmataquaguy · Answer

Ban, could you please reconfirm that the aphostrophe wasnt a typo

HongHu · Answer

Yes, that's exactly the reason I would choose C over E.

MidhilaMohan · Answer

In option C , is the only option where the 2 chemical compositions are compared

PhiloMBA · Answer

Tektites, which may have been propelled to Earth from lunar volcanoes, are much like the volcanic glass obsidian, but their chemical composition  is different than any terrestrial lava; they contain  far less water than obsidian does and none of its characteristic microcrystals.

(A) is different than any terrestrial lava; they contain (wrong comparison- chemical composition to terrestrial lava)
(B) is different than any terrestrial lava's, containing (containing refers to lava's chemical composition, however it should refer to Tektites)
(C) is different from that of any terrestrial lava; they contain
(D) differs from any terrestrial lava in containing (wrong comparison- chemical composition to terrestrial lava)
(E) differs from  that of  any terrestrial  lava's , containing (double possessive)

manikantanutakki · Answer

IMO C different from is the right idiom and correct comparison.

awichal · Answer

Tektites, which may have been propelled to Earth from lunar volcanoes, are much like the volcanic glass obsidian, but their chemical composition is different than any terrestrial lava; they contain far less water than obsidian does and none of its characteristic microcrystals.

(A) is different than any terrestrial lava; they contain
(B) is different than any terrestrial lava's, containing
(C) is different from that of any terrestrial lava; they contain
(D) differs from any terrestrial lava in containing
(E) differs from that of any terrestrial lava's, containing

Can anyone tell why C is rt ? IMO : D should be correct looking at options available

adstudy · Answer

Hey awichal Observe the below part from the prompt - but their chemical composition is different than any terrestrial lava In this part we know their refers to Tektites and the meaning of this part becomes - Chemical composition of Tektites is different than chemical composition of any terrestrial lava. Now to convey this idea grammatically, we require the noun itself or we can use the pronoun as the next best option. While going through the options, we observe that only C and E have this structure that keeps the meaning as intended. E can be rejected because of the possessive form of terrestrial lava's . This can be re-written as ------> and this does not make any sense. Hence Option C is our correct answer. Hoping this to be helpful !!!

Tektites, which may have been propelled to Earth from lunar volcanoes

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Tektites, which may have been propelled to Earth from lunar volcanoes

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