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Teratomas are unusual forms of cancer because they are composed of tis [#permalink]
Thank you IanStewart – I can now see why A has ambiguity in the simpler sentence.

Tried re-creating option E in the simpler sentence to see how the ambiguity is resolved

Quote:
option A) The Eastville Zoo features unusual animals such as snakes not normally found in the local area.
option E) The Eastville Zoo features unusual animals such as snakes, animals not normally found in the local area.

In E – isn’t there ambiguity as well. is it

(i) Animals in general are not found in the local area
OR
(ii) Animals are found in the local area but snakes specifically are not found in the local area

In E - the modifier "such as snakes" seems to be missing after the comma, leading to this ambiguity in option E
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Re: Teratomas are unusual forms of cancer because they are composed of tis [#permalink]
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jabhatta2 wrote:
In E – isn’t there ambiguity as well. is it

(i) Animals in general are not found in the local area


No it can't mean that -- when the sentence restates "animals", it refers back to the specific animals mentioned earlier, in other words the unusual animals at the zoo, and not animals in general. It's a slightly weird sentence to me because it says snakes are "unusual", and I don't think of snakes as unusual, so it might make more sense to think of a sentence like "The Eastville Zoo features unusual animals such as barreleye fish, animals not found in the local area."
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Teratomas are unusual forms of cancer because they are composed of tis [#permalink]
Hi GMATNinja - i thought (D) made perfect logical sense.

My understanding of the situation -- Teratomas are a tumor - A tumor is a mass or lump of tissue that resembles a swelling.

So, Teratomas can be thought of as a swelling.

These swellings(aka tumors) are seen on an organ (lets say the lungs..)

So what is so unsual about this ?

The composition of the swelling specifically IS DIFFERENT from the composition of the organ (lungs)

Originally posted by jabhatta2 on 29 May 2022, 08:10.
Last edited by jabhatta2 on 29 May 2022, 08:43, edited 11 times in total.
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Teratomas are unusual forms of cancer because they are composed of tis [#permalink]
GMATNinja - Isnt that what (D) drives at ?

(D) is saying -- composition of the 'swelling' IS NOT FOUND in the host location

That implies -- composition of the 'swelling' vs composition of the host location IS CLEARLY different
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Re: Teratomas are unusual forms of cancer because they are composed of tis [#permalink]
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jabhatta2 wrote:
Hi GMATNinja - i thought (D) made perfect logical sense.

My understanding of the situation -- Teratomas are a tumor - A tumor is a mass or lump of tissue that resembles a swelling.

So, Teratomas can be thought of as a swelling.

These swellings(aka tumors) are seen on an organ (lets say the lungs..)

So what is so unsual about this ?

The composition of the swelling specifically IS DIFFERENT from the composition of the organ (lungs)


Hello jabhatta2,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, Option D conveys an incorrect meaning because it implies that the composition of the teratoma - the specific combination of tissues that make up the teratoma - rather than the tissues themselves is not normally found in the organ in which the tumor appears.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
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Re: Teratomas are unusual forms of cancer because they are composed of tis [#permalink]
Hi ExpertsGlobal5 - not sure i agree.

What is unusual is -- the COMPOSITION (specific combination of tissues) of the teratoma IS DIFFERENT than the COMPOSITION (Specific combination of tissues) of the lungs.

How can tissues themselves NOT BE FOUND in lungs ?

GMATNinja - could you please help clarify -- that would be great as well ..
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Re: Teratomas are unusual forms of cancer because they are composed of tis [#permalink]
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jabhatta2 wrote:
Hi ExpertsGlobal5 - not sure i agree.

What is unusual is -- the COMPOSITION (specific combination of tissues) of the teratoma IS DIFFERENT than the COMPOSITION (Specific combination of tissues) of the lungs.

How can tissues themselves NOT BE FOUND in lungs ?

GMATNinja - could you please help clarify -- that would be great as well ..


Hello jabhatta2,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your doubt, this is the intended meaning of the sentence - what makes teratomas unusual is that they are made up of those types of tissues that do not normally appear in the organs in which the teratoma has formed; in other words, the teratoma grows in Organ A, but is made up of tissue from Organ B.

Option D seems to indicate that the specific combination of tissues that the teratoma is made of is not normally found in the organ the teratoma grows in, but the intended meaning is that none of the tissues the teratoma is made of are normally found in the organ the teratoma grows in.

So, if a teratoma made of muscle and skin tissue forms in the brain, it is not that the particular combination of muscle and skin tissue is not normally found in the brain; rather, muscle and skin tissue are not normally found in the brain in any combination or alone.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
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Re: Teratomas are unusual forms of cancer because they are composed of tis [#permalink]
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jabhatta2 wrote:
GMATNinja - Isnt that what (D) drives at ?

(D) is saying -- composition of the 'swelling' IS NOT FOUND in the host location

That implies -- composition of the 'swelling' vs composition of the host location IS CLEARLY different

I'm not 100% sure that I'm interpreting your question correctly, but "composition" in (D), is a descriptive term meaning "the makeup" or "arrangement." It's illogical to say that the makeup of a kind of tissue isn't found in a certain location, the same way it would be illogical to say that another descriptive term, such as "red" isn't found in a location.

It makes far more sense to write that the tissue itself is (or isn't) found in the organ, as (E) does.

I hope that clears things up!
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Re: Teratomas are unusual forms of cancer because they are composed of tis [#permalink]
Could anyone help to advise about choice E. The completed sentence will be " Teratomas are unusual forms of cancer in that they are composed of tissues such as tooth and bone, tissues not normally found in the organ in which the tumor appears. ".

In the part of the modifier states " tissues not normally found ", is it correct? because there is no verb to be in the middle between "tissues" and "not".
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Re: Teratomas are unusual forms of cancer because they are composed of tis [#permalink]
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Putup577 wrote:
Could anyone help to advise about choice E. The completed sentence will be " Teratomas are unusual forms of cancer in that they are composed of tissues such as tooth and bone, tissues not normally found in the organ in which the tumor appears. ".

In the part of the modifier states " tissues not normally found ", is it correct? because there is no verb to be in the middle between "tissues" and "not".

It's fairly common to use "not" to simply "negate" a modifier. For example:

  • "Known for his strength, Governor Schwarzenegger frightened his political rivals."
  • "Not known for his strength, Tim often intimidated adversaries with his caustic wit."

Same thing in (E):

  • "tissues normally found in the organ..." vs
  • "tissues not normally found in the organ..."

Either is perfectly fine!
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Teratomas are unusual forms of cancer because they are composed of tis [#permalink]
smashingpumpkins wrote:
Teratomas are unusual forms of cancer because they are composed of tissues such as tooth and bone not normally found in the organ in which the tumor appears.


(A) because they are composed of tissues such as tooth and bone

(B) because they are composed of tissues like tooth and bone that are

(C) because they are composed of tissues, like tooth and bone, tissues

(D) in that their composition, tissues such as tooth and bone, is

(E) in that they are composed of tissues such as tooth and bone, tissues


GMATNinja egmat AndrewN
KarishmaB

Can you please explain why option (B) is wrong. As per me "that" here might be ambiguous and might refer only to bone and not tooth and bone. But someone can stretch and say that it can refer to "tooth and bone" since we are using "are" correctly. Please let me know your comments. I was confused between (B) and (E). Choose the wrong answer.

"Like" can be a reason but I don't really focus on it to eliminate answer choices.

Thanks
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Re: Teratomas are unusual forms of cancer because they are composed of tis [#permalink]
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GMATking94 wrote:
Can you please explain why option (B) is wrong. As per me "that" here might be ambiguous and might refer only to bone and not tooth and bone. But someone can stretch and say that it can refer to "tooth and bone" since we are using "are" correctly. Please let me know your comments. I was confused between (B) and (E). Choose the wrong answer.

"Like" can be a reason but I don't really focus on it to eliminate answer choices.

Thanks

The "like" is actually pretty important here, as explained in this post -- that gives us a pretty solid vote in favor of of (E) over (B).

Another tiny vote is that "in that" is a bit better than "because". "Because" seems to imply cause and effect (as in, "Tim is wearing a mask on stage because he has stage fright.").

But in this case, the sentence isn't trying to tell us that teratomas are unusual BECAUSE of something else that's happening. Instead, it's telling us what it is about the teratomas that makes them unusual, so "in that" is more appropriate.

That's not a huge issue, but it gives us another small vote against (B).

I hope that helps a bit!
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Re: Teratomas are unusual forms of cancer because they are composed of tis [#permalink]
AnthonyRitz GMATGuruNY ReedArnoldMPREP

Hi experts - how would you pick (E) over (A) ?

i have gone through the messages but i am not able to understand what is wrong with (A)

Curious on your thoughts.
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Re: Teratomas are unusual forms of cancer because they are composed of tis [#permalink]
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jabhatta2 wrote:

Hi experts - how would you pick (E) over (A) ?

i have gone through the messages but i am not able to understand what is wrong with (A)

Curious on your thoughts.


Hey jabhatta2,

Happy to help you with this.


There is a verb-ed modifier ambiguity in choice A. Allow me to explain:

Sentence Structure:

Teratomas are unusual forms of cancer because they are composed of tissues such as tooth and bone not normally found in the organ in which the tumor appears.

  • Teratomas are unusual forms of cancer
    • because they are composed of tissues
      • such as tooth and bone
        • not normally found in the organ in which the tumor appears.

        Vs

  • Teratomas are unusual forms of cancer
    • because they are composed of tissues
        • such as tooth and bone
      • not normally found in the organ in which the tumor appears.

Observation:
It is unclear from the original sentence whether "not normally found..." modifies "bone", "tooth", "tooth and bone", or "tissues". Owing to proximity, "bone" or "tooth and bone" seem more likely. But that disagrees with common sense. Why?

Because, there is no such thing as "tooth and bone not normally found in the organ in which the tumor appears".

Meaning Analysis:
  1. Teratomas are unusual forms of cancer.
  2. They are unusual because they contain tissues such as tooth and bone.
  3. Usual forms of cancer do not contain tissues such as tooth and bone.
  4. And, teratomas are found in organs in which it is not normal to find such hard tissues (of tooth and bone).

Conclusion:
So, we need a structure that makes it clear that such cancerous hard tissues are found in organs in which it is not normal to find such hard tissues. This is why the phrase "Tissues of (tooth and bone not normally found in the organ in which the tumor appears)" paints the wrong picture. There is no such thing as 'tooth and bone found in cancerous organs'. But there are teratomas, which are a certain kind of "tissue" found in cancerous organs.


This is why choice E is better than A. Choice E eliminates this ambiguity by using a noun + noun modifier to describe "tissues" categorically.


Hope this helps.

Happy learning!
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Re: Teratomas are unusual forms of cancer because they are composed of tis [#permalink]
GMATNinja wrote:
GMATking94 wrote:
Can you please explain why option (B) is wrong. As per me "that" here might be ambiguous and might refer only to bone and not tooth and bone. But someone can stretch and say that it can refer to "tooth and bone" since we are using "are" correctly. Please let me know your comments. I was confused between (B) and (E). Choose the wrong answer.

"Like" can be a reason but I don't really focus on it to eliminate answer choices.

Thanks

The "like" is actually pretty important here, as explained in this post -- that gives us a pretty solid vote in favor of of (E) over (B).

Another tiny vote is that "in that" is a bit better than "because". "Because" seems to imply cause and effect (as in, "Tim is wearing a mask on stage because he has stage fright.").

But in this case, the sentence isn't trying to tell us that teratomas are unusual BECAUSE of something else that's happening. Instead, it's telling us what it is about the teratomas that makes them unusual, so "in that" is more appropriate.

That's not a huge issue, but it gives us another small vote against (B).

I hope that helps a bit!


Thanks GMATNinja for the great explanation as always. I have learnt something new.
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jabhatta2 wrote:
AnthonyRitz GMATGuruNY ReedArnoldMPREP

Hi experts - how would you pick (E) over (A) ?

i have gone through the messages but i am not able to understand what is wrong with (A)

Curious on your thoughts.


Mary is talented because she has a lovely singing voice.
Conveyed meaning:
The lovely singing voice causes Mary to be talented.
This meaning is illogical.
The singing voice does not CAUSE Mary to be talented; more logically, it is the WAY in which she is talented.
To convey the latter meaning, we use in that rather than because:
Mary is talented IN THAT she has a lovely singing voice.
Question:
In what WAY is Mary talented?
Answer:
She is talented IN THAT she has a lovely singing voice.

The same reasoning can be applied to A:
Teratomas are unusual forms of cancer because they are composed of tissues such as tooth and bone.
Conveyed meaning:
The composition of tissues causes teratomas to be unusual.
Again, this meaning is illogical.
The composition does not CAUSE teratomas to be unusual; more logically, it is the particular WAY in which they are unusual.
To convey the latter meaning, we use in that rather than because, as in the OA:
Teratomas are unusual forms of cancer IN THAT they are composed of tissues such as tooth and bone.
Question:
In what WAY are teratomas unusual?
Answer:
They are unusual IN THAT they are composed of tissues such as tooth and bone.

Eliminate A and choose E.

E: Teratomas are unusual forms of cancer in that they are composed of tissues such as tooth and bone, tissues not normally found in the organ in which the tumor appears.
Here, the repetition of tissues is an example of a RESUMPTIVE modifier.
I discuss this type of modifier here.
If an answer choice includes a resumptive modifier, be suspicious:
There is a good chance that the resumptive modifier will be needed for reasons of clarity.
In the OA, the repetition of the word in green makes it crystal clear that the blue modifier refers not to tooth and bone but to TISSUES.
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An additional thought about the lack of logic in A:

A causal relationship implies a CHANGE.
The game was canceled because of rain.
Conveyed meaning:
The game at first was SCHEDULED, but then the onset of rain CAUSED the game to be CANCELED.
Since there was a change, this meaning makes sense.

A: Teratomas are unusual forms of cancer because they are composed of tissues such as tooth and bone.
Conveyed meaning:
Teratomas at first are TYPICAL forms of cancer, but then the composition of tissues CAUSES them to become UNUSUAL.
Not the intended meaning.
As a GENERAL TRUTH, teratomas are composed of issues such as tooth and bone and are thus unusual.
Since there is no change, the usage of because is illogical.
Eliminate A.
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