The 19th-century proponents of the school of thought known as mechanis

Question

Project SC Butler: Day 48: Sentence Correction (SC1) 
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The 19th-century proponents of the school of thought known as mechanism held that life process are not the products of some mysterious life force, but are the same chemical and physical processes that operate in inorganic  systems, which is still a subject of debate between  biologists today.

(A) systems, which is still a subject of debate between

(B) systems, which are still debated between

(C) systems still debated among

(D) systems, a theory still debated by

(E) systems, a theory still debated between

StudiosTom · Answer

Which after a comma refers to the preceding subject .So In A and B, “which” incorrectly refers to “inorganic system”.
In C,there is no punctuation and hence “inorganic systems still debated among biologists today” changes the meaning.
In E, “debated between biologists” is incorrect. “Between X and Y” is idiomatic.
In D, “still debated  by  biologists” rectifies the error with E. 
 Ans :D

yash312 · Answer

(A) systems, which is still a subject of debate between--- Which incorrectly refers to operate(verb) ; since Noun can't refer to verb ; therefore wrong

(B) systems, which are still debated between--Same error as A

(C) systems still debated among--meaning error

(D) systems, a theory still debated by--meaning error, it changes the meaning by stating that theory is debate by biologist ; and not the intended meaning that biologist debate the topic among/between them

(E) systems, a theory still debated between--Correct choice

IMO E

surendrasaini1 · Answer

The 19th-century proponents of the school of thought known as mechanism held that life process are not the products of some mysterious life force, but are the same chemical and physical processes that operate in inorganic  systems, which is still a subject of debate between  biologists today.

(A) systems, which is still a subject of debate between( which incorrectly modifies the systems, between is incorrect because biologists may be more than two)

(B) systems, which are still debated between( same as in A)

(C) systems still debated among( meaning change)

(D) systems, a theory still debated by( correct)

(E) systems, a theory still debated between( use of between is incorrect)

Will go with choice D

Thanks

Prateekj05 · Answer

Option  A  is incorrect because "which" is incorrectly modifying "inorganic systems".
Option  B  also has the same error. "inorganic systems" are not debated "between" biologists.
Option  C  again changes the meaning. There is no mention about the theory. 
Option  E  is incorrect because the author is talking about a debate  among  biologists.  "Between"  is used for 2 entities and the correct form is  "Between X and Y" . This error can be found in all the above options.
Option  D  is correct as the modifier error is fixed, the meaning is intact and "between" is replaced by "by".

Ypsychotic · Answer

(A) which modifies systems, not the opinion/theory held by the school of thought. Eliminated.
(B) Again, which modifies the systems. Eliminated.
(C) Systems are not debated as is apparent from the option here. Eliminated.
(D) the emphasis put on 'theory' mentioned earlier, not on the systems. Keep it.
(E) Same as (D).

Between D and E, D is correct because between is used when two of something is mentioned. Here, it can't be that only two biologists are debating, in fact, the whole community of biologists is debating. Moreover, if 'between' is used, there is no antecedent for the two biologists debating it. Hence, IMO, Option D.

lary301254M7 · Answer

The 19th-century proponents of the school of thought known as mechanism held that life process are not the products of some mysterious life force, but are the same chemical and physical processes that operate in inorganic systems, which is still a subject of debate between biologists today.

(A) systems,  which is  still a subject of debate between

(B)  systems , which are still  debated  between

(C)  systems still debated  among

(D) systems, a theory still  debated by

(E) systems, a theory still debated  between

The system is not subjected to debate; the theory, however, is

(E) between is wrong, without "and"

Ans: (D)

jeanyno1 · Answer

The 19th-century proponents of the school of thought known as mechanism held that life process are not the products of some mysterious life force, but are the same chemical and physical processes that operate in inorganic systems, which is still a subject of debate between biologists today.

(A) systems, which is still a subject of debate between --> a subject of debate is "mechanism." "which" makes a subject of debate "inorganic system"--> therefore, all "which" is eliminated.

(B) systems, which are still debated between --> same as the answer choice A

(C) systems still debated among --> what is debated by scientists is "mechanism," not "inorganic systems."

(D) systems, a theory still debated by --> the best choice among the answer choices

(E) systems, a theory still debated between --> "between" is used for specific individuals...debated between scientist A and B. In the case of group, "between" is not fit.

sudarshan22 · Answer

Official Explanation :

In  choice A  and  B , “ which ” incorrectly refers to “ inorganic system ”.

In  choice C , “ inorganic systems still debated among biologists today ” changes the meaning.

In  choice E , “ debated between biologists ” is incorrect. “ Between X and Y ” is idiomatic.

In  choice D , “ still debated by biologists ” rectifies the error in  E . Hence,  D  is the best choice.

sm86 · Answer

After reading and understanding the question, let's try to identify few mistakes: which should refer a place and not a statement. 
Next step is elimination.

Options A, B have which. Since which only referers to a place, it's incorrect. 
Option C is ambiguous. Are systems still debated or the theory?
Option E ends with between. Since between should be followed by and. It's not idiomatic.

Hence we are left with one correct option D

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LoveWildLife · Answer

Thanks. I chose E and was confused why between was wrong because “by” seemed to distort the intention of the sentence.

Now I know “between” must be used when there are 2 entities.

So D is definitely a better option.

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Skywalker18 · Answer

The 19th-century proponents of the school of thought known as mechanism held that life process are not the products of some mysterious life force, but are the same chemical and physical processes that operate in inorganic  systems, which is still a subject of debate between  biologists today.

(A) systems, which is still a subject of debate between - which illogically refers to inorganic systems ; also verb "is" is incorrect for plural systems

(B) systems, which are still debated between - which illogically refers to inorganic systems

(C) systems still debated among - Illogical meaning - debated modifies systems

(D) systems, a theory still debated by - Correct

(E) systems, a theory still debated between - Idiom error - between X and Y

1. Isn't there a subject-verb agreement issue - life process is singular and thus should take verb 'is'?
2. Proponents held that life process are not X, but  are  Y that ... --> shouldn't the parts X and Y be parallel? Do we need to repeat the verb in part that follows "BUT" ?

3. Comma+ FANBOYS is used to join two independent clauses- but here the 2 clauses aren't independent.

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Answer D

daagh · Answer

Normally it is not wanted to deliberate on the ununderlined part in GMAT. Is there anything wrong in the underlined part? Otherwise, there is no need for underlining.

VerbalBot · Answer

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The 19th-century proponents of the school of thought known as mechanis

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The 19th-century proponents of the school of thought known as mechanis

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