The ability of scientists to provide models of the atmosphere’s comple

Question

The ability of scientists to provide models of the atmosphere’s complex responses to changing conditions, like seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions, have become ever more accurate .

(A) The ability of scientists to provide models of the atmosphere’s complex responses to changing conditions, like seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions, have become ever more accurate.

(B) The ability of scientists has become ever more accurate in providing models of the atmosphere’s complex responses to changing conditions, such as seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions.

(C) Scientists have become able to provide ever more accurate models of the atmosphere’s complex responses to such changing conditions as seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions.

(D) Scientists have become ever more accurate in their ability for providing models of the atmosphere’s complex responses to changing conditions, like seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions.

(E) Scientists’ ability to provide models of the atmosphere’s complex responses to such changing conditions as seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions have become ever more accurate.

Source  :  GMATPrep Default Exam Pack

hafizkarim · Accepted Answer

Lets delve into the answer options. The important aspect of attacking a sentence correction problem is to eliminate the fluff. Additionally, if you are not sure about the use of idioms, then try to identify other errors in the sentence. Most SC question stems will contain multiple errors.

(A) The ability of scientists to provide models of the atmosphere's complex responses to changing conditions, like seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions, have become ever more accurate.

[color=#0000ff](A) The ability of scientists ~~to provide models of the atmosphere's complex responses to changing conditions, like seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions~~, have become ever more accurate.

Let's us cut out the fluff first.........The ability of scientists<BLAH> <BLAH> <MORE BLAH>........have become more accurate
Ability is singular and Scientists is plural.
The sentence, as it is written, contains a subject-verb agreement error.

Singular subjects should use Singular verbs
Plural Subjects should use Plural Verbs

E.g: It is incorrect to say " We has a car". We is Plural and has is singular. Hence we can eliminate this option without delving into additional details.
Now you may ask, isnt the "have" in the above sentence , referring to scientists". The answer is a resounding "NO".

When trying to identify subjects in a sentence, look at nouns (name, place, thing) , but eliminate all subjects that occur within a prepositional phrase.
"of Scientists" is a prepositional phrase (Why ?because it starts with an "of" and "of" is a preposition) and IS NOT considered when matching subjects and Verb.

E.g : The number of students IS decreasing every year.
The sack of potatoes, IS quite heavy.

GMAT typically tries to obscure the verbs by inserting a lot of, for the lack of a better word, BLAH-BLAH :-)

into the sentence
Lets rewrite the second sentence listed above in true GMAT style.

E.g: The sack of potatoes, which we plan to use for cooking many tasty dishes for tomorrow's wedding and for preparing french fries for the groom's parents, IS quite heavy. (phew, All that "BLAH BLAH" stuff to try and obscure the subject -verb agreement error from the GMAT TAKER. )

into the sentence Lets rewrite the second sentence listed above in true GMAT style. E.g: The sack of potatoes, which we plan to use for cooking many tasty dishes for tomorrow's wedding and for preparing french fries for the groom's parents , IS quite heavy. (phew, All that "BLAH BLAH" stuff to try and obscure the subject -verb agreement error from the GMAT TAKER. ) (B) The ability of scientists has become ever more accurate in providing models of the atmosphere's complex responses to changing conditions, such as seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions. Hmmm. This answer option gets rid of the Subject Verb agreement problem that we have just seen in Option 1. Subject : The ability of scientist Verb : Has Grammatically, this sentence looks ok. However, lets look at the meaning a lil bit closer The ability of scientists has become ever more accurate. ....blah blah................... This answer option implies that The ability of scientists has become ever more accurate .....Oh Oh. It is incorrect to say that the ability of something has become more accurate. The right usage would be "The methods or models created by the Scientists have become more accurate....." (C) Scientists have become able to provide ever more accurate models of the atmosphere's complex responses to such changing conditions as seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions. Both the errors that we have identified in Options a) and b) are rectified here. The use of ....... such as in the fragment .......complex responses to such changing conditions as seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions.... is a bit unorthodox. However this is not a deal breaker. (D) Scientists have become ever more accurate in their ability for providing models of the atmosphere's complex responses to changing conditions, like seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions. This sentence rectifies the errors that we have seen in option (A), (B), (C). The subject of this sentence is "Scientists " The verb is "have" Just when we think that we see the light at the end of the tunnel, we see the idiom :- for providing Ok, this is wrong. The correct usage of this idiom is ....... to provide . There are some idioms that use infinitives and some that use "FOR" Who decides these rules ? Well, these rules just evolve over time. There isnt a hard and fast rule to decide whether to use "to" or "FOR". It just depends... E.g : I value your ability to bring in new thoughts. The following uses are incorrect E.g : I value your ability of bringing new thoughts E.g : I value your ability for bringing in new thoughts. An example of an idiom that uses "FROM" E.g " The law prohibits any student from socializing with the teaching staff. It would be incorrect to say " The law prohibits any student to socialize with the teaching staff. This sentence has yet another error. The use of "like" when presenting examples is a NOT ALLOWED E.g : I prefer games like football and tennis E.g : I prefer games such as football and tennis. "Like" is typically used to COMPARE NOUNS. E.g : Like his father, John plays the piano. E.g : John Plays the piano, like his father. (E) Scientists' ability to provide models of the atmosphere's complex responses to such changing conditions as seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions have become ever more accurate. Subject verb agreement issue. Subject : Scientist's ability (Singular) Verb : have (Plural) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ IT TAKES A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF TIME AND EFFORT TO POST DETAILED ANSWERS. YOUR KUDOS IS APPRECIATED. KUDOS DOESN'T COST YOU A DIME, BUT GIVING A KUDOS IS A GOOD WAY OF ENCOURAGING THE RECIPIENT.

getmba · Answer

A – The ability of …….have become -out for wrong subject –verb agreement 
E- Scientists’ ability ………have become – wrong subject verb agreement.
In D, “like” should be replaced by “such as” and ever accurate should be used for models 
In B – it states that The ability of scientists has become ever more accurate – wrong it is models, which are more accurate instead of ability
So C wins.

daagh · Answer

The text states clearly that  'the ability of scientists has become ever more accurate’ 
B maintains this intent intact, while C changes the intent blatantly by saying that ‘ Scientists have become able to provide ever more accurate models”

Should we still prefer C over B? Can someone point to a valid grammar error in B, unless he or she wants to insist on a trivial such as ‘i n providing’  is not a good idiom or some such.

CrackverbalGMAT · Answer

The ability of scientists to provide models of the atmosphere’s complex responses to changing conditions, like seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions, have become ever more accurate.

(A) The ability of scientists to provide models of the atmosphere’s complex responses to changing conditions, like seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions, have become ever more accurate.

(B) The ability of scientists has become ever more accurate in providing models of the atmosphere’s complex responses to changing conditions, such as seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions.

(C) Scientists have become able to provide ever more accurate models of the atmosphere’s complex responses to such changing conditions as seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions.

(D) Scientists have become ever more accurate in their ability for providing models of the atmosphere’s complex responses to changing conditions, like seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions.

(E) Scientists’ ability to provide models of the atmosphere’s complex responses to such changing conditions as seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions have become ever more accurate.

What has become more accurate?  The ability of scientists to provide models?

Definitely not. It is not the ability that has become more accurate but the models. We need an option that says that scientists are now able to provide accurate models

Therefore the modifier should be correctly attached to what it modifies- logically.

All the options except C, contain a modifier error. Options A and E also contain SVA errors.

Option C   correctly says that scientists have become able to provide ever more accurate models of the atmosphere’s complex responses to changing conditions…

Vishnupriya
GMAT SME

ExpertsGlobal5 · Answer

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem: 
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of this sentence is that scientists have become able to provide ever more accurate models of the atmosphere’s complex responses to such changing conditions as seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions.

Concepts tested here: Subject-Verb Agreement + Meaning + Idioms

• “like” is used for comparing nouns, “as” is used for comparing actions/clauses, and “such as” is used for giving examples.
• “ability + to” is the preferred construction.

A:  This answer choice incorrectly refers to the singular noun "ability" with the plural verb "have become". Further, Option A alters the meaning of the sentence through the clause "The ability of scientists...have become ever more accurate"; the construction of this clause illogically suggests that the scientists'   ability   to provide models of the atmosphere’s complex responses to changing conditions has become more accurate; the intended meaning is that the   models   of the atmosphere’s complex responses to changing conditions that scientists can provide have become more accurate. Additionally, Option A incorrectly uses "like" to provide the examples of "seasonal and daily cycles" and "different planetary conjunctions"; please remember, “like” is used for comparing nouns, “as” is used for comparing actions/clauses, and “such as” is used for giving examples.

B:  Trap. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the clause "The ability of scientists has become ever more accurate"; the construction of this clause illogically suggests that the scientists'   ability   to provide models of the atmosphere’s complex responses to changing conditions has become more accurate; the intended meaning is that the   models   of the atmosphere’s complex responses to changing conditions that scientists can provide have become more accurate. Further, Option B uses the construction "ability + in"; please remember, "ability + to" is the preferred construction.

C:   Correct.  This answer choice correctly refers to the plural noun "Scientists" with the plural verb "have become". Further, Option C uses the clause "Scientists have become able to provide ever more accurate models", conveying the intended meaning - that the models of the atmosphere’s complex responses to changing conditions that scientists can provide have become more accurate. Additionally, Option C correctly uses "such...as" to provide the examples of "seasonal and daily cycles" and "different planetary conjunctions". Besides, Option C uses the preferred construction "ability + to".

D:  This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the clause "Scientists have become ever more accurate"; the construction of this clause illogically suggests that the   scientists   have become more accurate; the intended meaning is that the   models   of the atmosphere’s complex responses to changing conditions that scientists can provide have become more accurate. Further, Option D incorrectly uses "like" to provide the examples of "seasonal and daily cycles" and "different planetary conjunctions"; please remember, “like” is used for comparing nouns, “as” is used for comparing actions/clauses, and “such as” is used for giving examples. Additionally, Option D uses the construction "ability + for"; please remember, "ability + to" is the preferred construction.

E:  This answer choice incorrectly refers to the singular noun "ability" with the plural verb "have become". Further, Option E alters the meaning of the sentence through the clause "Scientists’ ability...have become ever more accurate"; the construction of this clause illogically suggests that the scientists'   ability   to provide models of the atmosphere’s complex responses to changing conditions has become more accurate; the intended meaning is that the   models   of the atmosphere’s complex responses to changing conditions that scientists can provide have become more accurate.

Hence, C is the best answer choice.

To understand the concept of "Like" versus "As" on the GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RDBnJBNtyk

All the best!
Experts' Global Team

incognito1 · Answer

A. The ability of scientists .. "have" become
B. The ability of scientists has not become more accurate, but rather the scientists themselves have
C.   Correct  
D. "ability for providing" sounds incorrect. the correct idiom should be "ability to provide"
E. Scientists' ability .. "have"

GMAT TIGER · Answer

//C//

Its a matter of grammetrical expression as well as ligical reasoning.

A. "The ability of scientists has become ever more accurate ........" is always wrong because ability cannot be more or less accurate. only scientists can be more or less able.
also "like" is wrong to list out the examples.
B. same as A.
C. Scientists have become able to provide ever more accurate models of ...... coreect.
D. Like is wrong as in A.
E. "Scientists’ ability" is pretty much similar to "the ability of scientists has become ever more accurate ........" in A and B.

Its a good question indeed.

sdrandom1 · Answer

Bigoyal if you are debating between B and C....then here is why C is better.

B. The ability of scientists has become ever more accurate in providing models of the atmosphere's complex responses to changing conditions, such as seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions.

B conveys somewhat nonsensical meaning...." The ability of scientists has become ever more accurate  "....Ability can never become more accurate....it is only the scientists who can become more capable or able....which is exactly what C says .

nusmavrik · Answer

GMAT's favorite trick. like Vs "such as" 
The use of like to introduce examples is always incorrect on GMAT.

That leaves B, C and E
E : has SV disagreement
B : fatal change of meaning

C it is.

seekmba · Answer

The ability of scientists to provide models of the atmosphere's complex responses to changing conditions, like seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions, have become ever more accurate .

(A) The ability of scientists to provide models of the atmosphere's complex responses to changing conditions,  like  seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions,  have  become ever more accurate. - 'have' is incorrect for the singular 'ability. We need 'such as' to provide examples not 'like'. 'to provide is idiomatic.

(B) The  ability of scientists has become ever more accurate   in providing  models of the atmosphere's complex responses to changing conditions, such as seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions. - 'in providing' is unidiomatic

(C)  Scientists have become  able  to provide  ever more accurate models of the atmosphere's complex responses to  such changing conditions as  seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions. - 'to provide is idiomatic. 'Scientists have become able' is correct. 'such as' is used to prvide examples.

(D) Scientists have become ever more accurate in their ability  for providing  models of the atmosphere's complex responses to changing conditions,  like  seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions. - 'in their ability for providing' is awkward. 'like' is incorrect usage here.

(E) Scientists' ability to provide models of the atmosphere's complex responses to such changing conditions as seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions  have  become ever more accurate. - 'have' is incorrect for 'ability'.

contacttoakhil · Answer

A) The ability...... have  become ever more accurate.
B)  The ability of scientists has become ever more accurate ...how can ability become more accurate...seems wrong. Also I think we dont need comma:
conditions ,  such as
C)Seems good, keep it on hold.
D) Wordy and also uses  like  rather than  such as :
changing conditions, like ....
E) Too wordy and wrong.
Scientists ability...apostrophe missing
... have  become ever more accurate.

SO C is right.

petrifiedbutstanding · Answer

Wow! Good question and glad I got it right! Here is my explanation below:
(A) The ability of scientists to provide models of the atmosphere’s complex responses to changing conditions, like seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions, have become ever more accurate.   Subject-verb agreement error: ability and have  
(B) The ability of scientists has become ever more accurate in providing models of the atmosphere’s complex responses to changing conditions, such as seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions.   Sounds confusing and wordy  
(C) Scientists have become able to provide ever more accurate models of the atmosphere’s complex responses to such changing conditions as seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions.   Correctly conveys the author's intent  
(D) Scientists have become ever more accurate in their ability for providing models of the atmosphere’s complex responses to changing conditions, like seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions.   "like" is not allowed on GMAT when providing a list of examples  
(E) Scientists’ ability to provide models of the atmosphere’s complex responses to such changing conditions as seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions have become ever more accurate.   Subject-verb agreement error ability and have

harikris · Answer

The ability of scientists to provide models of the atmosphere's complex responses to changing conditions, like seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions, have become ever more accurate.

(A) The ability of scientists to provide models of the atmosphere's complex responses to changing conditions, like seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions, have become ever more accurate.
(B) The ability of scientists has become ever more accurate in providing models of the atmosphere's complex responses to changing conditions, such as seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions.
(C) Scientists have become able to provide ever more accurate models of the atmosphere's complex responses to such changing conditions as seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions.
D) Scientists have become ever more accurate in their ability for providing models of the atmosphere's complex responses to changing conditions, like seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions.
(E) Scientists' ability to provide models of the atmosphere's complex responses to such changing conditions as seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions have become ever more accurate.

Regarding this question even though I thought that ans choice c could be ans on first glance I took some time to confirm it as the ans by POE. On a general note the construction " Scientists have become able to" didn't seem correct to me and it was wordy too. Please share your opinions about the construction. Do you think the construction is grammatically right/correct. This construction is the reason why I had to use POE (taking more time) to confirm the ans.

Thanks,

haricit

riskietech · Answer

(A) The ability of scientists to provide models of the atmosphere's complex responses to changing conditions, like seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions, have become ever more accurate. Incorrect. "like" is used here to compare two actions. (B) The ability of scientists has become ever more accurate in providing models of the atmosphere's complex responses to changing conditions, such as seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions. Incorrect. "Ability of" is wrong idiom (C) Scientists have become able to provide ever more accurate models of the atmosphere's complex responses to such changing conditions as seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions. Correct. Wordy but grammatically correct. And left with no other choice.

D) Scientists have become ever more accurate in their ability for providing models of the atmosphere's complex responses to changing conditions, like seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions. Incorrect. "Ability for" is a wrong idiom (E) Scientists' ability to provide models of the atmosphere's complex responses to such changing conditions as seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions have become ever more accurate. Incorrect. Subject of "have" is "ability" which is singular abstract noun. There should "has" instead of "have".

hdwnkr · Answer

Rules used:
1. Ability of x to do y is the correct idiomatic expression
2. Subject verb agreement - Singular verbs for singular nouns, plural verbs for plural nouns

The ability of scientists to provide models of the atmosphere's complex responses to changing conditions, like seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions, have become ever more accurate.

(A) The ability of scientists to provide models of the atmosphere's complex responses to changing conditions, like seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions, have become ever more accurate.  Uses correct idiomatic expression but the subject here is "The ability" and not "The abilities" and hence needs "has become ever more accurate.   Hence, Incorrect

(B) The ability of scientists has become ever more accurate in providing models of the atmosphere's complex responses to changing conditions, such as seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions.    Incorrect idiomatic expression

(C) Scientists have become able to provide ever more accurate models of the atmosphere's complex responses to such changing conditions as seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions.   Correct idiomatic expression "Able to     Correct

(D) Scientists have become ever more accurate in their ability for providing models of the atmosphere's complex responses to changing conditions, like seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions.  Incorrect idiomatic expression

(E) Scientists' ability to provide models of the atmosphere's complex responses to such changing conditions as seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions have become ever more accurate.   Subject Verb   Disagreement     Hence, Incorrect

Ambika02 · Answer

Is 'Ability in' idiomatic?I did some research and found that it is being used in few cases.
Also,how can we conclude that ability has become accurate or the models.According the question statement ability has become accurate.If we go along with that meaning the B should be correct.

goaltop30mba · Answer

hi  AjiteshArun ..

the intent as per the original sentence is that the ability has become accurate. The text states clearly that 'the ability of scientists has become ever more accurate’

B maintains this intent intact, while C changes the intent blatantly by saying that ‘Scientists have become able to provide ever more accurate models”

I am still having a hard time eliminating option B. Is it the comma just before such as in option B that makes the construction in option B a lil weird?

Please help me understand this

I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards,
Adit

AjiteshArun · Answer

Hi  aditliverpoolfc ,

We need to look at all the 5 options and then take a call on what the sentence is trying to say. That is, it  could  be that only option E conveys the intended meaning (and  none  of the other options does). Very specifically, option A is not guaranteed to provide us the correct meaning, so we should not always try to ensure that the option that we mark is one that maintains the same meaning as option A.

If it helps, we could try checking what we'd think if what option A says were presented to us as, say, option F.

F.  The ability of someone to do something have become more accurate.  ← The verb is plural, and the meaning is incorrect. That is, can we say "her ability to score a 700 has become more accurate" or "his ability to identify difficult questions has become more accurate"?

If the answer is yes, that's fine. As in, we made a mistake, and that happens. We should not, however,  trust  what option A says blindly.

The good news is, of course, that if we take the right decision here, we can remove every option that says that the ability has become more accurate, including option B.

energetics · Answer

(A)  The ability  of scientists to provide models of the atmosphere’s complex responses to changing conditions, like seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions,  have become ever more accurate.  
Illogical and SV agreement is wrong, the ability *has* not become more accurate. The sentence is trying to say that the scientists are more able to provide accurate models.

(B) The ability of scientists has become ever more accurate in providing models of the atmosphere’s complex responses to changing conditions, such as seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions. 
Same illogical structure as A)

(C) Scientists have become able to provide ever more accurate models of the atmosphere’s complex responses to such changing conditions as seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions. 
Corrects the illogical structure, correct SV agreement.

(D) Scientists have become ever more accurate in their ability for providing models of the atmosphere’s complex responses to changing conditions, like seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions. 
"for providing" is wrong, should be "to provide"
"like X and Y" is wrong, "such as X and Y" is correct to list examples
Finally, "have become ever more accurate in their ability" is illogical, they are not more accurate "in their ability" but they are just providing more accurate models.

(E) Scientists’ ability to provide models of the atmosphere’s complex responses to such changing conditions as seasonal and daily cycles or different planetary conjunctions have become ever more accurate. 
Same illogical structure as A)

The ability of scientists to provide models of the atmosphere’s comple

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GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

The ability of scientists to provide models of the atmosphere’s comple

Prep Toolkit

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