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The energy source on Voyager 2 is not a nuclear reactor, in which atom

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The energy source on Voyager 2 is not a nuclear reactor, in which atom [#permalink] New post   Updated on: 04 Feb 2019, 03:15
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The energy source on Voyager 2 is not a nuclear reactor, in which atoms are actively broken apart; rather a kind of nuclear battery that uses natural radioactive decay to produce power.

(A) apart; rather
(B) apart, but rather
(C) apart, but rather that of
(D) apart, but that of
(E) apart: it is that of


Verbal Question of The Day: Day 120: Sentence Correction


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https://www.nytimes.com/1989/08/26/us/voyager-s-heartbeat-is-nuclear-battery.html

This energy source is not that of a nuclear reactor, in which atoms are actively broken apart, but rather a kind of nuclear battery that uses natural radioactive decay to produce power.
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B

Originally posted by bmwhype2 on 18 Jun 2007, 08:39.
Last edited by Bunuel on 04 Feb 2019, 03:15, edited 5 times in total.
Renamed the topic and edited the question.
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Re: The energy source on Voyager 2 is not a nuclear reactor, in which atom [#permalink] New post   06 Oct 2017, 09:05
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This one is short and sweet. Nice way to end the week, no?

Quote:
(A) apart; rather

Hopefully, the semicolon jumps off the page at you immediately. In general, semicolons need to separate full, independent clauses. (There's also a rare usage in which semicolons can separate items in a list of individual items that already contain commas, but that's unlikely to cause you much pain -- an official example is available here.) In this case, the semicolon makes no sense: "rather a kind of nuclear battery..." is not a full, independent clause. (A) is out.

Quote:
(B) apart, but rather

This looks fine. "The energy source is not a nuclear reactor..., but rather a kind of nuclear battery." It's a classic "not X, but rather Y" sort of construction, and it makes logical sense: we're clarifying that the energy source is something other than what we might expect. And there are no semicolon issues. Let's keep (B).


Quote:
(C) apart, but rather that of

If you've ready our post on the GMAT's many uses of the word "that", then the "that of" construction should leap off the page at you. "That" is used as a singular pronoun here, so your job is to figure out what the singular pronoun refers back to... and then reread the sentence to make sure that it actually makes sense.

OK, so what are our options for singular referents for "that"? Well, there's "the energy source" or "a nuclear reactor." Let's try both of those, and see if either of them work:

  • "The energy source on Voyager 2 is not a nuclear reactor, in which atoms are actively broken apart, but rather the energy source of a kind of nuclear battery that uses natural radioactive decay to produce power." --> Huh? That's just weird and redundant, and doesn't really make sense. We could say that the energy source IS a nuclear battery, but "the energy source is... the energy source of a kind of nuclear battery" really doesn't work.
  • "The energy source on Voyager 2 is not a nuclear reactor, in which atoms are actively broken apart, but rather a nuclear reactor of a kind of nuclear battery that uses natural radioactive decay to produce power." --> Nope, that's even worse.

So (C) is out.

Quote:
(D) apart, but that of

(D) has exactly the same error as (C). Removing the word "rather" doesn't change the fact that the pronoun is completely nonsense.

Quote:
(E) apart: it is that of

(E) has the same mistake as (C) and (D). And we can probably argue about the "it", too. But either way, (E) is gone, and (B) is the best of the bunch.
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Re: The energy source on Voyager 2 is not a nuclear reactor, in which atom [#permalink] New post   24 Jan 2012, 10:24
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devinawilliam83 wrote:
The energy source on Voyager 2 is not a nuclear reactor, in which atoms are actively broken apart; rather a kind of nuclear battery that uses natural radioactive decay to produce power.

(A) apart; rather
(B) apart, but rather
(C) apart, but rather that of
(D) apart, but that of
(E) apart; it is that of


isnt "a kind of nuclear battery ..." a clause? if yes, why cant i connect the 2 clauses with a semi colon using rather?Please explain


Hi,

The prerequisite for any clause is that it must have a subject and it must have a verb. Presence of SV pair makes a clause, either a dependent or an independent.

This sentence can be divided into following clauses:

The energy source on Voyager 2 is not a nuclear reactor (Independent Clause) (blue = subject, green = verb)

in which atoms are actively broken apart (Dependent clause)

rather a kind of nuclear battery

that uses natural radioactive decay to produce power. (dependent clause)

"rather a kind of nuclear battery" is not a clause because it does not have any verb. Together, this phrase and the last clause build a dependent clause that appears after the semicolon. This is the incorrect sentence structure.

Also note that for every clause, IC or DC, the SV pairs must be independent. The verb of one clause cannot play the role of verb for the subject of another clause.

devinawilliam83 wrote:
Thanks, would the following construction be right?
The energy source on Voyager 2 is not a nuclear reactor, in which atoms are actively broken apart; it is a kind of nuclear battery that uses natural radioactive decay to produce power.?

also, isnt nuclear battery a noun and uses a verb for the sentence post the semi colon in the original question to qualify as a clause

just trying to get my concept clear


The sentence that you have cited is correct. "it" in the beginning of the second IC correctly refers to "The energy source on voyager 2" because they both are placed in the subject position of the ICs. This is from the grammatical standpoint. Logically also "it" refers to the same because the second IC is talking about "nuclear battery" which is a kind of "energy source" only.

Hope this helps.
Shraddha

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Re: The energy source on Voyager 2 is not a nuclear reactor, in which atom [#permalink] New post   23 Feb 2022, 13:48
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kungfury42 wrote:
bmwhype2 wrote:
The energy source on Voyager 2 is not a nuclear reactor, in which atoms are actively broken apart; rather a kind of nuclear battery that uses natural radioactive decay to produce power.

(A) apart; rather
(B) apart, but rather
(C) apart, but rather that of
(D) apart, but that of
(E) apart: it is that of


Verbal Question of The Day: Day 120: Sentence Correction


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https://www.nytimes.com/1989/08/26/us/voyager-s-heartbeat-is-nuclear-battery.html

This energy source is not that of a nuclear reactor, in which atoms are actively broken apart, but rather a kind of nuclear battery that uses natural radioactive decay to produce power.


Can anyone please explain why is it okay to use but and rather together? Is it not redundant?

Posted from my mobile device

Also worth noting: "but" and "rather" are different parts of speech. "But" is a conjunction and "rather" is an adverb. So imagine you wrote two clauses that you wanted to connect:

    "Tim does not want to feed his children vegetables. Rather, he wants to squeeze cake icing directly into their gaping maws." :-P

Well, the most logical way to connect those ideas in a single sentence would be to use the conjunction "but." That's fine. It's also different than the original two-sentence version. So the choice is less about redundancy, and more about the taste of a writer choosing between different constructions.

In other words: both "but" and "rather" might suggest a contrast, but they're doing different things, grammatically speaking.

I hope that helps!
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Re: The energy source on Voyager 2 is not a nuclear reactor, in which atom [#permalink] New post   18 Jun 2007, 08:57
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think of it like this-

B) the energy source is not X, but rather a kind of Y

C) the energy source is not X, but rather that of a kind of Y

C is unnecessary and changes the meaning of the sentence, hence answer is B
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Re: The energy source on Voyager 2 is not a nuclear reactor, in which atom [#permalink] New post   19 Jan 2012, 23:05
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Answer is B.

You can not use a semicolon since you do not have two independent clauses.

The following can not stand alone on its own:

Rather a kind of nuclear battery that uses natural radioactive decay to produce power.

It is dependent on the preceding clause. It is also unidiomatic. The idiom is - "not X, but rather Y"

So you have to stick with it. This eliminates A and E.

Parallelism eliminates C and D.

not a nuclear reactor, but rather a kind of battery. Adding that messes it all up.

Hope this helps.
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Re: The energy source on Voyager 2 is not a nuclear reactor, in which atom [#permalink] New post   09 Oct 2017, 07:33
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Novice90 wrote:
Hi,

Can someone please explain why do we need to use "but rather" and not only "rather" here?

As pointed above, is it not redundant?




Hello Novice90,


I will be glad to help you out with this one. :-)


Since the phrase but rather appears in the correct answer choice of this official question, the expression is most certainly NOT redundant.


The sentence uses the contrast word but to bring out the intended contrast. ABC is not X but Y.

Now, the word rather does NOT present contrast, and hence, its usage with but does NOT lead to redundancy.

The word rather is used either to present preference or to mean somewhat. It is the second meaning that the usage of the word rather denotes in the correct answer choice.


So basically, this sentence intends to say that the energy source on Voyager 2 is not a nuclear reactor but somewhat a kind of nuclear battery.



Hope this helps. :-)
Thanks.
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Re: The energy source on Voyager 2 is not a nuclear reactor, in which atom [#permalink] New post   10 Mar 2012, 19:30
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I have chosen B for this question:

A. This answer choice does 2 things incorrectly - it splits the comparison into 2 independence clauses and the second clause is a fragment. There is no reason to include a semicolon because it is splitting up the comparison into 2 sentences.

B. This answer is correct because it follows the not X, but rather Y comparison. Also, the elements are parallel.

C. This answer is incorrect. Although it does follow not X, but rather Y, "that of" is a relative pronoun that refers to nothing.

D. "That" does not refer to anything.

E. Again, the semicolon is unnecessary because we want a sentence that clearly describes the comparison in one thought.
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Re: The energy source on Voyager 2 is not a nuclear reactor, in which atom [#permalink] New post   24 May 2013, 01:13
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Actually it is not just but, but not X but Y.

X is a phrase: a nuclear reactor (,in which atoms are actively broken apart)
Y is also a phrase: rather a kind of nuclear battery (that uses natural radioactive decay to produce power)

I have put the modifiers (relative clauses) in brackets above to make it clear that the actual phrases are a nuclear reactor and a kind of nuclear battery.

In fact, I can't think of any scenario where Not X but Y would have complete clauses in X and Y. Does something come to your mind? Would be interesting to see.
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Re: The energy source on Voyager 2 is not a nuclear reactor, in which atom [#permalink] New post   21 Aug 2017, 10:20
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The energy source on Voyager 2 is not a nuclear reactor, in which atoms are actively broken apart; rather a kind of nuclear battery that uses natural radioactive decay to produce power.

(A) apart; rather
(B) apart, but rather
(C) apart, but rather that of
(D) apart, but that of
(E) apart: it is that of

The simple solution to this is:
1. The energy source is either a reactor or a battery. not that of a battery. We can ruthlessly dismiss C, D, and E.
Between A and B; A is wrong because A is a fragment as it is displaying a phrase rather than IC after the semicolon. B is the winner.
I don't think there is any need to unnecessarily indulge in other splits, or meanings etc
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Re: The energy source on Voyager 2 is not a nuclear reactor, in which atom [#permalink] New post   06 Jun 2013, 23:12
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Hi Countdown, I'm not sure where you read that differentiation, but it seems a little oversimplified.

Rather usually implies some kind of comparison, usually that I want this rather than that, as in preference.

But is a much more general term, it generally means some kind of dissidence, but it's definition is broader. (see what I did there?)

This answer is really governed by the "not" on the first line. Voyager 2 is not x, but rather y. This is an idiom that can be expected on the GMAT.

You could also turn the phrase to say something like: It is not x, rather it is y. That's fine too. But rather on it's own (answer choice A) does not make it sufficiently clear that we're still talking about Voyager 2.

Hope this helps!
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Re: The energy source on Voyager 2 is not a nuclear reactor, in which atom [#permalink] New post   01 Jun 2016, 19:33
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The energy source on Voyager 2 is not a nuclear reactor, in which atoms are actively broken apart; rather a kind of nuclear battery that uses natural radioactive decay to produce power.

Meaning and analysis:
The energy source on Voyager 2 is not a nuclear reactor but rather (is ) a kind of nuclear battery
"in which atoms are actively broken apart" -> is a modifier modifying nuclear reactor
that uses natural radioactive decay to produce power -> is a modifier modifying nuclear battery

(A) apart; rather -> rather is a conjunction and cannot be used with a Semi colon. Semi colon joins two Clauses.

(B) apart, but rather -> Correct

(C) apart, but rather that of
Comparing nuclear reactor with "that" of battery. Not sure what is referred by "That"

(D) apart, but that of
Comparing nuclear reactor with "that" of battery. Not sure what is referred by "That"

(E) apart: it is that of
1) Normally, colon is used to provide examples or long fragments in the list. I think, semi colon would have been appropriate
2) Comparing nuclear reactor with "that" of battery. Not sure what is referred by "That"
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Re: The energy source on Voyager 2 is not a nuclear reactor, in which atom [#permalink] New post   06 Oct 2017, 10:42
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One basic factor in this topic is that the energy source is equated with a nuclear reactor in the non-underlined part. It is not talking about the source as 'that of' a nuclear reactor. Therefore, any mention of the phrase 'that of ' in the second part is an unparallel comparison since we are comparing an energy source with something of another energy source namely the nuclear battery.
We can simply dump C, D, and E on this count. Of course, in A the second part after the semicolon is not an IC.
B is the indisputable winner.
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Re: The energy source on Voyager 2 is not a nuclear reactor, in which atom [#permalink] New post   01 Oct 2018, 11:18
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can someone help me with this, semicolon and comma+fanboy are both used to join 2 IC's. If A is wrong, so should be B as it is using comma+but.
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Re: The energy source on Voyager 2 is not a nuclear reactor, in which atom [#permalink] New post   30 Jun 2020, 13:15
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SanjaySrini wrote:
Hi,

Can someone explain why a comma +FANBOYS don't require two independent clauses in the correct answer.

Notice what happens if we temporarily remove the comma-separated portion:

    "The energy source on Voyager 2 is not a nuclear reactor but rather a kind of nuclear battery that uses natural radioactive decay to produce power."

We no longer have a ", but" at all! The commas are simply there to separate the additional modifying information.

And note that, even without that comma-separated info, we COULD put a comma before the "but" for clarity. For more on that, check out this post.

I hope this helps!
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Re: The energy source on Voyager 2 is not a nuclear reactor, in which atom [#permalink] New post   21 Aug 2020, 12:59
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EatMyDosa wrote:
bmwhype2 wrote:
The energy source on Voyager 2 is not a nuclear reactor, in which atoms are actively broken apart; rather a kind of nuclear battery that uses natural radioactive decay to produce power.

(A) apart; rather
(B) apart, but rather
(C) apart, but rather that of
(D) apart, but that of
(E) apart: it is that of


Verbal Question of The Day: Day 120: Sentence Correction


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https://www.nytimes.com/1989/08/26/us/voyager-s-heartbeat-is-nuclear-battery.html

This energy source is not that of a nuclear reactor, in which atoms are actively broken apart, but rather a kind of nuclear battery that uses natural radioactive decay to produce power.


Hi,

GMATNinja, egmat, ChiranjeevSingh

Is the use of full-colon (:) in option E correct?

My understanding is that (:) is used to provide additional information or explanation of something already mentioned in the previous sentence. Is my understanding correct?

Also, could you please tell what are the different uses of (:)?

Thanks

Yeah, the colon in (E) does not seem to be appropriate, since the stuff after it does not really provide additional information/examples or an explanation of the first part. I'd argue that a semicolon would be more appropriate in (E), to link the two related independent clauses.

Luckily, as described in this post, we don't have to worry about the punctuation in (E) at all! There are bigger fish to fry.

For more on GMAT punctuation, check out this video.
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Re: The energy source on Voyager 2 is not a nuclear reactor, in which atom [#permalink] New post   21 Feb 2022, 06:14
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kungfury42 wrote:
bmwhype2 wrote:
The energy source on Voyager 2 is not a nuclear reactor, in which atoms are actively broken apart; rather a kind of nuclear battery that uses natural radioactive decay to produce power.

(A) apart; rather
(B) apart, but rather
(C) apart, but rather that of
(D) apart, but that of
(E) apart: it is that of


Verbal Question of The Day: Day 120: Sentence Correction


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Show Spoiler
https://www.nytimes.com/1989/08/26/us/voyager-s-heartbeat-is-nuclear-battery.html

This energy source is not that of a nuclear reactor, in which atoms are actively broken apart, but rather a kind of nuclear battery that uses natural radioactive decay to produce power.


Can anyone please explain why is it okay to use but and rather together? Is it not redundant?

Posted from my mobile device


Hello kungfury42,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, the phrase "but rather" is, indeed, redundant, however, redundancy is not a deal-breaker on the GMAT.

Redundancy should only be taken into account when eliminating answer choices if more than one answer choice has proven to be error-free.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
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Re: The energy source on Voyager 2 is not a nuclear reactor, in which atom [#permalink] New post   24 May 2013, 00:15
the question uses a "not x ...but rather y" type of construction. I am confused that in such a case is "but" acting as a coordinating conjunction i.e. it must be followed by a complete clause . If so please tell me which is the main verb in the clause followed by but i.e." a kind of nuclear battery that uses natural radioactive decay to produce power"?
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Re: The energy source on Voyager 2 is not a nuclear reactor, in which atom [#permalink] New post   24 May 2013, 01:48
EducationAisle wrote:
Actually it is not just but, but not X but Y.

X is a phrase: a nuclear reactor (,in which atoms are actively broken apart)
Y is also a phrase: rather a kind of nuclear battery (that uses natural radioactive decay to produce power)

I have put the modifiers (relative clauses) in brackets above to make it clear that the actual phrases are a nuclear reactor and a kind of nuclear battery.

In fact, I can't think of any scenario where Not X but Y would have complete clauses in X and Y. Does something come to your mind? Would be interesting to see.


Thankyou so much Ashish ,that was very useful. So , I can safely conclude that every usage of "but" doesn't necessitate it to be used as a conjunction.
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Re: The energy source on Voyager 2 is not a nuclear reactor, in which atom [#permalink] New post   24 May 2013, 07:47
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There is one more thing. It looks from your earlier post that you did realize that this question uses not x ...but rather y type of construction. B, C and D are the three options that use this construct and none of these options uses a clause after but.

Hence the entire debate about whether a clause must be used after but is a moot point for this question; I understand though that your question was perhaps for a larger understanding and not necessarily limited to this question alone.

However, in general, test-takers should in fact develop an eye for seeing what really matters for a question.

The reason I want to highlight this is that students get worked-up on issues that don't matter for a question. This happens very often with questions where students think that a pronoun has ambiguous reference. We suggest students that if the same pronoun ambiguity exists in all 5 options, then move on, because in that case, clearly pronoun ambiguity is not being tested there; the same way as clause after but is not getting tested here: ).
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Re: The energy source on Voyager 2 is not a nuclear reactor, in which atom [#permalink]
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