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26 Feb 2020, 00:59
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D
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
5%
(low)
Question Stats:
82% (01:00) correct
18%
(01:18)
wrong
based on 280
sessions
History
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Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
The great advantage of using plutonium rather than U-235 in the manufacture of weapons is plutonium is able to be chemically separated from uranium, since it is a different atom with entirely different chemical properties.
A) plutonium is able to be chemically separated from uranium, since it
B) that plutonium is able to be separated chemically from uranium, being as it
C) plutonium’s and uranium’s ability to be separated chemically from each other, since the former
D) that plutonium can be chemically separated from uranium, since it
E) plutonium and uranium can be separated chemically from each other and that plutonium
26 Feb 2020, 01:05
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OFFICIAL EXPLANATION
THE PROMPT
• is able to be is long-winded. "Can be" works just fine.
• the antecedent of it is fairly clear from the structure and context of the sentence.
That antecedent is plutonium. I never eliminate on the basis of pronoun ambiguity on the first pass. But the absence of "that" is fatal.
Eliminate A
• being as does not mean because or since. In some regions of spoken English, "being as" is used to mean "because." GMAC does not accept this construction.
Eliminate B
This option does not say that plutonium is better (the great advantage) than uranium is—only that the two elements can separate from each other.
• the antecedent of former seems to be plutonium's ability, but plutonium's ability is not a "different atom with entirely different chemical properties."
This option makes no sense.
Eliminate C
• the sentence is intelligible: unlike the uranium isotope U-235, plutonium is easily separated from uranium
• the antecedent of it is unclear. In fact, we arguably have true pronoun ambiguity on our hands because it could refer to either of the two elements.
But -- on the first pass, do not reject an option solely on the basis of pronoun ambiguity.
(I don't think that this instance is unclear. The highlight of the sentence is plutonium. But that "it" is not ideal.)
KEEP, tentatively
• as in option A, the word that is missing
• "The great advantage" is only one advantage. This option contains two advantages. Not logical.
Eliminate E
Hmm. No perfect answer exists.
But option D is clear, concise, and only a little bit vague.
Option D is better than the others.
By process of elimination, the best answer is D.
COMMENTS
trigradius , welcome to SC Butler.
(Great username. Math? Gamer? Both? Probably the latter.)
These answers are all very good.
You're all picking up on subtleties; your "intuition" about both the language and this test is very good and getting better. Kudos.
Project SC Butler: Day 207: Sentence Correction (SC1)
THE PROMPT
Quote:
The great advantage of using plutonium rather than U-235 in the manufacture of weapons is plutonium is able to be chemically separated from uranium, since it is a different atom with entirely different chemical properties.
Quote:
A) The great advantage of using plutonium rather than U-235 in the manufacture of weapons is [that] plutonium is able to be chemically separated from uranium, since it is a different atom with entirely different chemical properties.
• the word "that" is missing. ("that" stands for "the fact that")• is able to be is long-winded. "Can be" works just fine.
• the antecedent of it is fairly clear from the structure and context of the sentence.
That antecedent is plutonium. I never eliminate on the basis of pronoun ambiguity on the first pass. But the absence of "that" is fatal.
Eliminate A
Quote:
B) The great advantage of using plutonium rather than U-235 in the manufacture of weapons is that plutonium is able to be separated chemically from uranium, being as it is a different atom with entirely different chemical properties.
• is able to be has the same problems as exist in option A• being as does not mean because or since. In some regions of spoken English, "being as" is used to mean "because." GMAC does not accept this construction.
Eliminate B
Quote:
C) The great advantage of using plutonium rather than U-235 in the manufacture of weapons is plutonium’s and uranium’s ability to be separated chemically from each other, since the former is a different atom with entirely different chemical properties.
• distorted or incorrect meaning.This option does not say that plutonium is better (the great advantage) than uranium is—only that the two elements can separate from each other.
• the antecedent of former seems to be plutonium's ability, but plutonium's ability is not a "different atom with entirely different chemical properties."
This option makes no sense.
Eliminate C
Quote:
D) The great advantage of using plutonium rather than U-235 in the manufacture of weapons is that plutonium can be chemically separated from uranium, since it is a different atom with entirely different chemical properties.
• the awkward and long-winded phrase is able to be is nicely shortened to can be• the sentence is intelligible: unlike the uranium isotope U-235, plutonium is easily separated from uranium
• the antecedent of it is unclear. In fact, we arguably have true pronoun ambiguity on our hands because it could refer to either of the two elements.
But -- on the first pass, do not reject an option solely on the basis of pronoun ambiguity.
(I don't think that this instance is unclear. The highlight of the sentence is plutonium. But that "it" is not ideal.)
KEEP, tentatively
Quote:
E) The great advantage of using plutonium rather than U-235 in the manufacture of weapons is [that] plutonium and uranium can be separated chemically from each other and that plutonium is a different atom with entirely different chemical properties.
[/quote]• as in option A, the word that is missing
• "The great advantage" is only one advantage. This option contains two advantages. Not logical.
Eliminate E
Hmm. No perfect answer exists.
But option D is clear, concise, and only a little bit vague.
Option D is better than the others.
By process of elimination, the best answer is D.
COMMENTS
trigradius , welcome to SC Butler.
(Great username. Math? Gamer? Both? Probably the latter.)
These answers are all very good.
You're all picking up on subtleties; your "intuition" about both the language and this test is very good and getting better. Kudos.
26 Feb 2020, 01:38
Kudos
Bookmarks
A tough one to me. I ended up choosing (D) after deliberating quite some time (4 minutes).
When I first saw (A), I though that pronoun "it" does not have a clear antecedent. But, I cannot force myself to choose either C or E. So, I have to backtrack and believe that "it" is actually okay.
(A) "is able to" emphasizes the ability to do something. So the subject cannot be inanimate such as "plutonium". Also: The comma before "since" is typically not needed.
(B) The same issue with "is able to". Moreover, "being as it" can never be correct.
(C) "Ability" suffers the same issue as above. Besides, this sentence reads convoluted. "From each other" is redundant.
(D) "it" refers to plutonium, which, I hope, is very clear to sensible readers. The comma before "since" is typically not needed. But, this is not a super strict rule.
(E) "From each other" is redundant. With "and that", we need "that" before "plutonium" to be parallel. But even if we add "that" before "plutonium", the two does not indicate the right relationship (the latter explains the former) as "since" does.
So, I go with "D". Look forward to reading the OE.
When I first saw (A), I though that pronoun "it" does not have a clear antecedent. But, I cannot force myself to choose either C or E. So, I have to backtrack and believe that "it" is actually okay.
(A) "is able to" emphasizes the ability to do something. So the subject cannot be inanimate such as "plutonium". Also: The comma before "since" is typically not needed.
(B) The same issue with "is able to". Moreover, "being as it" can never be correct.
(C) "Ability" suffers the same issue as above. Besides, this sentence reads convoluted. "From each other" is redundant.
(D) "it" refers to plutonium, which, I hope, is very clear to sensible readers. The comma before "since" is typically not needed. But, this is not a super strict rule.
(E) "From each other" is redundant. With "and that", we need "that" before "plutonium" to be parallel. But even if we add "that" before "plutonium", the two does not indicate the right relationship (the latter explains the former) as "since" does.
So, I go with "D". Look forward to reading the OE.
. I took 1 minute 12 seconds to settle on D. Here is how I eliminated the other answer choices.
