Because there is a lack of a single factor to appraise the art against

Question

Pack 5, Question 3 of 5:

Because there is a lack of a single factor to appraise the art against, calculating the market value of art is subjective.

A. Because there is a lack of a single factor to appraise the art against, calculating the market value of art is subjective.
B. Subjective is to calculate the market value of art because a single factor is lacking against which the art can be appraised.
C. It is subjective to calculate the market value of art because against no single factor can the art be appraised.
D. To calculate the market value of art is subjective because there is no single factor that the art can be appraised against.
E. Calculating the market value of art is subjective because there is no single factor against which the art can be appraised.

◀ Pack 5, Question 2  
 ▶ Pack 5, Question 4 
 ⏏ Question Pack Home

48 Hour Window To Win An $85 EMPOWERgmat Tuition Credit (1 Month Free!)   
Share your explanation!  The GMAT Club member with the most verified Kudos  in total on the 5 question SC Block 5 question pack will  win an $85 EMPOWERgmat tuition credit , which will entitle the winner to a full month of complete access to the EMPOWERgmat system. Even if you're not sure about your answer or your rationale, share your explanation to help boost your learning and earn a chance to win.

To be eligible, your explanation must:
 be submitted within the 48 hour window after this post was created
should explain your reasoning why the answer you chose is correct, and why the other 4 options are incorrect within 48 hours of this post

The OA and official explanation will be held until the 48 hour window has lapsed.

sampriya · Answer

Because there is a lack of a single factor to appraise the art against, calculating the market value of art is subjective.

A. Because there is  a lack of a  single factor  to appraise the art against , calculating the market value of art is subjective.
"a lack of a single factor" is redundant compared to "no single factor"
B.  Subjective is to calculate the market value  of art because  a single factor is lacking  against which the art can be appraised.- Subjective doesn't literallymean to calculate the market value. " is lacking" is the wrong tense its should be "lacks"
C. It is subjective to calculate the market value of art because  against no single factor can the art be appraised. - awkward
D.  To calculate the market value of art  is subjective because there is no single factor that the art can be appraised against.- the action of calculating is subjective and not the intention of calculating
E. Calculating the market value of art is subjective because there is no single factor against which the art can be appraised.-  Correct!

Raxit85 · Answer

Imo. E

Because there is a lack of a single factor to appraise the art against, calculating the market value of art is subjective.

Because there is a lack of a single factor to appraise the art against, calculating...., against what???

A. Because there is a lack of a single factor to appraise the  art against, calculating the  market value of art is subjective. - Incomplete construction, incorrect
B.  Subjective is to calculate the  market value of art because a single factor is lacking against which the art can be appraised. - Subjective is to calculate.... Distorts the meaning
C. It is subjective to calculate the market value of  art because against  no single factor can the art be appraised. - Awkward construction. 
D.  To calculate the market value of art is subjective because there is no single  factor that the art can be appraised against. - Starting the sentence with preposition to requires comma, subject. Distorts the meaning. 
E. Calculating the market value of art is subjective because there is no single factor against which the art can be appraised. - Aha, perfect meaningful construction and no error. Hold it.

harsh8686 · Answer

Let me try.

A. Because  there is a lack of a single factor to appraise the art against , calculating the market value of art is subjective.
 It can be discerned that if at least one factor was available, it would be possible to calculate... 
So, I think meaning wise this choice is wrong.
I think what the sentence wants to convey is that most of the time art is judge subjectively because one has to take into account many factors.
 
B.  Subjective is to calculate the market value  of art because a single factor is lacking against which the art can be appraised.
 This looks as if we are defining subjectivity
 
C. It is subjective to calculate the market value of art because against no single factor can the art be appraised.
 Looks good to me. 
 
D.  To calculate the market value of art  is subjective because there is no single factor that the art can be appraised against.
 The substantive clause is used so SV agreement is right but I guess again it seems that the sentence is more defining subjectivity.
 
E.  Calculating the market value of art  is subjective because there is no single factor against which the art can be appraised.
 Using gerund is okay and SV agreement is also right but again, meaning wise it seems the sentence is defining subjective.

IMO correct answer choice C

OC2910 · Answer

Because there is a lack of a single factor to appraise the art against, calculating the market value of art is subjective.

A 5 second scan of answer choices gives us no clear split : apart fromsome active passive issues 
 Lets get to meaning of the sentence 
literally author wants to convey : calculating the value of art is subjective and he provides a reason: the art cannot be appraised against any single factor

note while inferring the meaning only we see idea is clearly stated if we keep everything as it is ,Now lets attack the choices

A) A. Because there is a lack of a single factor   to appraise the art against  , calculating the market value of art is subjective. : jumbling the sentence keeps us to an open ended question appraise the art form against what ???

B.   Subjective is to calculate the market value of art   because a single factor is lacking against which the art can be appraised. : shifting the sentence to passive construction changes our intended meaning.

C.  It is subjective to calculate the market value of art because against no single factor can the art be appraised . : hold for now

D. To calculate the market value of art is subjective because there is no single factor that the art can be appraised   against  . : sentence ending with preposition red flag in GMAT

E.  Calculating the market value of art is subjective because there is no single factor against which the art can be appraised

Now between C and E
E is active voice clearly stating our inferred idea in few words
C is passive and takes more word to state the idea and has a subtle meaning change

we can always say :"calculating market value of art is subjective" has different meaning than it is subjective to calculate the value of art

So My Take E

mykrasovski · Answer

Options (A), (B), and (D) are clearly messed up.

(C) and (E) are contenders. Let's compare them.

C.  It is subjective to calculate the market value of art because  against no single factor can the art be appraised.
The highlighted portion looks good, but the rest of the sentence is a bit clumsy, let's look at (E).

E. Calculating the market value of art is subjective because there is no single factor against which the art can be appraised.
Simplified, (E) looks as follows   is subjective   because there is no factor   against which the art can be valued.

Option (E) is clearer than (C).

snoep · Answer

Because there is a lack of a single factor to appraise the art against, calculating the market value of art is subjective .

this question tests clarity using simplified words, and describing the reason for correct process

A. Because there is a lack of a single factor to appraise the art against, calculating the market value of art is subjective.
 Lack of -> is noun , we generally use lack to denote shortage (less or none). Lack of water, lack of money. lack of resources 
lack of single factor -> there is not too much wrong with writing lack of factors or shortage of factors. the sentence suggests there are 0 factors and it will only add to clarity to use - there is no single factor (none)
Lack can also be used as- verb -> means missing; e.g. lacking skills
For clarity again, "against" the preposition should be closer to what it is modifying. it should be closer to single factor
subjective is adjective that modifies calculating value of art

B. Subjective is to calculate the market value of art because a single factor is lacking against which the art can be appraised.
 Subject and Object are reversed here.  Subjective  is a main subject here and reason specified by because modifies the reversed relationship. 
incorrect use of subjective to modify 'to calculate'. Because a single factor  is lacking  -> is lacking is verb, it misses the object. Is lacking what? 
hence, incorrect!

C. It is subjective to calculate the market value of art because against no single factor can the art be appraised.
 subjective (adjective) modifies infinitive to calculate. because is used to present the reason and is unnecessarily worded with inverted structure

D. To calculate the market value of art is subjective because there is no single factor that the art can be appraised against
 Same as C, to calculate is being modified by adjective subjective. Because clause is unnecessarily wordy with the use of That and incorrect placement of against

E. Calculating the market value of art is subjective because there is no single factor against which the art can be appraised.
 Calculating value is modified by adjective subjective. why do we say it is subjective because there is no single factor. against which art can be appraised modifies single factor.

EMPOWERgmatVerbal · Answer

Official Explanation:

Because there is a lack of a single factor to appraise the art against, calculating the market value of art is subjective.

A. Because there is a lack of a single factor to appraise the art against, calculating the market value of art is subjective.
B. Subjective is to calculate the market value of art because a single factor is lacking against which the art can be appraised.
C. It is subjective to calculate the market value of art because against no single factor can the art be appraised.
D. To calculate the market value of art is subjective because there is no single factor that the art can be appraised against. 
 E. Calculating the market value of art is subjective because there is no single factor against which the art can be appraised.

Since the entire sentence is underlined, let’s review our answer choices one by one.

Option A: Because there is  a lack of a single factor  to appraise the art  against , calculating the market value of art is subjective. 
“A lack of a single factor” is wordy and awkward. The preposition (against) is away from the noun (factor) it connects to. It is unlikely that this is the best answer.

Option B:  Subjective  is to calculate the market value of art because a single factor is lacking against which the art can be appraised. 
“Subjective” is the subject of this sentence. The way this sentence is arranged, it seems like the definition of “subjective” is to calculate the market value of art. That is not the meaning of subjective, so this sentence is at the very least unclear and misleading. It cannot be the best answer.

Option C:  It is subjective  to calculate the market value of art  because against no single factor can the art be appraised . 
Once again, it is unclear if the sentence is simply providing an example of something subjective or if the only possible thing “subjective” could be is calculating the market value of art. Flipping the order of the subject and verb in the “because” clause creates an awkward sentence. This cannot be best answer.

Option D:  To calculate  the market value of art is subjective because there is no single  factor  that the art can be appraised  against . 
Using the infinitive (to calculate) as the subject is not quite clear here. Is it the calculations themselves that are subjective or the process of calculating (how to calculate) the value subjective? The preposition (against) is very removed from the noun (factor) it governs. This lack of clarity and poorly placed preposition means this cannot be the best answer.

Option E:  Calculating the market value of art  is subjective because there is  no single factor against which  the art can be appraised. 
The use of the gerund (calculating) is clearer than using the infinitive. It is clear it is not the calculations themselves but the process of calculating that is subjective. The preposition is in the correct location, paired with “which.” “No single factor” is concise compared to “there is a lack of a single factor.” This sentence is concise, clear, and grammatically correct.

Option E is the best answer.

EMPOWERgmatVerbal · Answer

Well done,  sampriya ! You cracked the code, and your explanations are very clear.

Kudos to you!

EMPOWERgmatVerbal · Answer

Well done,  Raxit85 ! You cracked the code on this one!

EMPOWERgmatVerbal · Answer

You were on the right track with some of these,  harsh8686 . Check out the official explanation for more on why option E is the better choice!

EMPOWERgmatVerbal · Answer

Well done,  StrugglingGmat2910 ! You cracked the code on this one! We look forward to hearing more great explanations from you in future questions!

Kudos to you!

EMPOWERgmatVerbal · Answer

Well done, mykrasovski ! Make sure that you explain what's wrong with each incorrect choice so others can see your thought process. For example, why are options A, B, & D messed up? It may have been clear to you, but it may not be for everyone!

EMPOWERgmatVerbal · Answer

Well done,  snoep ! Another great, thorough explanation! You cracked the code on this one for sure!

Kudos to you!

StevenA · Answer

EMPOWERgmatVerbal , would like to ask on option C.  Flipping the order of the subject and verb in the “because” clause creates an awkward sentence.  
Does it mean that we can test whether a sentence has the correct form or not by flipping the subject and the object? I tried to flip the subject and object on option C and E, and seems like option C does not make sense if it is flipped. Hence, the structure is wrong. Am I understanding it correctly?

(1) ... Because against  no single factor  can  the art be appraised  --> Because against  the art be appraised  can  no single factor  
(2) ... Because  there  is  no single factor   against which the art can be appraised. --> Because  no single factor  is  there  against which the art can be appraised

EMPOWERgmatVerbal · Answer

When it comes to this sentence,  StevenA , you are correct - switching the order of the subject and verb should tell you if they work or not. This doesn't work with all sentences, but in this case, it works!

Because there is a lack of a single factor to appraise the art against

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

Because there is a lack of a single factor to appraise the art against

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards