The use of non-ionizing laser pulses, which do not interact with organ

Question

The use of non-ionizing laser pulses, which do not interact with organic matter  in the way ionizing radiations do, hopefully will enable  diagnosticians to study patients’ organs, in greater detail, without the risk of causing radiation damage.

(A) in the way ionizing radiations do, hopefully will enable
(B) like ionizing radiations do, hopefully will enable
(C) in the way ionizing radiations do, will, it is hoped, enable
(D) like ionizing radiations, would enable, hopefully
(E) such as ionizing radiations do, will, it is hoped, enable

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PyjamaScientist · Accepted Answer

(C)  for me. Time taken 0:57 secs.

We can safely eliminate (B) and (D) for using "like" to compare two "actions". "as" is used to compare "actions". "like" is used to compare "nouns".

(E) "such" before "as" is incorrect. "such as" is used to "state examples", here the author intends to make a comparison, not to show an example. So, (E) is incorrect.

Between (A) and  (C) , (A) falls to (C) on the basis of using the adverb "hopefully" to modify the verb "will enable". Who is doer of the action " hopefully  will enable"? The sentence as it stands now, after removing the inessential modifier (which do not interact with organic matter in the way ionizing radiations do) is:   The use  of non-ionizing laser pulses  hopefully  will enable.  Here, the adverb "hopefully's" doer seems to be "The use of non-ionizing laser pulses". This does not make any sense. Also, though archaic, "hopefully" has been considered wrong on GMAT.  Click here  to see "hopefully" in action in an official question.

"it is hoped" is without any such ambiguity and that's what makes the option choice  (C)  preferable over (A). Saying that I do firmly believe that a normal test taker won't face this issue in an official question now because GMAC no longer tests idioms as it used to and now the emphasis is placed more on "meaning".

gloomybison · Answer

(A) in the way ionizing radiations do, hopefully will enable
 Correct

(B) like ionizing radiations do, hopefully will enable
"like" should be "as"; we are comparing actions

(C) in the way ionizing radiations do, will, it is hoped, enable
it has no proper referent

(D) like ionizing radiations, would enable, hopefully
no need to use would; it is not a hypothetical situation or a future in the past situation

(E) such as ionizing radiations do, will, it is hoped, enable
organic matter such as ionizing radiations do? meaning error also it still has no referent

zhanbo · Answer

My answer is  (A) . It took me 01:53.

(A) Generally OK. I would prefer to place "hopefully" after "will".

(B) "Like" is a preposition (also: a verb) and never a conjunction. It cannot be followed by a clause.

(C) Very similar to (A). "hopefully" in (A) is more succinct than "it is hoped". 
Besides, "it" in "it is hoped" can only be interpreted as an "implicit it", complicating the sentence structure without any redeeming benefit.

(D) "non-ionizing laser pulses do not interact with organic matter like ionizing radiations" can be interpreted multiple ways. 
One possibility is: "Like ionizing radiations, non-ionizing laser pulses do not interact with organic matter". The meaning is wrong.

(E) "such as" is used as a preposition to introduce examples. It can never be used as a conjunction.

msgstoas · Answer

The use of non-ionizing laser pulses, which do not interact with organic matter

in the way ionizing radiations do, hopefully will enable

diagnosticians to study patients’ organs, in greater detail, without the risk of causing radiation damage.

(A) in the way ionizing radiations do, hopefully will enable (correct)
(B) like ionizing radiations do, hopefully will enable  (do is ungrammatical with like) 
(C) in the way ionizing radiations do, will, it is hoped, enable (it is hoped... wrong)
(D) like ionizing radiations, would enable, hopefully (hopefully diagnosticians ... WRONG)
(E) such as ionizing radiations do, will, it is hoped, enable (such as is used for examples)

Bunuel · Answer

Experts' Global Official Explanation:

Meaning + Comparison

• “like” is used for comparing nouns, “as” is used for comparing actions/clauses, and “such as” is used for giving examples.

A. Trap. This answer choice suffers from an error of meaning, due to its use of the adverb “hopefully”; this adverb modifies the verb “will enable”, illogically implying that the noun “use of non-ionizing laser pulses” will carry out the action of enabling diagnosticians in a hopeful manner. Besides, the placement of “hopefully” is such that it doesn’t directly modify the verb “enable”; “will hopefully enable” would have made Choice A more competitive. On a side-note, the term “hopefully” is generally incorrect on GMAT as it often suffers from such imperfect adverbial usage issues.

B. Trap. This answer choice suffers from an error of meaning, due to its use of the adverb “hopefully”; this adverb modifies the verb “will enable”, illogically implying that the noun “use of non-ionizing laser pulses” will carry out the action of enabling diagnosticians in a hopeful manner. Additionally, Option B incorrectly uses the word “like” rather than the word “as” to compare the clauses “do not interact with organic matter” and “ionizing radiations do”. Remember, “like” is used for comparing nouns, “as” is used for comparing actions/clauses, and “such as” is used for giving examples.

C. Correct.  This answer choice conveys the intended, logical meaning of the sentence by modifying the verb “enable” with the modifying verb phrase “it is hoped”. Additionally, Option C correctly employs “in the way” rather than “like” or “such as”, avoiding idiomatic errors.

D. This answer choice suffers from an error of meaning, due to its use of the adverb “hopefully”; this adverb modifies the verb “would enable”, illogically implying that the noun “use of non-ionizing laser pulses” will carry out the action of enabling diagnosticians in a hopeful manner. Additionally, Option D incorrectly uses the word “like” to draw a comparison between the clause “do not interact with organic matter” and the noun “ionizing radiations”. Remember, “like” is used for comparing nouns, “as” is used for comparing actions/clauses, and “such as” is used for giving examples.

E. This answer choice incorrectly uses the phrase “such as” rather than “as” to compare the clauses “do not interact with organic matter” and “ionizing radiations do”. Remember, “like” is used for comparing nouns, “as” is used for comparing actions/clauses, and “such as” is used for giving examples.

C is the best answer choice

Bunuel · Answer

Experts' Global Video Explanation:

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VerbalBot · Answer

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The use of non-ionizing laser pulses, which do not interact with organ

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The use of non-ionizing laser pulses, which do not interact with organ

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