“Hurricane resistant” classification is given by the government to tho

Question

“Hurricane resistant” classification is given by the government to those structures that use construction materials such as solid concrete, steel,  reinforced brick, cement or pyramid shaped roof with slopes of no less than 35 degrees from horizontal and no overhangs of any kind .

(A) reinforced brick, cement or pyramid shaped roof with slopes of no less than 35 degrees from horizontal and no overhangs of any kind

(B) reinforced brick, or cement, or if the structures have pyramid shaped roof with slopes of no less than 35 degrees from horizontal and no overhangs of any kind

(C) reinforced brick, and cement, or if the structures have pyramid shaped roof with slopes of no less than 35 degrees from horizontal or no overhangs of any kind

(D) reinforced brick, cement, if the structures have pyramid shaped roof with slopes of no less than 35 degrees from horizontal, and no overhangs of any kind

(E) reinforced brick, cement, pyramid shaped roof with slopes of no less than 35 degrees from horizontal, or no overhangs of any kind

dentobizz · Accepted Answer

“Hurricane resistant” classification is given by the government to those structures that use construction materials such as solid concrete, steel,   reinforced brick, cement or pyramid shaped roof with slopes of no less than 35 degrees from horizontal and no overhangs of any kind.

A) reinforced brick, cement or pyramid shaped roof with slopes of no less than 35 degrees from horizontal and no overhangs of any kind
B) reinforced brick, or cement, or if the structures have pyramid shaped roof with slopes of no less than 35 degrees from horizontal and no overhangs of any kind
C) reinforced brick, and cement, or if the structures have pyramid shaped roof with slopes of no less than 35 degrees from horizontal or no overhangs of any kind
D) reinforced brick, cement, if the structures have pyramid shaped roof with slopes of no less than 35 degrees from horizontal, and no overhangs of any kind
E) reinforced brick, cement, pyramid shaped roof with slopes of no less than 35 degrees from horizontal, or no overhangs of any kind

The Sentence lists construction materials used for making structures that are classified as “hurricane resistant” by the government. 
We need a parallel list here 
A)  concrete, steel, reinforced brick , cement  {all construction materials} OR  pyramid shaped roof  NOT a construction material 
//m and meaning error
D) reinforced brick, cement, if the structures have pyramid shaped roof with slopes of no less than 35 degrees from horizontal, and no overhangs of any kind--unparalleled list and run on sentence 
E) unparalleled list as in A and D
B) and C) can be selected wrt to the meaning 
in B -concrete, steel, reinforced brick ,OR cement --make the list complete ( “hurricane resistant” classification can be given to str. with const. material such as --A,B,C, or D....)

in C --  reinforced brick, and cement ,--Makes it incorrect because then it implies -( “hurricane resistant” classification can be given to str. with const. material such as --A,B,C, AND D....)So ALL 4 need to be used as const. material. This does not seem to be the intended meaning.

IMO B--//m and fragment error corrected.
 “Hurricane resistant” classification is given by the government to those structures that use construction materials such as  solid concrete ,  steel ,  reinforced brick , or  cement ,  or  if the structures have pyramid shaped roof with slopes of no less than 35 degrees from horizontal and no overhangs of any kind

jumsumtak · Answer

interesting.
in my opinion - nope. look at A B C and D as a list introduced by 'such as'. D should be proceeded by and. If there was no 'such as', your reasoning would have been valid. I am yet to see this construction - 'such as X, Y,  or  Z' in a correct answer.

Though, I don't like the sentence construction here. The two things mentioned are just not parallel. ("to those structures..." and "if the structures...")
But that is true for every other option as well, so it isn't really a differentiator.

dentobizz · Answer

Agreed the sent. str.   is bad. Felt the same but it's present all across
Logically speaking concrete, steel, reinforced brick ,..etc are just examples of construction material which can be used to built the structure .
All 4 don't necessarily have to be used together for construction, hence IMO 'and' won't be needed

for example :--you can get your daily dose of vitamin C from citrus fruit such as orange, sweetlime,guava or lemon (doesn't have to all of them)

will try and find a official question with such as a,b,c, or d (might be difficult though since you say it doesn't exist)

jumsumtak · Answer

All I'm saying is I don't remember anything like this and a quick search did not reveal anything. would love to see an official question.

dentobizz · Answer

hey I found the Official questions; it took some searching #81 OG 12

Recently physicians have determined that stomach ulcers are  not caused by stress, alcohol, or rich foods, but  a bacterium that dwells in the mucous lining of the stomach
B. not caused by stress, alcohol, or rich foods, but are by
 C. caused not by stress, alcohol, or rich foods, but by 
D. caused not by stress, alcohol,  and  rich foods, but
E. caused not by stress, alcohol,  and  rich foods, but are by

OA C.

#79 also has criminal  or  delinquent behaviour as the correct answer (other choices also contain or)

jumsumtak · Answer

Okay. Let us step back a bit.
I never meant to say that answers with an 'or' will  always  be incorrect. Of course not.

But, what you wrote here:
 in C -- reinforced brick, and cement,--Makes it incorrect because then it implies -( “hurricane resistant” classification can be given to str. with const. material such as --A,B,C, AND D....)So ALL 4 need to be used as const. material.  
I was not comfortable with this interpretation i.e. AND means 'everything in the list' has to be used. (when the list is followed by 'such as'). Again, I've not been able to find anything to support this and that is why I mentioned I don't remember any question to support my reasoning.

In this question, the second 'or' in C, right at the end of the sentence is a cause of concern for me. That should definitely be 'and'; (unless it is a completely whacko argument that slope < 35 OR no overhangs) therefore option C looks incorrect to me.

dentobizz · Answer

if you read the OE of the official (ulcer) question it says the replacement of conjunction AND by OR changes the meaning. Use of 'And' implies that combination of all 3 factors is the suggested cause of ulcers whereas or indicates 3 indiviual possibilities. Similarly in this sent. when a,b,c and d are used they all have to be used in combination however if you pick OR we mean 4 different materials ie not used in combination.

All in all I don't think that this is a gr8 question wrt the meaning and style tested on the gmat. The // is not precise and as pointed out above there is no way to determine whether the author meant 35 degree slope and overhang? Or he meant 35 degree slope OR overhang?

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Darmody · Answer

“Hurricane resistant” classification is given by the government to those structures that use construction materials such as solid concrete, steel, reinforced brick, cement or pyramid shaped roof with slopes of no less than 35 degrees from horizontal and no overhangs of any kind.
A) reinforced brick, cement or pyramid shaped roof with slopes of no less than 35 degrees from horizontal and no overhangs of any kind  pyramid shaped roof is given as an example of construction material 
B) reinforced brick, or cement, or if the structures have pyramid shaped roof with slopes of no less than 35 degrees from horizontal and no overhangs of any kind  seems ok  
C) reinforced brick, and cement, or if the structures have pyramid shaped roof with slopes of no less than 35 degrees from horizontal or no overhangs of any kind  change the meaning with the "or" at the end 
D) reinforced brick, cement, if the structures have pyramid shaped roof with slopes of no less than 35 degrees from horizontal, and no overhangs of any kind  the position of the coma before and does not seem right + change the meaning for the sentence + I am not sure about the if construction at the end 
E) reinforced brick, cement, pyramid shaped roof with slopes of no less than 35 degrees from horizontal, or no overhangs of any kind  pyramid shaped roof and overhands are given as an example of construction material

What is the OA on this ?

joshnsit · Answer

I was hoping to see little confusion over this after I got this wrong after a whisker. But, here is what I have in OE.

OE 
 What does the sentence mean -  The sentence states two conditions under which the government classified a structure as hurricane resistant.
1: Either the construction materials should be solid concrete, steel, or reinforced brick 
2: Or the structure should have pyramid shaped roof with slopes of certain slope and no overhangs of any kind.

What are the errors in the original sentence –  The original sentence has parallelism error since the identified list is not correct. There are indeed two lists in this sentence that have been combined into one.. First one lists out the construction materials and second one gives the conditions that a structure should meet in order to be classified as “hurricane resistant”
List 1 - structures that use construction materials such as solid concrete, steel, reinforced brick, cement
List 2 – structures that use construction materials or structures that have pyramid shaped roof…

I am giving choice analysis for only C here as it is the only one which is real contender. Choice C is rendered bad with his explanation: This choice changes the intended meaning since it uses the connector “or” to connect the two features of the pyramid shaped roofs. This is because the original sentence used “and” to connect these elements thereby implying that both these conditions should be satisfied for the structure to be classified as hurricane resistant.

And the  OA is B  in this problem.

What I really feel is that pyramid shaped roof should have got some reference(like that/which) back to structures as explained in OE, though not present in OA. According to me, correct list would have been better justified with a conjunction/relative pronoun as in the sentence below.
Hurricane resistant” classification is given by the government to those structures that use construction materials such as solid concrete, steel, reinforced brick,or cement or    that    pyramid shaped roof with slopes of no less than 35 degrees from horizontal and no overhangs of any kind

Let me know your thoughts on this.

jumsumtak · Answer

For what its worth - it does not matter whether there is an and/or after 'such as'. https://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/suc ... 17588.html

dentobizz · Answer

Even though I answered this question correctly, I Agree with pavanpaone above , you CANNOT tell for sure what the author wants to say 'and' vs 'or'. I guess this is the reason experts suggests that one should only practice from official sources. Btw for the AND vs OR issue the offical questions from OG and gmatprep have OE saying that usually there is No way to determine what is the intended meaning so if you observe there will almost always be other errors that help you decide eg OE of OG12 #81

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aviram · Answer

That's true, and that is when you try and maintain the original meaning, which also makes better sense because using 'and' would mean ALL of the first list must be used (which itself is representative and would therefore mean another such 'and' combination could get you the certification), whereas using 'or' would mean that if one of those materials is used (one way to get hurricane resistant certification) or if the roof angle is... (the other way).

daagh · Answer

A. reinforced brick, cement or pyramid shaped roof with slopes of no less than 35 degrees from horizontal and no overhangs of any kind -- - wrong for considering pyramid shaped roof or overhangs as construction material

D. reinforced brick, cement, if the structures have pyramid shaped roof with slopes of no less than 35 degrees from horizontal, and no overhangs of any kind --- the roof item is a clause different from the other nouns; un//.

E. reinforced brick, cement, pyramid shaped roof with slopes of no less than 35 degrees from horizontal, or no overhangs of any kind --  takes all the five materials as construction materials

B. reinforced brick, or cement, or if the structures have pyramid shaped roof with slopes of no less than 35 degrees from horizontal and no overhangs of any kind --  see below

C. reinforced brick, and cement, or if the structures have pyramid shaped roof with slopes of no less than 35 degrees from horizontal or no overhangs of any kind ---  see below 
 
The difference between B and C is that B by the use of ‘or’ says that if structure uses any one of the four construction materials such as solid concrete or steel, or reinforced brick or cement, then that structure will be called hurricane resistant

On the contrary C by using ‘and’ implies that all the four materials are needed for a structure to be termed ‘hurricane resistant.

The logical question is whether one can build a structure with just concrete, or steel or reinforced bricks or cement. We require all of them to build a structure, don’t we?

Let’s also see the second part. They correct parsing of the second part is:

or if the structures have ( 1.‘pyramid shaped roof with slopes of no less than 35 degrees from horizontal’ and / or ‘no overhangs of any kind’)
Now, B, by using ‘and’ means that both the features are necessary, whereas C by using ‘or’ indicates that any one is sufficient. I feel anyone feature is sufficient for the structure to be classified as ‘HR’

Logically, I feel C should be the correct answer.

b9n920 · Answer

IMO  B  is correct.

It's a close fight between B and C. I prefer B, bcos, there are basically 4 construction materials - solid concrete, steel, reinforced brick, and cement - each guarantees safety against hurricane, I think. So,  OR  is legitimate here.

The other two little complex options are examples of not so solid safety conditions, as per hurricane is concerned, I think. So,  AND  is necessary between  pyramid shaped roof with slopes of no less than 35 degrees from horizontal  and  no overhangs of any kind.  So, basically the intended meaning is that EITHER the use of any of the 4 solid construction materials OR if pyramid shaped roof is used then no overhangs, qualifies a structure to get “Hurricane resistant” classification.

I would love to see the official explanation.

Thanks.

dushyanta · Answer

With B or C
Or vs And usage.. this could be disputed..

On the contrary of above explanations I felt

after  such as  solid concrete, steel, reinforced brick, cement are used as examples and thats why they necessitates the use of 'and'... to let know that we are done with the examples and now there is one more item - ....if the structures have pyramid shaped roof with slope....

Crytiocanalyst · Answer

(A) reinforced brick, cement or pyramid shaped roof with slopes of no less than 35 degrees from horizontal and no overhangs of any kind

(B) reinforced brick, or cement, or if the structures have pyramid shaped roof with slopes of no less than 35 degrees from horizontal and no overhangs of any kind

(C) reinforced brick, and cement, or if the structures have pyramid shaped roof with slopes of no less than 35 degrees from horizontal or no overhangs of any kind

(D) reinforced brick, cement, if the structures have pyramid shaped roof with slopes of no less than 35 degrees from horizontal, and no overhangs of any kind

(E) reinforced brick, cement, pyramid shaped roof with slopes of no less than 35 degrees from horizontal, or no overhangs of any kind

E, C are eleminated because there are no overhang isn't present 
D is eleminated since it doesn't have the or structure 
really difficult to eleminate And B i eleminated A as the or structure wasn't adapted in the cement section
Hence IMO B

VerbalBot · Answer

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“Hurricane resistant” classification is given by the government to tho

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“Hurricane resistant” classification is given by the government to tho

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