Last visit was: 21 Apr 2026, 16:15 It is currently 21 Apr 2026, 16:15
Home
Messages
Tests
Schools
Events
Close
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Go to My Error Log Learn more
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
Back to Forum
Create Topic
User avatar
mikemcgarry
User avatar
Magoosh GMAT Instructor
Joined: 28 Dec 2011
Last visit: 06 Aug 2018
Posts: 4,474
Own Kudos:
30,878
 [26]
Given Kudos: 130
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 4,474
Kudos: 30,878
 [26]
The motion of the Sun in the sky, as well as the Moon and planets and 11 Oct 2016, 14:19
Kudos
Add Kudos
25
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
00:00
Start Timer
Pause Timer
Resume Timer
Show Answer
Hide
Show
History
D
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!

Difficulty:

15% (low)

Question Stats:

66% (00:40) correct 34% (00:42) wrong based on 899 sessions

History

Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
The motion of the Sun in the sky, as well as the Moon and planets and stars, are because of the rotation of the Earth: everything rises in the East and sets in the West.

(A) are because of

(B) is because of

(C) are caused by

(D) is due to

(E) are due to

This question explores the use of "due to." For a more extensive discussion, as well as the OE of this question, see:
GMAT Sentence Correction: the “Due To” Mistake

Mike :-)
ShowHide Answer
Official Answer
D
Most Helpful Reply
avatar
shalinkotia
avatar
Joined: 11 Apr 2016
Last visit: 01 Nov 2017
Posts: 10
Own Kudos:
10
 [10]
Given Kudos: 246
Posts: 10
Kudos: 10
 [10]
The motion of the Sun in the sky, as well as the Moon and planets and 14 Oct 2016, 07:44
3
Kudos
Add Kudos
7
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
I will go for "D".

"Due to" is used in case of nouns and "because of" is used in case of verbs. For example:
The motion is "due to"....
The Sun moves "because of"....

mikemcgarry, please suggest and give the answer.
General Discussion
User avatar
Abhishek009
User avatar
Board of Directors
Joined: 11 Jun 2011
Last visit: 17 Dec 2025
Posts: 5,904
Own Kudos:
5,447
 [4]
Given Kudos: 463
Status:QA & VA Forum Moderator
Location: India
GPA: 3.5
WE:Business Development (Commercial Banking)
Posts: 5,904
Kudos: 5,447
 [4]
The motion of the Sun in the sky, as well as the Moon and planets and 11 Oct 2016, 14:34
2
Kudos
Add Kudos
2
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
mikemcgarry
The motion of the Sun in the sky, as well as the Moon and planets and stars, are because of the rotation of the Earth: everything rises in the East and sets in the West.

(A) are because of

(B) is because of

(C) are caused by

(D) is due to

(E) are due to

This question explores the use of "due to." For a more extensive discussion, as well as the OE of this question, see:
GMAT Sentence Correction: the “Due To” Mistake

Mike :-)
Show more

X as well as Y ---> X is singular noun hence the verb must also be singular ( IS ) { Leaves us with option (B) & (D)

Because of - Modifies Nouns
Due to = Caused by

So between (B) and (D) , correct answer must be (D) -

The motion of the Sun in the sky, as well as the Moon and planets and stars, is due to the rotation of the Earth: everything rises in the East and sets in the West.

Here is something more from eGMAT on ‘Due to’ VS ‘Because of’ war -

https://e-gmat.com/blog/gmat-verbal/sen ... because-of
avatar
AK125
avatar
Joined: 09 Apr 2016
Last visit: 21 Dec 2016
Posts: 28
Own Kudos:
29
 [1]
Given Kudos: 600
Posts: 28
Kudos: 29
 [1]
The motion of the Sun in the sky, as well as the Moon and planets and 12 Oct 2016, 06:20
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Abhishek009
mikemcgarry
The motion of the Sun in the sky, as well as the Moon and planets and stars, are because of the rotation of the Earth: everything rises in the East and sets in the West.

(A) are because of

(B) is because of

(C) are caused by

(D) is due to

(E) are due to

This question explores the use of "due to." For a more extensive discussion, as well as the OE of this question, see:
GMAT Sentence Correction: the “Due To” Mistake

Mike :-)

X as well as Y ---> X is singular noun hence the verb must also be singular ( IS ) { Leaves us with option (B) & (D)

Because of - Modifies Nouns
Due to = Caused by

So between (B) and (D) , correct answer must be (D) -

The motion of the Sun in the sky, as well as the Moon and planets and stars, is due to the rotation of the Earth: everything rises in the East and sets in the West.

Here is something more from eGMAT on ‘Due to’ VS ‘Because of’ war -

https://e-gmat.com/blog/gmat-verbal/sen ... because-of
Show more


You said that because of modifies nouns, but isn't due to, which modifies nouns?
And can I also say that B) is wrong, because a form of to be ("is") is followed by because of.

ty :)
User avatar
chesstitans
User avatar
Joined: 12 Dec 2016
Last visit: 20 Nov 2019
Posts: 963
Own Kudos:
1,936
 [1]
Given Kudos: 2,561
Location: United States
Schools: Stanford '19 Carroll '19 LBS '19
GMAT 1: 700 Q49 V33
GPA: 3.64
Schools: Stanford '19 Carroll '19 LBS '19
GMAT 1: 700 Q49 V33
Posts: 963
Kudos: 1,936
 [1]
The motion of the Sun in the sky, as well as the Moon and planets and 20 Feb 2018, 10:30
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Abhishek009
mikemcgarry
The motion of the Sun in the sky, as well as the Moon and planets and stars, are because of the rotation of the Earth: everything rises in the East and sets in the West.

(A) are because of

(B) is because of

(C) are caused by

(D) is due to

(E) are due to

This question explores the use of "due to." For a more extensive discussion, as well as the OE of this question, see:

GMAT Sentence Correction: the “Due To” Mistake

Mike :-)

X as well as Y ---> X is singular noun hence the verb must also be singular ( IS ) { Leaves us with option (B) & (D)

Because of - Modifies Nouns
Due to = Caused by

So between (B) and (D) , correct answer must be (D) -

The motion of the Sun in the sky, as well as the Moon and planets and stars, is due to the rotation of the Earth: everything rises in the East and sets in the West.

Here is something more from eGMAT on ‘Due to’ VS ‘Because of’ war -

https://e-gmat.com/blog/gmat-verbal/sen ... because-of
Show more

I agree with you that due to = caused by.
However, because of modifies verb, not noun.

This question is simple.
User avatar
hasnain3047
User avatar
Joined: 20 Jul 2018
Last visit: 05 Sep 2018
Posts: 67
Own Kudos:
98
 [1]
Given Kudos: 19
GPA: 2.87
Posts: 67
Kudos: 98
 [1]
The motion of the Sun in the sky, as well as the Moon and planets and 20 Aug 2018, 08:13
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
here 'The motion' is main subject and is singular so singular verb is used 'is'
as 'because of' is used to modify verb and 'due to' is used to modify 'noun'. so 'is because of' is right answer.

B is the answer
User avatar
ExpertsGlobal5
User avatar
Experts' Global Representative
Joined: 10 Jul 2017
Last visit: 21 Apr 2026
Posts: 6,216
Own Kudos:
6,163
 [1]
Given Kudos: 44
Location: India
GMAT Date: 11-01-2019
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 6,216
Kudos: 6,163
 [1]
The motion of the Sun in the sky, as well as the Moon and planets and 03 Feb 2020, 05:59
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

mikemcgarry
The motion of the Sun in the sky, as well as the Moon and planets and stars, are because of the rotation of the Earth: everything rises in the East and sets in the West.

(A) are because of

(B) is because of

(C) are caused by

(D) is due to

(E) are due to

Show more

Choice A: This answer choice features a subject-verb disagreement between the noun "motion" and the verb "are". This answer choice also incorrectly uses the term "because of" to refer to the noun "rotation". Thus, this answer choice is incorrect.

Choice B: This answer choice repeats the error related to the use of "because of", found in Option A. Thus, this answer choice is incorrect.

Choice C: This answer choice repeats the subject-verb disagreement, found in Option A. Thus, this answer choice is incorrect.

Choice D: This answer choice maintains proper subject-verb agreement and correctly refers to the noun "rotation" with the phrase "due to". Thus, this answer choice is correct.

Choice E: This answer choice repeats the subject-verb disagreement, found in Option A. Thus, this answer choice is incorrect.

Hence, D is the best answer choice.

All the best!
Experts' Global Team
User avatar
VerbalBot
User avatar
Non-Human User
Joined: 01 Oct 2013
Last visit: 04 Jan 2021
Posts: 19,404
Own Kudos:
1,009
Posts: 19,404
Kudos: 1,009
The motion of the Sun in the sky, as well as the Moon and planets and 02 Jun 2022, 14:10
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Automated notice from GMAT Club VerbalBot:

A member just gave Kudos to this thread, showing it’s still useful. I’ve bumped it to the top so more people can benefit. Feel free to add your own questions or solutions.

This post was generated automatically.
Moderators:
GMATNinja
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
7391 posts
AbhishekP220108
495 posts
bhanu29
358 posts