When coins were made of silver their size and weight were in direct p

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION



THE PROMPT


THE OPTIONS

• although the phrase "twice as big" may sound strange, it is okay because it refers to the size of the coins, a fact that is mentioned in the first part of the sentence
• hmm - weight is left out of the comparison.
→ a better construction would state, ". . . the half dollar was necessarily twice as big and twice as heavy as the quarter."
→ this omission is not a huge error and the other options contain the same omission
• I do not see any other errors
KEEP A


• twice larger than is unidiomatic.
→ In order to make correct comparisons, we need twice as large as
• twice larger than is also illogical. Twice means
-- adverb: "on two occasions" (I read the book twice, in which twice modifies the verb "read," not the noun "book")
"Larger" is not a verb.
-- adverb: doubled in quantity or degree (She owns twice as many books as he owns. Now twice modifies "many," which is a quantity. Larger is not a quantity.
Nor is larger a standalone degree, which would be written this way: Twice as strong as. Twice as many as.
ELIMINATE B


• twice larger than is incorrect, just as it is in (B)
• that just makes a bigger mess of twice larger than. Even if the latter were comprehensible, what does that refer to? Size? Weight? Neither? Both? Whatever, the use of that is wrong.
• half dollars (plural) and the quarter (singular) are not truly parallel.
→ we need half dollars and quarters OR the half dollar and the quarter (in the latter, "the" stands for the whole category of "quarters")
→ SC questions contain this subtle lack of parallelism on occasion; watch for it.
ELIMINATE C


• it was necessary that is hella awkward and probably ungrammatical because that phrasing typically requires command subjunctive
→ IT + WAS + [bossy adjective] + THAT + subject + bare infinitive (base form of verb)
Correct: It was necessary that he fill out papers to obtain a work visa.
Correct: It was imperative that she report the crime she witnessed.
• twice as much as is nonsensical: what does "much" refer to? The quarters? Their size? Weight?
ELIMINATE D

• this option switches the order of the quarter and half dollar in the comparison and uses different but correct math—this rearrangement is perfectly fine.
Logically, the sentences are identical.
• The problem? Plural quarters and singular the half dollar are not parallel.
ELIMINATE E

COMMENTS

mcmoorthy and vivekdixit07 , welcome to SC Butler.

These answers are mostly excellent and mostly spot-on.
(Small reminder that applies in a couple of places: explain.)
Nice work.

Happy New Year, everyone!