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Determined by Vs Determined from

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by zaarathelab » Tue Dec 20, 2011 12:36 am
The direction in which the Earth and the other solid planets - Mercury, Venus, and Mars - spins were determined from collisions with giant celestial bodies in the early history of the Solar System.

a. spins were determined from
b. spins were determined because of
c. spins was determined through
d. spin was determined by
e. spin was determined as a result of

[spoiler]OA is D. I get why D is the answer (S/V agreement). OG says that 'determined from' is incorrect here. Can someone explain the difference between 'determined by' and 'determined from'.[/spoiler]
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by sk8legend408 » Tue Dec 20, 2011 7:58 am
The direction in which the Earth and the other solid planets - Mercury, Venus, and Mars - spins were determined from collisions with giant celestial bodies in the early history of the Solar System.

a. spins were determined from
b. spins were determined because of
c. spins was determined through
d. spin was determined by
e. spin was determined as a result of

Earth and other solid planets is plural so the verb we should use is spin. Eliminate A, B, and C.

Determined by is the correct idiom not determined as a result of. Eliminate E. The answer is D.
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by GMATGuruNY » Tue Dec 20, 2011 8:41 am
zaarathelab wrote:The direction in which the Earth and the other solid planets - Mercury, Venus, and Mars - spins were determined from collisions with giant celestial bodies in the early history of the Solar System.

a. spins were determined from
b. spins were determined because of
c. spins was determined through
d. spin was determined by
e. spin was determined as a result of

[spoiler]OA is D. I get why D is the answer (S/V agreement). OG says that 'determined from' is incorrect here. Can someone explain the difference between 'determined by' and 'determined from'.[/spoiler]
In A, B and C, spins (singular) does not agree with planets (plural). Eliminate A, B and C.

In E, determined and as a result are redundant. Eliminate E.

The correct answer is D.

X was determined by Y means that X RESULTED from Y.
X was determined from Y means that X was DEDUCED from Y.
X was determined through Y means that Y was the METHOD through which X was deduced.
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by GmatKiss » Tue Dec 20, 2011 10:51 am
The direction in which the Earth and the other solid planets - Mercury, Venus, and Mars - spins were determined from collisions with giant celestial bodies in the early history of the Solar System.

a. spins were determined from
b. spins were determined because of
c. spins was determined through
d. spin was determined by
e. spin was determined as a result of - determined by observation, not by the result of an experiment/exam/poll ( for which result should be used)

IMO:D
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by zaarathelab » Wed Dec 21, 2011 5:01 am
Thanks mitch

I believe that the difference b/w 'determined by' and 'determined from' is very subtle; Hence may not be the only reason to eliminate answer choices on the official test.
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