Sentence Correction

Nuclear fusion is the force that powers the Sun, the stars, and hydrogen bombs, merging the nuclei of atoms and not splitting them apart, as in nuclear reactors.

(A) merging the nuclei of atoms and not splitting them apart, as in nuclear reactors
(B) merging the nuclei of atoms instead of splitting them apart, like nuclear reactors
(C) merging the nuclei of atoms rather than splitting them apart, as nuclear reactors do
(D) and merges the nuclei of atoms but does not split them apart, as is done in nuclear reactors
(E) and merges the nuclei of atoms, unlike atomic reactors that split them apart

Some sources say the OA is E, others say it is C. According to the moderators of this board, the answer is C. I, personally, still believe the answer is E, because "merging" (in answer "C") is NOT parallel with "powers."

Can an expert explain why my logic is wrong?

Hi Stockmoose16,

There's actually two reasons why answer "E" is wrong:

1) it's using "unlike" which is only supposed to be used to compare similar elements. Nuclear reactors and nuclear atoms are two different things. So we would want to use "as" in this case.

2) it's using "them" but it's unclear what "them" is referring to.

Answer "C" avoids both of these errors.

I am not very convinced with the answer. I also came up with E. Can anyone else explain pls?

Agree with Stockmoose on the bit that merges is || to powers. so this rules out a - b- c.

Between D and E, E is more concise.

Thx

dadagreat wrote:Agree with Stockmoose on the bit that merges is || to powers. so this rules out a - b- c.

Between D and E, E is more concise.

Thx

But OA IS C!

wanted to check if this SC is from an accredited source. stockmoose??

dadagreat wrote:wanted to check if this SC is from an accredited source. stockmoose??

OG 11 # 104 pls.

It is a very simple question that checks our knowledge on the usage of LIKE and AS.

LIKE - To compare two nouns
AS - To compare two actions.

Now according to the question,

Nuclear Fusion MERGES the atoms whereas Nuclear Fission (in nuclear reactors) the atoms are SPLITS apart. So basically here we are comparing two actions that rules out options (B) and (E).

A) compares ACTION with NOUN - Incorrect
C) compares ACTION with another ACTION - Correct
D) Wordy and Awkward

codesnooker - u r a star

I also agree with C

but whats the answer in OG?
I think if its E in OG, we need to rethink on lines of OG

it has to be C.

imo C

1. merging // splitting
2. comparing actions not nouns

Stockmoose - please confirm OA

rohangupta83 wrote:imo C

1. merging // splitting
2. comparing actions not nouns

Stockmoose - please confirm OA

OA is C.

Ok E has another problem 'unlike atomic reactors that split them apart' what does the them in this sentence refer to the reactors or the nuclei.

Also the sentence is saying that nuclear fusion merges the atoms (fusion does the merging) and nuclear reactors split the atoms (the reactors do the splitting). Hence only option C correctly uses the phrase "as nuclear reactors do' hence making it superior to other options.

MoreOver there is a punctuation problem in E...If even we forget the meaning what it intends to convey, it is grammatically incorrect :
Comma before "and" gives the superficial feeling that the next clause will have its own subject.