jordan23 wrote:With surface temperatures estimated at minus 230 degrees Farenheit, Jupiter's moon Europa has long been considered far too cold to support life, and with 60 square miles of water thought to be frozen from top to bottom.

A) Europa has long been considered far too cold to support life, and with
B) Europa has long been considered far too cold to support life, its
C) Europa has long been considered as far too cold to support life and has
D) Europa, long considered as far too cold to support life, and its
E) Europa, long considered to be far too cold to support life, and to have

Got really really confused between options A and B.

OA A

GMATGuruNY wrote:

jordan23 wrote:With surface temperatures estimated at minus 230 degrees Farenheit, Jupiter's moon Europa has long been considered far too cold to support life, and with 60 square miles of water thought to be frozen from top to bottom.

A) Europa has long been considered far too cold to support life, and with
B) Europa has long been considered far too cold to support life, its
C) Europa has long been considered as far too cold to support life and has
D) Europa, long considered as far too cold to support life, and its
E) Europa, long considered to be far too cold to support life, and to have

Got really really confused between options A and B.

OA A

In A, and must connect PARALLEL structures. Since and WITH is not preceded by a parallel structure, eliminate A.

In C, as is not needed; it is sufficient to say that X is considered Y. Eliminate C.

In D and E, the subject (Jupiter's moon Europa) lacks a verb. The result in each case is an incomplete sentence. Eliminate D and E.

The correct answer is B.

This is an official question from GMAT Prep. The correct answer definitely is NOT A.

In the OA, the modifier its 60 square miles of water thought to be frozen from top to bottom is an ABSOLUTE PHRASE. I discuss this type of modifier here:

https://www.beatthegmat.com/modifier-mis ... 37-15.html