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OG12-SC140-Rock samples taken from the remains

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OG12-SC140-Rock samples taken from the remains

by kvcpk » Sat Jul 10, 2010 6:49 am
Hi All,

Please read this before posting your reply.

Source of this question is OG-12. This question might have been discussed in BTG already. The very reason I am posting again is to approach SC in a structured way. Hence, I request everyone to post their comments in the following manner.

IMO: A/B/C/D/E

For each option, List the errors associated in the following style:
Option: A/B/C/D/E
Subject-Verb Agreement : NA
Parallelism: NA
Pronouns: NA
Modifiers: NA
Verb Tense:NA
Voice and Mood:NA
Comparisons:NA
Idioms:NA
Meaning/Conciseness:NA
Others:NA

This definetly takes a bit more time and effort. But it will help a lot of students to master OG questions/strategies. We need to know the best approach to solve these. It is equally important to know why the wrong answers are wrong. Explanation for each option will detail that out. Plan is to compile all these threads to a single place for future reference. Hope everyone agrees with me!!

Rock samples taken from the remains of an asteroid about twice the size of the 6-mile-wide asteroid that eradicated the dinosaurs has been dated to be 3.47 billion years old and thus is evidence of the earliest known asteroid impact on Earth.
(A) has been dated to be 3.47 billion years old and thus is
(B) has been dated at 3.47 billion years old and thus
(C) have been dated to be 3.47 billion years old and thus are
(D) have been dated as being 3.47 billion years old and thus
(E) have been dated at 3.47 billion years old and thus are

OA E

Expecting active participation and do Let me know your thoughts!!
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by hardik.jadeja » Sat Jul 10, 2010 7:07 am
The question basically tests three things:
Subject verb agreement, parallelism and Idiom

Pick E.

(A) has been dated to be 3.47 billion years old and thus is
Problems:
Subject-Verb Agreement: The subject of the sentence is Rock samples, a plural noun, so it requires plural verb have.
Idiom: The correct idiom is dated at, not dated to be

(B) has been dated at 3.47 billion years old and thus
Problems:
Subject-Verb Agreement: The subject of the sentence is Rock samples, a plural noun, so it requires plural verb have.
Parallelism: To maintain parallelism, the conjunction and thus should be followed by a verb.

(C) have been dated to be 3.47 billion years old and thus are
Problem:
Idiom: The correct idiom is dated at, not dated to be

(D) have been dated as being 3.47 billion years old and thus
Problems:
Idiom: The correct idiom is dated at, not dated as
Parallelism: To maintain parallelism, the conjunction and thus should be followed by a verb.

(E) have been dated at 3.47 billion years old and thus are
Correct option
Uses the correct verb have and the correct idiom dated at. Notice the parallelism in E. Both underlined parts start with a verb.

Rock samples have been dated at 3.47 billion years old and thus are evidence of the earliest known asteroid impact on Earth.

Hope that helps..
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by GMATGuruNY » Sat Jul 10, 2010 7:14 am
Hi, Kvcpk!

While I appreciate your suggestion, the goal shouldn't be to recognize every error in every answer choice but to learn how to eliminate the four wrong answers as efficiently as possible (so that we have more time for Critical Reasoning and Reading Comp questions, which involve more reading and take longer.)

has been dated (singular) doesn't agree with the plural subject rock samples. Eliminate A and B.

The correct idiom is X is dated at Y. Eliminate C and D.

The correct answer is E.

One more thing: opinion shouldn't come into play with Sentence Corrections. We shouldn't look for what we think is the best answer. We should look for concrete, non-debatable reasons to eliminate the four incorrect answer choices. Our goal is not to find what's right but to eliminate what's wrong.
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by kvcpk » Sat Jul 10, 2010 7:17 am
Hi hardik,

Brilliant Explanation. Thanks very much for your response.

Couple of queries here:
Parallelism: To maintain parallelism, the conjunction and thus should be followed by a verb.
is "and thus" a single conjunction??
Idiom: The correct idiom is dated at, not dated as
OG says "as being" is not idiomatic. Did it mean "dated as being"?
Else, what are the correct idioms with "as"?
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by kvcpk » Sat Jul 10, 2010 7:22 am
GMATGuruNY wrote:Hi, Kvcpk!

While I appreciate your suggestion, the goal shouldn't be to recognize every error in every answer choice but to learn how to eliminate the four wrong answers as efficiently as possible (so that we have more time for Critical Reasoning and Reading Comp questions, which involve more reading and take longer.)

has been dated (singular) doesn't agree with the plural subject rock samples. Eliminate A and B.

The correct idiom is X is dated at Y. Eliminate C and D.

The correct answer is E.

One more thing: opinion shouldn't come into play with Sentence Corrections. We shouldn't look for what we think is the best answer. We should look for concrete, non-debatable reasons to eliminate the four incorrect answer choices. Our goal is not to find what's right but to eliminate what's wrong.
Hi Mitch,

Thanks for your response. I agree with you that finding the right answer would serve the purpose.
But, I believe Understanding how the wrong answers are framed in GMAT will help in facing tougher questions on GMAT.
Definitely, this is not the way we need to solve on the real Exam. But, knowledge would help to reach the right answer quickly.

What you say?
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by GMATGuruNY » Sat Jul 10, 2010 7:56 am
kvcpk wrote:
GMATGuruNY wrote:Hi, Kvcpk!

While I appreciate your suggestion, the goal shouldn't be to recognize every error in every answer choice but to learn how to eliminate the four wrong answers as efficiently as possible (so that we have more time for Critical Reasoning and Reading Comp questions, which involve more reading and take longer.)

has been dated (singular) doesn't agree with the plural subject rock samples. Eliminate A and B.

The correct idiom is X is dated at Y. Eliminate C and D.

The correct answer is E.

One more thing: opinion shouldn't come into play with Sentence Corrections. We shouldn't look for what we think is the best answer. We should look for concrete, non-debatable reasons to eliminate the four incorrect answer choices. Our goal is not to find what's right but to eliminate what's wrong.
Hi Mitch,

Thanks for your response. I agree with you that finding the right answer would serve the purpose.
But, I believe Understanding how the wrong answers are framed in GMAT will help in facing tougher questions on GMAT.
Definitely, this is not the way we need to solve on the real Exam. But, knowledge would help to reach the right answer quickly.

What you say?
If the goal is to discuss -- just for educational purposes -- all the errors that appear in the answer choices, I suggest that each response do the following:

-- first indicate the most efficient way to eliminate the four wrong answers
-- then indicate the correct answer
-- then list, answer choice by answer choice, all the other errors

My concern is that you don't want to get in the habit of looking for every error in every answer choice. When you spot an error in an answer choice, you should eliminate that answer choice and any other answer choices that contain the same error. Once an answer choice has been eliminated, you shouldn't worry about any other errors it might contain. On the day of the test, you won't earn any extra points for spotting all of these other potential errors.
Last edited by GMATGuruNY on Sat Jul 10, 2010 8:06 am, edited 1 time in total.
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My students have been admitted to HBS, CBS, Tuck, Yale, Stern, Fuqua -- a long list of top programs.

As a tutor, I don't simply teach you how I would approach problems.
I unlock the best way for YOU to solve problems.

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by hardik.jadeja » Sat Jul 10, 2010 8:05 am
kvcpk wrote:
Parallelism: To maintain parallelism, the conjunction and thus should be followed by a verb.
is "and thus" a single conjunction??
Yes I think. The main thing is, whenever you see and, think of parallelism 'X and Y'.
kvcpk wrote:
Idiom: The correct idiom is dated at, not dated as
OG says "as being" is not idiomatic. Did it mean "dated as being"?
Else, what are the correct idioms with "as"?
I don't think so. I think it meant in general. Whenever you see 'as being' in an option, mostly that option won't be a correct answer.

Hope that helps..
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by kvcpk » Sat Jul 10, 2010 9:02 am
GMATGuruNY wrote: If the goal is to discuss -- just for educational purposes -- all the errors that appear in the answer choices, I suggest that each response do the following:

-- first indicate the most efficient way to eliminate the four wrong answers
-- then indicate the correct answer
-- then list, answer choice by answer choice, all the other errors

My concern is that you don't want to get in the habit of looking for every error in every answer choice. When you spot an error in an answer choice, you should eliminate that answer choice and any other answer choices that contain the same error. Once an answer choice has been eliminated, you shouldn't worry about any other errors it might contain. On the day of the test, you won't earn any extra points for spotting all of these other potential errors.
Thanks for your inputs Mitch. I will add this to the order of answering list.
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by kvcpk » Sat Jul 10, 2010 9:03 am
hardik.jadeja wrote:
kvcpk wrote:
Parallelism: To maintain parallelism, the conjunction and thus should be followed by a verb.
is "and thus" a single conjunction??
Yes I think. The main thing is, whenever you see and, think of parallelism 'X and Y'.
kvcpk wrote:
Idiom: The correct idiom is dated at, not dated as
OG says "as being" is not idiomatic. Did it mean "dated as being"?
Else, what are the correct idioms with "as"?
I don't think so. I think it meant in general. Whenever you see 'as being' in an option, mostly that option won't be a correct answer.

Hope that helps..
Thanks Hardik. Clear now!!
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