Sound can travel through water for enormous distances, prevented from dissipating its acoustic energy as a result of boundaries in the ocean created by water layers of different temperatures and densities.

Meaning :
Sound can travel through water for enormous distances how? its acoustic energy is prevented from dissipated by boundaries in the ocean created by water layers of different temperatures and densities.

(A) prevented from dissipating its acoustic energy as a result of


1. Prevented is an verb-ed modifier that incorrectly modifies to distance
2.The phrase 'as a result of boundaries in the ocean' does not convey the meaning properly . it should be dissipated by boundaries in the ocean

(B) prevented from having its acoustic energy dissipated by

1. Prevented is an verb-ed modifier that incorrectly modifies to distance


(C) its acoustic energy prevented from dissipating by

-- Correct .. Noun + noun modifier is used correctly here .

(D) its acoustic energy prevented from being dissipated as a result of

1. Being is not used in the sentence correctly
2.The phrase 'as a result of boundaries in the ocean' does not convey the meaning properly . it should be dissipated by boundaries in the ocean


(E) preventing its acoustic energy from dissipating by

1.This choice has meaning issue ..preventing is a comma verbING modifier.. which illogically tell that sound prevents its acoustic energy itself..


C is my best choice and is the answer

1: Use of verb-ed modifier - verb-ed modifiers modify the closest noun phrase. In the context of GMAT, I have not seen a single question in which these modifiers modify the preceding clause. Yes in normal English usage, we do use these modifiers the way we use verb-ing modifiers to modify the preceding clause. Now that being said, your explanation about the use of "prevented" to modify the subject "sound" is not correct.

2: The use of modifier "by boundaries" - The way these choices are constructed lead to two different modifications in the sentence.

Choice B: Sound can travel through water for enormous distances, prevented from having its acoustic energy dissipated by boundaries in the ocean created by water layers of different temperatures and densities.

prevented from what?
prevented from having its acoustic energy what?
prevented from having its acoustic energy dissipated by what?
prevented from having its acoustic energy dissipated by boundaries.
Per the logical intended meaning, do the boundaries "dissipate the energy"? No. Boundaries prevent the dissipation.
Another thing - "by boundaries" is too far away from "prevented" to modify it.

Now lets look at choice C
Choice C: Sound can travel through water for enormous distances, its acoustic energy prevented from dissipating by boundaries in the ocean created by water layers of different temperatures and densities.

prevented from what?
prevented from dissipating
prevented by what?
prevented by boundaries
so together we have - prevented from dissipating by boundaries
By contrast, in this choice, "by boundaries" is in good proximity of "prevented" to modify it correctly.

C is the answer.
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