Pioneered by scientists!

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gmat_perfect: Legendary Member; Posts: 1083; Joined: Wed Feb 24, 2010 9:38 pmFollowed by: 14 members; Thanked: 127 times

by gmat_perfect » Tue Jul 13, 2010 12:32 pm

Pioneered by scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory, BEAM robots are not programmed to walk; instead they use brainlike circuits called neural networks to learn to walk through trial and error.

(A) BEAM robots are not programmed to walk; instead they use brainlike circuits called neural networks to learn to walk through trial and error
(B) BEAM robots learn to walk through trial and error by using brainlike circuits called neural networks instead of by programming them
(C) BEAM robots are not being programmed to walk but instead using brainlike circuits called neural networks and learning to walk through trial and error
(D) brainlike circuits called neural networks are used instead of programming for BEAM robots learning to walk through trial and error
(E) brainlike circuits called neural networks are being used for BEAM robots that learn to walk through trial and error instead of being programmed

[spoiler]OA: A[/spoiler]

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Tue Jul 13, 2010 12:32 pm

outreach: Legendary Member; Posts: 748; Joined: Sun Jan 31, 2010 7:54 amFollowed by: 3 members; Thanked: 46 times

by outreach » Tue Jul 13, 2010 1:01 pm

b. referne to them is not clear

c. learning is incorrect

d, after the modifyng phrase "Pioneered by scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory" BEAM robots is needed

e same as D

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gmat_perfect: Legendary Member; Posts: 1083; Joined: Wed Feb 24, 2010 9:38 pmFollowed by: 14 members; Thanked: 127 times

by gmat_perfect » Wed Jul 14, 2010 11:46 am

outreach wrote:b. referne to them is not clear

c. learning is incorrect

d, after the modifyng phrase "Pioneered by scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory" BEAM robots is needed

e same as D

B=> Reference of them is clear.

According to the parallelism, "them" would refer to the circuits, not the robots. in fact, "them" can't refer to the robots in this construction, because "robots" is actually still the subject at this point. if "them" were to refer to the robots, it'd have to appear as "themselves" - which would be grammatically ok, but still absurd.

There is another problem in B.

What is the another problem?

thanks.

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nikhilkatira: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 318; Joined: Mon Jul 13, 2009 3:55 am; Thanked: 12 times

by nikhilkatira » Thu Jul 15, 2010 5:55 am

gmat_perfect wrote:Pioneered by scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory, BEAM robots are not programmed to walk; instead they use brainlike circuits called neural networks to learn to walk through trial and error.

(A) BEAM robots are not programmed to walk; instead they use brainlike circuits called neural networks to learn to walk through trial and error
(B) BEAM robots learn to walk through trial and error by using brainlike circuits called neural networks instead of by programming them.Changes the meaning
(C) BEAM robots are not being programmed to walk but instead using brainlike circuits called neural networks and learning to walk through trial and error
(D) brainlike circuits called neural networks are used instead of programming for BEAM robots learning to walk through trial and error
(E) brainlike circuits called neural networks are being used for BEAM robots that learn to walk through trial and error instead of being programmed

[spoiler]OA: A[/spoiler]

Best,
Nikhil H. Katira

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fukushima.ryan: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 17; Joined: Tue Jun 01, 2010 1:05 pm

by fukushima.ryan » Thu Jul 15, 2010 9:57 am

After scanning the answer choices, I found a 3-2 split:

ABC - All use "BEAM robots" as the subject

DE - Use "brainlike circuits" as the subject.

What was "Pioneered by scientists at ...."? BEAM robots or brainlike circuits? BEAM robots should be the subjet (eliminate DE)

B - "programming them" refers to trial and error -- changes meaning (elimiate B)

C - "using....and learning" -- changes meaning (elimate C)

Ans: A

Is there a better more efficient way to analyze this? Any feedback would help. Thanks!

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by [email protected] » Thu Dec 22, 2011 11:28 pm

Final solution at one place:

Important: The purpose of this post (and all the other posts by me) is to give a complete solution to all GMAT-Prep Verbal questions at one place. Sometimes students have to wade through dozens of posts to get to the final answer. My posts will give one complete and crisp solution required to arrive at the correct answer by eliminating the wrong one. Some of the content in these posts may have been taken from various other sources (discussion forums).

Pioneered by scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory, BEAM robots are not programmed to walk; instead they use brainlike circuits called neural networks to learn to walk through trial and error.
(A) BEAM robots are not programmed to walk; instead they use brainlike circuits called neural networks to learn to walk through trial and error
(B) BEAM robots learn to walk through trial and error by using brainlike circuits called neural networks instead of by programming them
(C) BEAM robots are not being programmed to walk but instead using brainlike circuits called neural networks and learning to walk through trial and error
(D) brainlike circuits called neural networks are used instead of programming for BEAM robots learning to walk through trial and error
(E) brainlike circuits called neural networks are being used for BEAM robots that learn to walk through trial and error instead of being programmed

The modifier "Pioneered by scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory" should modify "BEAM robots", so BEAM robots must follow the comma. This eliminates D and E.

In B, according to the parallelism, "them" would refer to the circuits, not the robots. Tn fact, "them" can't refer to the robots in this construction, because "robots" is actually still the subject at this point. If "them" were to refer to the robots, it'd have to appear as "themselves" - which would be grammatically ok, but still ABSURD.

C uses the present continuous tense (passive). Continuous tenses denote a moment, not a period of time. WRONG meaning here! Also, there is no contrast word in C; as we are discussing 2 contrasting ideas, we must have a contrast word.

A: correct

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sahilchaudhary: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 153; Joined: Mon Apr 11, 2011 7:13 amFollowed by: 7 members; Location: India; Thanked: 22 times; GMAT Score:540

by sahilchaudhary » Sun Dec 01, 2013 10:33 am

gmat_perfect wrote:Pioneered by scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory, BEAM robots are not programmed to walk; instead they use brainlike circuits called neural networks to learn to walk through trial and error.

(A) BEAM robots are not programmed to walk; instead they use brainlike circuits called neural networks to learn to walk through trial and error
(B) BEAM robots learn to walk through trial and error by using brainlike circuits called neural networks instead of by programming them
(C) BEAM robots are not being programmed to walk but instead using brainlike circuits called neural networks and learning to walk through trial and error
(D) brainlike circuits called neural networks are used instead of programming for BEAM robots learning to walk through trial and error
(E) brainlike circuits called neural networks are being used for BEAM robots that learn to walk through trial and error instead of being programmed

[spoiler]OA: A[/spoiler]

Note that there are two elements logically parallel here.

energy is produced on a commercial scale for two things:
1. efficient generation of electricity
2. heating factories and homes

They should have parallel structure.

A. and producing energy on a commercial scale, enough for efficient generation of electricity and heating (should be 'generating electricity and heating')
B. and producing enough energy on a commercial scale for electricity to be generated efficiently and to heat (should be 'to generate electricity and to heat'
C. for energy production on a commercial scale, enough for generating electricity efficiently and to heat (again, generating and heating)
D. to produce energy on a commercial scale, enough for generating electricity efficiently and for heating (correct)
E. to produce enough energy on a commercial scale for efficient generation of electricity and heat (should be 'to generate and heat')

Only (D) gives you the correct parallelism.

Also note that 'mining heat from the Earth's interior' and 'producing energy on a commercial scale' are not two independent parallel actions. One is dependent on the other. They mine heat to produce electricity. This is a meaning issue.

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goldenpath: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 22; Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2012 12:08 pm

by goldenpath » Sat Nov 08, 2014 10:21 am

The OA is A, but I have few doubts would like to clarify.

1) the usage of ; in A. Is "instead they use brainlike circuits called neural networks to learn to walk through trial and error" consider a independent clause? A makes much more sense to be if the word "instead" is not used...

2) For D and E, can't the brainlike circuits be pioneered by scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory? I googled around and saw a lot explanations eliminated D and E because the modifier issue, but I think it makes perfect sense for brainlike circuits to be pioneered by scientists. What am I missing here?

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by [email protected] » Sat Nov 08, 2014 2:54 pm

Hi goldenpath,

The word "instead" is a contrast keyword. In this SC, it helps to establish the idea that the BEAM robots are learning to walk through trial and error (and not because of a "walking program.")

As far as answers D and E are concerned, the opening modifying phrase in this SC COULD describe "brainlike circuits", BUT the sentence is not about the brainlike circuits - it's about the BEAM robots who use the brainlike circuits. This can be considered an "active voice" issue (the subject should appear before the verb). Looking through the entirety of D and E, you'll notice that there are other grammar problems that eliminate these 2 choices.

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by GMATGuruNY » Sun Nov 09, 2014 4:42 am

goldenpath wrote:The OA is A, but I have few doubts would like to clarify.

1) the usage of ; in A. Is "instead they use brainlike circuits called neural networks to learn to walk through trial and error" consider a independent clause? A makes much more sense to be if the word "instead" is not used...

A semi-colon serves to connect two complete sentences that are closely related in meaning.
A: BEAM robots are not programmed to walk; instead they use brain like circuits.
Here, instead they use brain-like circuits is a complete sentence in which instead serves as an introductory modifier.
The purpose of instead is to express that the second action (they use) happens IN PLACE OF the proceeding action (are programmed).
Conveyed meaning:
BEAM robots are not programmed.
Instead -- meaning IN PLACE OF THIS ACTION -- BEAM robots USE BRAIN-LIKE CIRCUITS.

2) For D and E, can't the brainlike circuits be pioneered by scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory? I googled around and saw a lot explanations eliminated D and E because the modifier issue, but I think it makes perfect sense for brainlike circuits to be pioneered by scientists. What am I missing here?

If the original sentence conveys a sensical meaning and is free of errors, eliminate any answer choice that changes the intended meaning of the original sentence.
D and E: Pioneered by scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory, brainlike circuits...
D and E imply that BRAINLIKE CIRCUITS were pioneered by scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
The original sentence implies that BEAM ROBOTS were pioneered by scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Since D and E change the intended meaning of the original sentence -- which conveys a sensical meaning and is free of errors -- eliminate D and E.

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goldenpath: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 22; Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2012 12:08 pm

by goldenpath » Sun Nov 09, 2014 9:42 am

Thanks for the responses above Rich & Mitch.

So the word "instead" in A is not a preposition word then I guess? I remember I've seen the correct GMATPrep answer before with preposition phrase start with "instead xxxx". I could be wrong though, let me google around a little.

As far as the way to eliminate D and E, my initial thought process was answer A had issue (because of instead) so the meaning in the sentence could not be used as a benchmark for the question (of course I was wrong). C and E can be eliminated easily, can you point out whats wrong with choice B and D other than the modifier issue?

Thanks!

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by GMATGuruNY » Sun Nov 09, 2014 3:47 pm

goldenpath wrote:Thanks for the responses above Rich & Mitch.

So the word "instead" in A is not a preposition word then I guess? I remember I've seen the correct GMATPrep answer before with preposition phrase start with "instead xxxx". I could be wrong though, let me google around a little.

instead of X is a prepositional phrase.
On its own, instead -- without of -- is an adverb.

can you point out whats wrong with choice B and D other than the modifier issue?

Thanks!

In B, by programming them seems to refer to BEAM robots, implying that BEAM robots are capable of PROGRAMMING their own circuits.
Not the intended meaning.

Generally, PARALLEL FORMS serve the SAME FUNCTION.
E: brainlike circuits are BEING USED...instead of BEING PROGRAMMED
Here, being used is parallel with being programmed, implying that CIRCUITS are being used instead of BEING PROGRAMMED.
Not the intended contrast.
ROBOTS are programmed; circuits are not.

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goldenpath: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 22; Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2012 12:08 pm

by goldenpath » Mon Nov 10, 2014 8:29 am

GMATGuruNY wrote:
goldenpath wrote:Thanks for the responses above Rich & Mitch.

So the word "instead" in A is not a preposition word then I guess? I remember I've seen the correct GMATPrep answer before with preposition phrase start with "instead xxxx". I could be wrong though, let me google around a little.
instead of X is a prepositional phrase.
On its own, instead -- without of -- is an adverb.

ahhh thats why... Thanks Mitch!

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by aflaam » Mon Jan 25, 2016 1:03 am

[email protected] wrote:Final solution at one place:

C uses the present continuous tense (passive). Continuous tenses denote a moment, not a period of time. WRONG meaning here! Also, there is no contrast word in C; as we are discussing 2 contrasting ideas, we must have a contrast word.

A: correct

didn't get it. Can someone tell/elaborate this concept--> pres cont tense is use to denote a moment.

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by GMATGuruNY » Mon Jan 25, 2016 4:59 am

aflaam wrote:
[email protected] wrote:Final solution at one place:

C uses the present continuous tense (passive). Continuous tenses denote a moment, not a period of time. WRONG meaning here! Also, there is no contrast word in C; as we are discussing 2 contrasting ideas, we must have a contrast word.

A: correct
didn't get it. Can someone tell/elaborate this concept--> pres cont tense is use to denote a moment.

To express a GENERAL TRUTH -- something that is true now and is expected to be true in the future -- we use the SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE:
John IS tall.
This sentence expresses a general truth about John.

To express an action happening RIGHT NOW, we use the PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE (is/are + VERBing):
John IS DRIVING to the store.
This sentence expresses an action happening right now.

The SC above intends to express a general truth about BEAM robots.
C: BEAM robots are not being programmed to walk.
Here, the usage of are not being programmed (present continuous) cannot serve to express a general truth about BEAM robots.
Eliminate C.

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