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.
A. prevented from dissipating its acoustic energy as a result of
B. prevented from having its acoustic energy dissipated by
C. its acoustic energy prevented from dissipating by
D. its acoustic energy prevented from being dissipated as a result of
E preventing its acoustic energy from dissipating by
Generally, COMMA + VERBed serves to modify the preceding noun.
A and B:
...enormous distances, prevented from dissipating...
Here,
prevented seems to modify
distances, implying that the DISTANCES are
prevented from dissipating.
Not the intended meaning.
Eliminate A and B.
Generally, the agent of a COMMA + VERBing modifier must be the SUBJECT of the preceding clause.
E:
Sound can travel through water for enormous distances, preventing its acoustic energy from dissipating.
Here,
preventing seems to refer to
sound (the preceding subject), implying that SOUND is
PREVENTING its own energy from dissipating.
Not the intended meaning.
Eliminate E.
In D,
as a result of boundaries implies that the boundaries themselves are RESULTING in something.
Not the intended meaning.
The boundaries themselves cannot result in something; only an ACTION or an EVENT can result in something.
Eliminate D.
The correct answer is
C.
OA:
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.
Here, the portion is red is an ABSOLUTE PHRASE.
For a description of this grammatical construction, check my posts here:
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