Between vs among

[Rastis]

In archaeology, there must be a balance between explanation of the value of workings of archaeology, revealing the mysteries of past and present cultures, and to promote respect for archaeological sites.

a) between explanation of the value of workings of archaeology, revealing the mysteries of past and present cultures, and to promote

b) among explaining the value and workings of archaeology, revealing the mysteries of past and present cultures, and promoting

c) between explaining the value and workings of archaeology, the revealing of mysteries of past and present cultures, and when promoting

d) among explaining the value and workings of archaeology, the revelation of the mysteries of past and present cultures, and to promote

e) between explaining archaeology's value and workings, in the revealing of the mysteries of past and present cultures, and in promoting

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Hi Rastis,

This SC is essentially about Parallelism - it gives us 3 ideas, so the 3 ideas need to be presented in parallel "format"

Before we get to that though, here's a quick note about "between" vs. "among":

The word "between" is used for 2 ideas; the word "among" is used for 3 or more ideas.

1) Between/Among - since this SC has 3 ideas, we should use the word "among." Eliminate A, C and E.

2) Parallelism - Between the remaining two answers, the correct one will offer 3 verbs in parallel format. Answer B gives us "explaining/revealing/promoting" and answer D gives us "explaining/the revelation/to promote"; B is parallel, D is not. Eliminate D

Final Answer: B

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

[Rastis]

Thanks, Rich. I didn't even take into account the number of ideas. I saw "between" and immediately looked for an answer that had the "between X and Y" structure.

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Hi Rastis,

On the plus side, you ARE correct that "between x AND y" is a common enough 2-part phrase that you should be on the lookout for it. When looking at the answer choices for "splits" (in this case, "between" vs. "among"), it's usually beneficial to stop and think for a moment about WHY you would use one word/phrase or the other. In that way, you can read the rest of the sentence and look for the clues, instead of just assuming that it's going to be a "between...and" sentence.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich