GMAT PREP 1 Question

[visitdhiraj]

Hi This is a question from GMAT PREP 1

I couldn't answer this question correctly. I chose E whereas the OA is A

Could you please explain all the errors in each and every choice.

Whereas in mammals the tiny tubes that convey
nutrients to bone cells are arrayed in parallel lines, in
birds the tubes form a random pattern.

(A) Whereas in mammals the tiny tubes that convey
nutrients to bone cells are arrayed in parallel
lines, in birds the tubes

(8) Whereas the tiny tubes for the conveying of
nutrients to bone cells are arrayed in mammals
in parallel lines, birds have tubes that

(C) Unlike mammals, where the tiny tubes for
conveying nutrients to bone cells are arrayed in
parallel lines, birds' tubes

(D) Unlike mammals, in whom the tiny tubes that
convey nutrients to bone cells are arrayed in
parallel lines, the tubes in birds

(E) Unlike the tiny tubes that convey nutrients to
bone cells, which in mammals are arrayed in
parallel lines, in birds the tubes


Thanks

Dheeraj

[jlucero]

Hi This is a question from GMAT PREP 1

I couldn't answer this question correctly. I chose E whereas the OA is A

Could you please explain all the errors in each and every choice.

Whereas in mammals the tiny tubes that convey
nutrients to bone cells are arrayed in parallel lines, in
birds the tubes form a random pattern.

(A) Whereas in mammals the tiny tubes that convey
nutrients to bone cells are arrayed in parallel
lines, in birds the tubes

(8) Whereas the tiny tubes for the conveying of
nutrients to bone cells are arrayed in mammals
in parallel lines, birds have tubes that

(C) Unlike mammals, where the tiny tubes for
conveying nutrients to bone cells are arrayed in
parallel lines, birds' tubes

(D) Unlike mammals, in whom the tiny tubes that
convey nutrients to bone cells are arrayed in
parallel lines, the tubes in birds

(E) Unlike the tiny tubes that convey nutrients to
bone cells, which in mammals are arrayed in
parallel lines, in birds the tubes


Thanks

Dheeraj

Per forum rules, you have to be a bit more specific with your question. What splits did you use to get to E? What was your line of thinking? Free resource = we can't do all of the work for you :)

[visitdhiraj]

hi

sorry to bother you. This is a GMAT prep question and will be used by many students over a long period of time

I have quite a few doubts on this question

1) I have never seen the "whereas" construction before. Can you please tell me what does whereas mean with a few example.

2) I understand that choice E, D, C have inappropriate comparison. Is there any other issue with these sentences

3) I was confuse between choice A and B

4) other things being equal, in sentences such as these, between unlike and whereas what is more preferable

Thanks
Dheeraj

[tim]

1&4) it sounds like you know what "whereas" means if you liken it to "unlike". i would actually consider it closer to "although" in practice, particularly because "unlike" will only compare two nouns, "whereas" and "although" are used to link clauses..

2) in all three of these (C,D,E), there is also an inappropriate modifier immediately following the first comma..

3) what was the nature of your confusion? could you find anything wrong with either choice?

[StarShoot]

Hello,

My confusion on this question comes from the fact that the sentence starts with a conjunction. I've seen another question in the OG where the correct answer starts with BECAUSE. Could someone shed some light on how answers that start with a conjunction can be the correct one?

Thanks,

[RonPurewal]

Could someone shed some light on how answers that start with a conjunction can be the correct one?

Thanks,

you should definitely know that kind of usage, as it's quite common.

the kinds of conjunctions you're talking about (which, as a google search reveals, are called "subordinating conjunctions") can be placed just as well at the beginning of a whole sentence as between two clauses. for instance, both of the following sentences are fine:
even though i was third in line, i had to wait two hours to be served.
i had to wait two hours to be served, even though i was third in line.

--

there is, however, a different group of conjunctions that indeed can't be placed at the beginning of a sentence. these are the so-called "coordinating conjunctions" -- and, but, yet, and so on.
for instance, the following sentence is ok...
i was third in line, but i still had to wait two hours to be served.
... but under no circumstances can you write a sentence like But xxxxx, yyyyy.

[manhhiep2509]

Whereas in mammals the tiny tubes that convey
nutrients to bone cells are arrayed in parallel lines, in
birds the tubes form a random pattern.

(A) Whereas in mammals the tiny tubes that convey
nutrients to bone cells are arrayed in parallel
lines, in birds the tubes

(8) Whereas the tiny tubes for the conveying of
nutrients to bone cells are arrayed in mammals
in parallel lines, birds have tubes that

(C) Unlike mammals, where the tiny tubes for
conveying nutrients to bone cells are arrayed in
parallel lines, birds' tubes

(D) Unlike mammals, in whom the tiny tubes that
convey nutrients to bone cells are arrayed in
parallel lines, the tubes in birds

(E) Unlike the tiny tubes that convey nutrients to
bone cells, which in mammals are arrayed in
parallel lines, in birds the tubes

Hello. Please explain the below issues.

(1) does "in whom" in choice D correctly modify mammals? I have thought that "whom" can only modify people.

(2) It seems that choice E is incorrect because it compare "the tiny tubes" and "in birds".
So, can I conclude that if a sentence uses such structure as "unlike xxxx, yyyy", no matter what kind of word is - for example, preposition and noun - xxxx is compared with yyyy?
I have thought that because a noun cannot be compared with a preposition, so I am not sure about what is wrong in the choice E.

Thank you.

[RonPurewal]

(1) does "in whom" in choice D correctly modify mammals? I have thought that "whom" can only modify people.

Interesting point.

It's inarguable that people take "who(m)" and that inanimate objects take "which"/"that". For animals, the line is not so clearly drawn.
Some writers, especially those who feel strongly about animal rights, always use "who(m)" for animals. Others don't.
Almost all pet owners, of course, would refer to their pets as "who(m)"/"he"/"she".

In a strictly formal or scientific context, you're likely to see "in which". These sentences are written in a very formal style, so I suppose you've got a valid reason for elimination here.

Would this ever be the only thing "wrong" with an answer choice? Never. No way.

[RonPurewal]

(2) It seems that choice E is incorrect because it compare "the tiny tubes" and "in birds".
So, can I conclude that if a sentence uses such structure as "unlike xxxx, yyyy", no matter what kind of word is - for example, preposition and noun - xxxx is compared with yyyy?

We've never seen GMAC use that construction any other way, so, sure.

The real issue with choice E is that it creates a comparison between all tubes (not just the ones in mammals!) and "the tubes in birds".

E.g., consider the following two sentences:

Unlike smog, which in Mexico City is often dense enough to hospitalize or even kill asthmatic children, humidity is not inherently dangerous.
--> This sentence is a comparison between ALL smog (not just the smog in Mexico City) and humidity.
The issue with choice E is that it's structured the same way, mistakenly suggesting a reference to all such tubes in the first part of the sentence.

... versus
Unlike the smog in Mexico City, which is often dense enough to hospitalize or even kill asthmatic children, the air pollution in Houston has never threatened human life.
--> Now it's just "Mexico City smog vs. Houston air pollution".

I have thought that because a noun cannot be compared with a preposition, so I am not sure about what is wrong in the choice E.

^^ This is one thing that's wrong!

[zerglingzxzxy]

Hi, dear instructors, i have a question regarding to the parallelism in this question.
In the OG guide, the explanation is that "Whereas introduces two contrasting situations or events and should be followed by parallel structures". However, in thread here(over-75-of-the-energy-produced-in-france-derives-from-t6833.html) the OA in this question does not retain parallelism.
My question is that, when "whereas" appears in a sentence, is it a sign of "absolute" parallelism(the sentence MUST be parallel literally)? Or is it just a sign of "recommend" parallelism(i.e. it's good to be parallel, but it's also OK not to be so)?

Personally i believe it's only recommended to do so based on the two answers.

[RonPurewal]

"Whereas" just needs to connect two complete sentences. As long as thing #1 and thing #2 are complete sentences, technically, you have grammatical parallelism.

What should be pretty obvious here, though, is that it's better if the two sentences look alike"”especially if they express similar or corresponding ideas.

E.g.,
If you return your library books late, you will accrue fines on your account.
If your library books are returned late, fines will be accrued on your account.
vs.
If you return your library books late, fines will be accrued on your account.
If your library books are returned late, you will accrue fines on your account.

All four of these sentences are grammatically sound, and all four have reasonable meanings, but it should nonetheless be absolutely clear that the first two are much better than the last two.

[rustom.hakimiyan]

(2) It seems that choice E is incorrect because it compare "the tiny tubes" and "in birds".
So, can I conclude that if a sentence uses such structure as "unlike xxxx, yyyy", no matter what kind of word is - for example, preposition and noun - xxxx is compared with yyyy?

We've never seen GMAC use that construction any other way, so, sure.

The real issue with choice E is that it creates a comparison between all tubes (not just the ones in mammals!) and "the tubes in birds".

E.g., consider the following two sentences:

Unlike smog, which in Mexico City is often dense enough to hospitalize or even kill asthmatic children, humidity is not inherently dangerous.
--> This sentence is a comparison between ALL smog (not just the smog in Mexico City) and humidity.
The issue with choice E is that it's structured the same way, mistakenly suggesting a reference to all such tubes in the first part of the sentence.

... versus
Unlike the smog in Mexico City, which is often dense enough to hospitalize or even kill asthmatic children, the air pollution in Houston has never threatened human life.
--> Now it's just "Mexico City smog vs. Houston air pollution".

I have thought that because a noun cannot be compared with a preposition, so I am not sure about what is wrong in the choice E.

^^ This is one thing that's wrong!

Hi Ron, to add a question to your explanation regarding this point:

When I read the GMAT Navigator Explanation, it states that E is comparing equivalent things -- tubes to tubes -- but I used the method listed above(compare first 2 words when there is a comparison marker) and saw that it compares "tiny tubes" which is a noun to "in birds" which is a prep phrase and therefore wrong. Regardless of the fact that it's talking about "tubes as a whole" vs. "tubes in birds" -- I eliminated it immediately because of the noun/prep mixup. Is that accurate?

[RonPurewal]

No, you're right.
For the comparison to work correctly, "the tubes" should begin that clause. It's not acceptable for "in birds" to intervene. So, that explanation should be fixed.

Thanks.

[rustom.hakimiyan]

No, you're right.
For the comparison to work correctly, "the tubes" should begin that clause. It's not acceptable for "in birds" to intervene. So, that explanation should be fixed.

Thanks.

phew - thanks. :)

[RonPurewal]

Sure.