733 The distribution of mass within the core of the Earth, like the mantle that surrounds the core, has been deduced from the orbital behavior of the Earth and the motions of satellites controlled by the gravity of the Earth.
(A) the mantle that surrounds the core
(B) that within the mantle surrounding the core
(C) that of the mantle surrounding the core
(D) the mantle the core surrounds
(E) the distribution of mass within the mantle that surrounds the core
Can you please explain why the answer is B instead of E? I do not like B because 'that' seems to refers to a phrase 'the distribution of mass' instead of just a single noun. E is wordy but seems correct
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- help23
- sai
comparisons
IMO B. That within in earth is compared to that within in the mantle surrounding the core. Like is used when you compare nouns. In option B correctly uses like comparing nouns.
- StaceyKoprince
- ManhattanGMAT Staff
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Generally speaking, I discourage people from using this source. Many of the questions are, well, questionable (this one, for instance).
"That" can refer to the phrase "the distribution of mass" - the prepositional phrase "of mass" is a necessary component in order to understand the meaning of the word "distribution" so we can treat it as a "single noun" for purposes of referring to it with "that."
The opening part of the sentence is a comparison, so we're required to use parallelism for the two items being compared. Both B and E do this. I assume the question writer is going with B over E due to concision. You could also argue that E muddles the meaning a bit with "that surrounds the core" - that's formatted as an essential modifier of "the mantle" so it sounds like we're only talking about the mantle that surrounds the core, not the other mantle that... what? is inside the core? Which doesn't make sense, if you know something about the mantle. Except that the original sentence uses "that surrounds the core," and we're supposed to maintain the original meaning unless there's something logically wrong with the meaning... but the test wouldn't expect people to know what the mantle is and how to talk about it.
Just really not a good question. I'd go to old paper and pencil tests before I'd use 1000SC.
"That" can refer to the phrase "the distribution of mass" - the prepositional phrase "of mass" is a necessary component in order to understand the meaning of the word "distribution" so we can treat it as a "single noun" for purposes of referring to it with "that."
The opening part of the sentence is a comparison, so we're required to use parallelism for the two items being compared. Both B and E do this. I assume the question writer is going with B over E due to concision. You could also argue that E muddles the meaning a bit with "that surrounds the core" - that's formatted as an essential modifier of "the mantle" so it sounds like we're only talking about the mantle that surrounds the core, not the other mantle that... what? is inside the core? Which doesn't make sense, if you know something about the mantle. Except that the original sentence uses "that surrounds the core," and we're supposed to maintain the original meaning unless there's something logically wrong with the meaning... but the test wouldn't expect people to know what the mantle is and how to talk about it.
Just really not a good question. I'd go to old paper and pencil tests before I'd use 1000SC.
Stacey Koprince
Instructor
Director, Content & Curriculum
ManhattanPrep
Instructor
Director, Content & Curriculum
ManhattanPrep
5 posts Page 1 of 1