Many fear the epidemic of obesity in America; the amount of

[aditya8062]

Good Day RON and Stacey


Many fear the epidemic of obesity in America; the amount of food consumed per person in America is as much as thrice that consumed in Japan.
(A) as much as thrice that consumed in Japan
(B) as much as thrice that of Japan’s consumption
(C) up to three times of Japan’s consumption
(D) up to three times what Japanese consumed
(E) up to triple the amount the Japanese consumed

my doubt: the correct is A but will it be ok to use "amount" with "as much as" together? i believe that "amount" and "as much as" are redundant.
for instance: amount X is twice as much as amount Y ---->is redundant & inferior; the correct version is amount X is twice amount Y
Though i picked A in this question but on analyzing further i found this redundancy. is it that we can neglect this redundancy if we have no other option to pick?

PS: this question is from Manhattan review AND NOT from Manhattan gmat

[jnelson0612]

Good Day RON and Stacey


Many fear the epidemic of obesity in America; the amount of food consumed per person in America is as much as thrice that consumed in Japan.
(A) as much as thrice that consumed in Japan
(B) as much as thrice that of Japan’s consumption
(C) up to three times of Japan’s consumption
(D) up to three times what Japanese consumed
(E) up to triple the amount the Japanese consumed

my doubt: the correct is A but will it be ok to use "amount" with "as much as" together? i believe that "amount" and "as much as" are redundant.
for instance: amount X is twice as much as amount Y ---->is redundant & inferior; the correct version is amount X is twice amount Y
Though i picked A in this question but on analyzing further i found this redundancy. is it that we can neglect this redundancy if we have no other option to pick?

PS: this question is from Manhattan review AND NOT from Manhattan gmat

They are fine together. "amount" just indicates the quantity. "as much as" indicates a comparison. Here's an example:
"4 tablespoons of milk are as much as 1/4 cup of milk."

Here I just have "4 tablespoons" as the "amount".

[aditya8062]

They are fine together. "amount" just indicates the quantity. "as much as" indicates a comparison. Here's an example:
"4 tablespoons of milk are as much as 1/4 cup of milk."

Here I just have "4 tablespoons" as the "amount".

if this is indeed so then please tell me as why RON has said the following: shorter versions:
amount X is twice as much as amount Y --> inferior, and possibly even wrong (redundant)
amount X is twice amount Y --> undoubtedly better

he has said this in the following link: (dated may23, 2009) http://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/forums/providing-initial-evidence-that-t6934.html

[jnelson0612]

They are fine together. "amount" just indicates the quantity. "as much as" indicates a comparison. Here's an example:
"4 tablespoons of milk are as much as 1/4 cup of milk."

Here I just have "4 tablespoons" as the "amount".

if this is indeed so then please tell me as why RON has said the following: shorter versions:
amount X is twice as much as amount Y --> inferior, and possibly even wrong (redundant)
amount X is twice amount Y --> undoubtedly better

he has said this in the following link: (dated may23, 2009) http://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/forums/providing-initial-evidence-that-t6934.html

It's a good question. Ron and whomever wrote this question would have an interesting conversation with each other. I'll flag Ron to take a look at this thread.

[aditya8062]

It's a good question. Ron and whomever wrote this question would have an interesting conversation with each other

i didn't quite understand this Jamie. are u saying that this question is of good quality? i want to bring to your notice that this question is from Manhattan review and NOT from Manhattan GMAT (the only trust worthy company so far in the market) so i do not think that RON has possibly written this question, unless of course if both these companies are same.

[MohitS94]

Aditya,

I think Jamie meant that you asked a good question, and that the conversation between Ron AND whoever-made-this-question would be interesting. Don't take this the wrong way but you sound like you're trying to checkmate the MGmat staff, who are only trying to help you and are always nice.

Anyway, in my opinion, as much as twice and twice have different meanings. The former means "upto twice" and the latter means "exactly twice". On the other hand twice as much as has the redundancy that you mentioned.

The given problem wants to convey that a person in America could consume upto three times the amount that a person in Japan consumes. Not everyone necessarily consumes three times the amount, but that is the "upper limit".

[aditya8062]

Don't take this the wrong way but you sound like you're trying to checkmate the MGmat staff, who are only trying to help you and are always nice

this is a very wrong inference u have made.no where from my text such a thing is inferable. please refrain from alleging such things as i have huge respect for manhattan gmat

[MohitS94]

Sorry, my bad. Just a misunderstanding then. I'm new here.

[RonPurewal]

so, yes, this problem is ... less than perfect.

notice what mohit wrote here:

Anyway, in my opinion, as much as twice and twice have different meanings. The former means "up to twice" and the latter means "exactly twice". On the other hand twice as much as has the redundancy that you mentioned.

this is true; "as much as N times..." can mean "≤N times...". however, that meaning only makes sense if the context allows for variation.
if the sentence is talking about fixed values, then this construction can't be used.

e.g.,
Racing bikes can cost as much as $10,000, although some quite good ones can be found for a few hundred dollars.
––> "up to $10,000" makes sense here, because there's some variety in the prices of racing bikes.

in this problem, though, this construction is nonsense, because "the amount of food consumed per person" is an average value.
this value does not vary--it's a single average--so "as much as xxxx" doesn't mean anything sensible.

[RonPurewal]

Sorry, my bad. Just a misunderstanding then. I'm new here.

thanks for your contribution.

[RonPurewal]

... and this thread is now locked, since this is the wrong folder for it. (all sources other than MGMAT and GMAC belong in the general verbal folder. thanks.)