Nuclear fusion is the force that powers the Sun, the stars,

[RonPurewal]

This is not there in the OG 12, so i guess we can kinda skip this one else we might really pick up a wrong rule. Do you agree ?

i'm sorry; i don't really understand what this comment means.

if this problem is from GMATPrep, then we should pay attention to it -- GMATPrep has just as much authority as the OG, as both are published by GMAC.

[anand.ayush]

My thoughts about answer choices were as follows:

(Please see where they were wrong and why)

a) could not work out "not splitting apart" (thought it was parallel to merging), threw this answer choice after seeing faulty use of "as".

b) "merging the nuclei of atoms instead of splitting them apart" sensed..no wrong ...then came ", like nuclear reactors " it sounded as : nuclear reactors are the forces that...so threw this option too...problem with singular , plural too.

c) first part was okay for me but when I reached second part i.e ", as nuclear reactors do", it somehow meant to me as: nuclear reactors powers sun, the stars, and hydrogen bomb. I threw it.

right answer is C, but please see where I went wrong.

d) & e) used restriction with "powers", then added two news verbs so. threw those too.

I was left with no option to choose from. Saw the answer and found it C. convinced myself to 90% of its correctness but second part is still bothering me. please elaborate. Thanks & Regards.

[RonPurewal]

"As nuclear reactors do" describes "... splitting them apart".

This is clear from context: If the nuclear reactors worked like the sun, then you'd just write Nuclear fusion is the force that powers the Sun, the stars, and hydrogen bombs, merging the nuclei of atoms, as nuclear reactors do.
In that case, "not splitting them apart" would be redundant, since that's already implied by "merging".

[thanghnvn]

[quote="roygbiv"]Nuclear fusion is the force that powers the Sun, the stars, and hydrogen bombs, merging the nuclei of atoms and not splitting them apart, as in nuclear reactors.

(A) merging the nuclei of atoms and not splitting them apart, as in nuclear reactors
(B) merging the nuclei of atoms instead of splitting them apart, like nuclear reactors
(C) merging the nuclei of atoms rather than splitting them apart, as nuclear reactors do
(D) and merges the nuclei of atoms but does not split them apart, as is done in nclear reactors
(E) and merges the nuclei of atoms, unlike atomic reactors that split them apart

This is a hard.
there is one question from og11

"computer can think like human..."
in this problem gmat agree to the following pattern because this patter appears in the offical answer.

main clause+like +noun=main clause+as +clause

this means B is correct.

if in C, "as nuclear reactor do" can modify "spliting them apart", why in B, "like nuclear reactors " can not modify "spliting the apart". we have to be fair.

B is correct.

but it is clear that C is more clear because we have a clause.

what do we learn from this problem? " as +clause" is prefered than "like+ noun". I do not this is point to learn.

the difference between b and c is too suble.

another thing

"main clause+unlike+ noun" is not idiomatic though "main clause +like+ noun" is idiomatic

is my thinking correct ?

[thanghnvn]

main clause+like+noun= main clause+as+ clause

the question " computer can think like human being..." shows that gmat agree to above pattern.

main clause+comma+like+noun= like+noun+comma+main clause

is pupular pattern in general grammar books.

this is the reason why in b, "like..." must refer to the subject of the main clause and ,so, this reference is not logic

[RonPurewal]

If "like ___" is separated by a comma, it generally implies that the subject's entire action is "like ___". In this sentence, this would mean that nuclear reactors also power the sun and the stars.

[AmmuS624]

I'm confused with choice C. If we follow the ellipsis rule, the ending would be like the following:

"as nuclear reactors do split".

But the word "split" doesn't appear anywhere in the sentence!

Shouldn't the ending be:

"as nuclear reactors are"?

This way, when we show the omitted word, the sentence would be:

"as nuclear reactors are splitting"

And "splitting" did show up in the sentence.

I had recently learned this rule but was shocked with this question this question :(

Can someone explain how can C be correct in this regard?

Thanks a lot.

hmmm yeah, i'm sort of dismayed by that, too.

i guess that this sort of thing is fine, as well - given that it appears in an officially correct answer (!)

we have just learned a new TAKEAWAY about the use of "do" + elision: apparently, that construction may also be used to refer to preceding -ing forms.

thanks for noticing this.

I eliminated D and E on parallelism ground.
Option D) And merges..
Option E) And merges..
AND demands parallel construction
in main sentence we have " force THAT powers" but THAT is missing in " And merges.."

Also, E And B compares Nuclear Reactor to Nuclear Fusion. Nuclear Reactor is device but Nuclear fusion is process.

A) and D) ..In the nuclear reactor... main correct sentence doesn't have anything "IN" nuclear fusion..

I hope i make some sence.

Regards,
Ammu

[RonPurewal]

I eliminated D and E on parallelism ground.
Option D) And merges..
Option E) And merges..
AND demands parallel construction
in main sentence we have " force THAT powers" but THAT is missing in " And merges.."

Nope. Both of those constructions are fine.

a force that powers... and that merges...

a force that powers... and merges...

Since "that" doesn't need to repeated, it is generally not repeated unless (a) the sentence is ambiguous without that repetition or (b) the two parallel parts are so long that the reader would benefit from being re-oriented by the second instance of "that".

[RonPurewal]

A) and D) ..In the nuclear reactor... main correct sentence doesn't have anything "IN" nuclear fusion..

With "as", this isn't strictly a problem:
Critical reasoning problems force students to make intuitive, non-rigorous logical connections, as in everyday life.