Officials at the United States Mint believe that

[gmat_s]

Source GMAT prep:
Officials at the United States Mint believe that the Sacagawea dollar coin will be used more as a substitute for four quarters rather than for the dollar bill because its weight, only 8.1 grams, is far less than four quarters, which weigh 5.67 grams each.

A) more as a substitute for four quarters rather than for the dollar bill because its weight, only 8.1 grams, is far less than

B) more as a substitute for four quarters than the dollar bill because it weighs only 8.1 grams, far lighter than

C) as a substitute for four quarters more than for the dollar bill because it weighs only 8.1 grams, far less than

D) as a substitute for four quarters more than the dollar bill because its weight of only 8.1 grams is far lighter than it is for

E) as a substitute more for four quarters rather than for the dollar bill because its weight, only 8.1 grams, is far less than it is for

I chose E as Ans and its wrong. What is wrong with E?

[Guest79]

I think the correct answer should be (B) because

1) it is idiomatic - more x than y.
2) it weighs is better construction than 'its weight of' as compared to A, D & E.
3) Also it uses 'lighter' to compare weight.

What is OA?

[Guest]

i think its C.

whats the OA?

[dbernst]

I have never seen this problem, but that doesn't matter (just as it should not matter for you). As long as we follow our SC process, we have no choice but to answer it correctly! Here are my thoughts, answer choice by answer choice.

A) more as a substitute for four quarters [i]rather than for the dollar bill because its weight, only 8.1 grams, is far less than[/i]
-This choice lack parallelism and is unidiomatic (more for X rather than for Y is incorrect). The correct comparison is more for X than for Y.
B) more as a substitute for four quarters than the dollar bill because it weighs only 8.1 grams, far lighter than
-By eliminating the "for" prior to "the dollar bill," This choice creates an ambiguity: Is the dollar coin being used more as a substitute for four quarter than for the dollar bill, or is the dollar coin being used more than the dollar bill as a substitute for four quarters?
C) as a substitute for four quarters more than for the dollar bill because it weighs only 8.1 grams, far less than
-CORRECT
D) as a substitute for four quarters more than the dollar bill because its weight of only 8.1 grams is far lighter than it is for
--By eliminating the "for" prior to "the dollar bill," This choice creates an ambiguity: Is the dollar coin being used more as a substitute for four quarter than for the dollar bill, or is the dollar coin being used more than the dollar bill as a substitute for four quarters? Additionally, the pronoun "it" is ambiguous and the "it is" construction is awkward.
E) as a substitute more for four quarters rather than for the dollar bill because its weight, only 8.1 grams, is far less than it is for
--This choice lack parallelism and is unidiomatic (more for X rather than for Y is incorrect). The correct comparison is more for X than for Y. Additionally, the pronoun "it" is ambiguous and the "it is" construction is awkward.

The correct answer is C.

-dan

Source GMAT prep:
Officials at the United States Mint believe that the Sacagawea dollar coin will be used more as a substitute for four quarters rather than for the dollar bill because its weight, only 8.1 grams, is far less than four quarters, which weigh 5.67 grams each.

A) more as a substitute for four quarters rather than for the dollar bill because its weight, only 8.1 grams, is far less than

B) more as a substitute for four quarters than the dollar bill because it weighs only 8.1 grams, far lighter than

C) as a substitute for four quarters more than for the dollar bill because it weighs only 8.1 grams, far less than

D) as a substitute for four quarters more than the dollar bill because its weight of only 8.1 grams is far lighter than it is for

E) as a substitute more for four quarters rather than for the dollar bill because its weight, only 8.1 grams, is far less than it is for

I chose E as Ans and its wrong. What is wrong with E?

[Anon]

Hi,

I am a bit confused with all the choices here...

How do we know what is the correct antecedent for "it" in all choices... cant "it" refer to the dollar bill...

or is it because dollar bill is the object of preposition in the first clause...

please help...really confused...

thanks in advance,
Anon

[rfernandez]

It's a good thing that you are looking at the pronouns here -- that's the first item I looked into when I read the problem, looking for ambiguity. Unfortunately, all five choices use "it" or "its" and for all five I'd argue the antecedents are ambiguous. That forces you to look elsewhere, as Dan illustrated. I hope this helps.

Rey

[Guest]

C. as a substitute for four quarters more than for the dollar bill because it weighs only 8.1 grams, far less than four quarters

...it weighs only 8.1 grams, far less than four quarters

How can we justify weight comparision here.
I think literal meaning here is "8.1 grams is far less than four quarters"

Could you please explain the comparision.

Pathik

[RonPurewal]

C. as a substitute for four quarters more than for the dollar bill because it weighs only 8.1 grams, far less than four quarters

...it weighs only 8.1 grams, far less than four quarters

How can we justify weight comparision here.
I think literal meaning here is "8.1 grams is far less than four quarters"

Could you please explain the comparision.

Pathik

two comments about this:

(1) they make the rules; we don't. therefore, if they say this is ok, then this is ok.

(2) they appear to grant the modifier 'far less than...' a little extra mobility here because it is not anchored by a relative pronoun, such as 'which' or 'that'.
for instance, you could not write '8.1 grams, which is far less than...', because that would have the illogical meaning you've described here.
apparently, though, the gmat allows additional flexibility for modifiers that lack such pronouns, like the one here.

[fenruyun]

C. as a substitute for four quarters more than for the dollar bill because it weighs only 8.1 grams, far less than four quarters

...it weighs only 8.1 grams, far less than four quarters

How can we justify weight comparision here.
I think literal meaning here is "8.1 grams is far less than four quarters"

Could you please explain the comparision.

Pathik

two comments about this:

(1) they make the rules; we don't. therefore, if they say this is ok, then this is ok.

(2) they appear to grant the modifier 'far less than...' a little extra mobility here because it is not anchored by a relative pronoun, such as 'which' or 'that'.
for instance, you could not write '8.1 grams, which is far less than...', because that would have the illogical meaning you've described here.
apparently, though, the gmat allows additional flexibility for modifiers that lack such pronouns, like the one here.

that's irritating...

besides, what is the function of "far less than four quarters".Is it a Nominative Absolute Construction(less acts as a n ) or it is simply a modifier(less acts as a adj)

Thank u !!

[esledge]

[quote="fenruyun]besides, what is the function of "far less than four quarters".Is it a Nominative Absolute Construction(less acts as a n ) or it is simply a modifier(less acts as a adj)[/quote]
I have seen that term, but don't know enough about it to respond authoritatively. The "nominative" term brings to mind Latin noun declension, where nominative = subject noun.

I think something like "Less than 10% of the nation's population lives in cities," might be an example of the less-acts-as-a-noun thing you mention.

In the GMAT example discussed, however, I see the "less" phrase as more of a noun modifer (appositive).

[tankobe]

(1) they make the rules; we don't. therefore, if they say this is ok, then this is ok.

(2) they appear to grant the modifier 'far less than...' a little extra mobility here because it is not anchored by a relative pronoun, such as 'which' or 'that'.
for instance, you could not write '8.1 grams, which is far less than...', because that would have the illogical meaning you've described here.
apparently, though, the gmat allows additional flexibility for modifiers that lack such pronouns, like the one here.

is '8.1 grams, which is far lighter than four quarters...' OK?
How can i write a sentence if i want compare a figure with a object in height/weight/length?

[RonPurewal]

(1) they make the rules; we don't. therefore, if they say this is ok, then this is ok.

(2) they appear to grant the modifier 'far less than...' a little extra mobility here because it is not anchored by a relative pronoun, such as 'which' or 'that'.
for instance, you could not write '8.1 grams, which is far less than...', because that would have the illogical meaning you've described here.
apparently, though, the gmat allows additional flexibility for modifiers that lack such pronouns, like the one here.

is '8.1 grams, which is far lighter than four quarters...' OK?
How can i write a sentence if i want compare a figure with a object in height/weight/length?

nope, you can't do that. here's how it works: grams themselves don't weigh anything; items do.
so the only valid comparison is "item X is lighter than item Y".
be sure that you understand why the following are correct/incorrect:
ron, who weighs 215 pounds, is heavier than his brother. --> CORRECT
ron weighs 215 pounds, which is heavier than his brother. --> INCORRECT (pounds don't "weigh" anything; ron does)
ron's weight of 215 pounds is greater than his brother's weight. --> CORRECT

car X is faster than car Y. --> CORRECT
the speed of car X was faster than the speed of car Y. --> INCORRECT (a speed can't be fast, although a car can be fast)
the speed of car X was greater than the speed of car Y. --> CORRECT

etc.

[tankobe]

(1) they make the rules; we don't. therefore, if they say this is ok, then this is ok.

(2) they appear to grant the modifier 'far less than...' a little extra mobility here because it is not anchored by a relative pronoun, such as 'which' or 'that'.
for instance, you could not write '8.1 grams, which is far less than...', because that would have the illogical meaning you've described here.
apparently, though, the gmat allows additional flexibility for modifiers that lack such pronouns, like the one here.

is '8.1 grams, which is far lighter than four quarters...' OK?
How can i write a sentence if i want compare a figure with a object in height/weight/length?

nope, you can't do that. here's how it works: grams themselves don't weigh anything; items do.
so the only valid comparison is "item X is lighter than item Y".
be sure that you understand why the following are correct/incorrect:
ron, who weighs 215 pounds, is heavier than his brother. --> CORRECT
ron weighs 215 pounds, which is heavier than his brother. --> INCORRECT (pounds don't "weigh" anything; ron does)
ron's weight of 215 pounds is greater than his brother's weight. --> CORRECT

car X is faster than car Y. --> CORRECT
the speed of car X was faster than the speed of car Y. --> INCORRECT (a speed can't be fast, although a car can be fast)
the speed of car X was greater than the speed of car Y. --> CORRECT

etc.

great! what about followed two senctence?
1#ron, who weighs more than/as much as 215 pounds, is really a great instructuor.
2#ron, heavier than/as heavy as 215 pounds, is really a great instructuor.

[running2k]

Source GMAT prep:
Officials at the United States Mint believe that the Sacagawea dollar coin will be used more as a substitute for four quarters rather than for the dollar bill because its weight, only 8.1 grams, is far less than four quarters, which weigh 5.67 grams each.

A) more as a substitute for four quarters rather than for the dollar bill because its weight, only 8.1 grams, is far less than

B) more as a substitute for four quarters than the dollar bill because it weighs only 8.1 grams, far lighter than

C) as a substitute for four quarters more than for the dollar bill because it weighs only 8.1 grams, far less than

D) as a substitute for four quarters more than the dollar bill because its weight of only 8.1 grams is far lighter than it is for

E) as a substitute more for four quarters rather than for the dollar bill because its weight, only 8.1 grams, is far less than it is for

I chose E as Ans and its wrong. What is wrong with E?

Hi Ron,

I have no quesiton about the answer, but don't quite understand the non-restrictive clause "four quarters, which weigh 5.67 grams each". From the logical meaning, it should be "four quartars, each of which weights 5.67 grams". But in this question, it is rephrased as shown above, i don't quite understand the usage of "each". Could you please help explain it?

Thank you

[RonPurewal]

Source GMAT prep:
Officials at the United States Mint believe that the Sacagawea dollar coin will be used more as a substitute for four quarters rather than for the dollar bill because its weight, only 8.1 grams, is far less than four quarters, which weigh 5.67 grams each.

A) more as a substitute for four quarters rather than for the dollar bill because its weight, only 8.1 grams, is far less than

B) more as a substitute for four quarters than the dollar bill because it weighs only 8.1 grams, far lighter than

C) as a substitute for four quarters more than for the dollar bill because it weighs only 8.1 grams, far less than

D) as a substitute for four quarters more than the dollar bill because its weight of only 8.1 grams is far lighter than it is for

E) as a substitute more for four quarters rather than for the dollar bill because its weight, only 8.1 grams, is far less than it is for

I chose E as Ans and its wrong. What is wrong with E?

Hi Ron,

I have no quesiton about the answer, but don't quite understand the non-restrictive clause "four quarters, which weigh 5.67 grams each". From the logical meaning, it should be "four quartars, each of which weights 5.67 grams". But in this question, it is rephrased as shown above, i don't quite understand the usage of "each". Could you please help explain it?

Thank you

This form of "each" is very similar to other adjectives, such as "apiece". It's basically the same thing as saying "per item". Go ahead and try to substitute that usage in there, and see if the sentence makes sense.

this is an admittedly rare usage of the word "each", so, if you like, you may opt to just memorize it as a particular idiom.