* The number of undergraduate degrees

[kamalsinghy]

The number of undergraduate degrees in engineering awarded by colleges and universities in the United States increased by more than twice from 1978 to 1985.
(A) increased by more than twice
(B) increased more than two times
(C) more than doubled
(D) was more than doubled
(E) had more than doubled.

Please explain is the DICTION of this sentence and why the remaining choices are wrong.

OA-C

Thanks,
Kamal

[esledge]

Please cite the source (author) of this problem. We cannot reply unless a source is cited (and, if no source is cited, we will have to delete the post!). Thanks.

[sonu_gmat]

I saw this problem in powerpRep.

The problem specifies certain time period in the past. I've seen numerous such cases in which had is used i.e had more than doubled. Recently in another test prep s/w I got it wrong selecting 'more than doubled'. This has really become confusing. Please check this link in Gmat prep where it says in such cases we should use 'had'

http://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/in-1981-children-in-the-united-states-t4406.html?hilit=1981%20children

[elaine1920]

I have a hard time about this question too, not sure the difference between C and D.
Anyone could help? thanks!

[Ben Ku]

In the original sentence, "increased by more than twice" is unidiomatic; when numbers increase, they "increase by more than a factor of two." Also, "twice" is an adverb; only nouns can follow the preposition "by."

Answer choice (B) introduces an issue in meaning. When the number of degrees "increased more than two times," that means over the period of 1978 to 1985, it has gone up at least twice: maybe in 1980 and then in 1981. The other times, it has stayed steady or gone down.

In answer choice (D), "was more than" demonstrates a comparison: "The number of pennies was more than the number of nickels." It doesn't make sense for us to say "the number ... was more than doubled": we cannot compare "number" with "doubled" since doubled is not a noun.

The past perfect tense "had more than doubled" in (E) is not justified. The past perfect is used when there is a comparison between one past action with another past action (or past time marker). In this sentence, we're not comparing "the number ... had ... doubled" with any other time reference.

(C) is correct because "doubled" is used correctly in the simple past.

Hope that helps.

[parveenjain]

as you mentioned, "twice" is an adverb; only nouns can follow the preposition "by."
Can I assume that this is a universal law(only nouns can follow the preposition) and can eliminate the answer choice based on this caluse from other questions too.

[RajanA556]

Dear Ron,

Could you please explain in detail why answer choice A is wrong?

Thanks,
Rajan

[RonPurewal]

we still need a viable source for this problem. there is no current GMAT source called "PowerPrep".

• if this problem is from the FREE GMAT PREP software, then we can discuss it here, but in that case this is the wrong folder for it.
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please read the forum rules and adhere to them. thank you.