Female Grad Students

[tushaw]

According to the National Science Foundation, in 2003 there were 198,113 female science and engineering graduate students, almost 42% of the graduate students in those fields, twice as much as 1981.


A. twice as much as 1981

B. twice as many as 1981

C. double the figure for 1981

D. double what it was in 1981

D. a number double that of 1981’s
--------------------


I understand why A,B and D are wrong. But I want to make sure I understand other choices properly.The answer explanation for E says:

"Double that of 1981’s" is wordy, awkward, and unclear. Is this because the sentence would mean something like "Double the number of 1981’s number"? This will definitely be redundant.

The singular pronoun "that" has no clear antecedent. Demonstrative pronouns should typically be as close to their previous copy as possible.

The possessive "1981's" is not followed by a noun to possess.. I don't understand this one. In SC 4th edition strategy guide "comparison" chapter, the book clearly mentions that possessing nouns allows to omit units, verbs or clauses. So "1981's" could mean 1981's number of students.

[Willy]

According to the National Science Foundation, in 2003 there were 198,113 female science and engineering graduate students, almost 42% of the graduate students in those fields, twice as much as 1981.


A. twice as much as 1981

B. twice as many as 1981

C. double the figure for 1981

D. double what it was in 1981

E. a number double that of 1981’s
--------------------


I understand why A,B and D are wrong. But I want to make sure I understand other choices properly.The answer explanation for E says:

"Double that of 1981’s" is wordy, awkward, and unclear. Is this because the sentence would mean something like "Double the number of 1981’s number"? This will definitely be redundant.

The singular pronoun "that" has no clear antecedent. Demonstrative pronouns should typically be as close to their previous copy as possible.

The possessive "1981's" is not followed by a noun to possess.. I don't understand this one. In SC 4th edition strategy guide "comparison" chapter, the book clearly mentions that possessing nouns allows to omit units, verbs or clauses. So "1981's" could mean 1981's number of students.

Nice question!

Option E says

E. a number double that of 1981’s

Usage of 'THAT OF' makes the usage of "1981's" (possessive) redundant. The usage of either "DOUBLE 1981's" or "DOUBLE THAT OF 1981" would be correct.

[tim]

E is wrong because of the pronoun problem. once you've identified that, don't bother worrying about E any more! :)

[supratim7]

According to the National Science Foundation, in 2003 there were 198,113 female science and engineering graduate students, almost 42% of the graduate students in those fields, twice as much as 1981.

C. double the figure for 1981
D. a number double that of 1981’s

What does "double the figure for 1981" modify?
"double the figure for 1981" (I think) is a noun modifier. Noun modifier should modify the closest available noun "those fields". But that's nonsensical. However, "a number double that of 1981’s" (I think) is an absolute phrase modifier. Which can modify the preceding clause/action "in 2003 there were ..."

I am bit confused.. whats really going on here as far as MODIFIERS are concerned?

Many thanks | Supratim Choudhury

[jnelson0612]

According to the National Science Foundation, in 2003 there were 198,113 female science and engineering graduate students, almost 42% of the graduate students in those fields, twice as much as 1981.

C. double the figure for 1981
D. a number double that of 1981’s

What does "double the figure for 1981" modify?
"double the figure for 1981" (I think) is a noun modifier. Noun modifier should modify the closest available noun "those fields". But that's nonsensical. However, "a number double that of 1981’s" (I think) is an absolute phrase modifier. Which can modify the preceding clause/action "in 2003 there were ..."

I am bit confused.. whats really going on here as far as MODIFIERS are concerned?

Many thanks | Supratim Choudhury

Consider this sentence:

Ten women were elected to the Senate, double the number that were there twenty years ago.

The "double . . . " refers to the number of women, just as it does in this example.

[greatps24]

HI

Ans: double the figure for 1981
My question:
1. Why "for" is correct here ? Why not "in"?
2. Is it a Noun phrase?
And..


almost 42% of the graduate students in those fields, modifies ---> 198,113 female science and engineering graduate students. Right??

does double the figure for 1981 modifies

---> 198,113 female science and engineering graduate students.

or

the graduate students in those fields

[jnelson0612]

HI

Ans: double the figure for 1981
My question:
1. Why "for" is correct here ? Why not "in"?
2. Is it a Noun phrase?
And..


almost 42% of the graduate students in those fields, modifies ---> 198,113 female science and engineering graduate students. Right??

does double the figure for 1981 modifies

---> 198,113 female science and engineering graduate students.

or

the graduate students in those fields

To answer your questions:
1) I have no objection to "in", but you have no answer choice containing "in" that doesn't also contain other big problems.
2) My take is that this is a modifying phrase.

The modifiers you mentioned in the colors are modifying "198,113 female science and engineering graduate students".

[josesav7]

Hi
Can you explain why E would be wrong again? I am not really clear on it..

[jnelson0612]

Hi
Can you explain why E would be wrong again? I am not really clear on it..

Jose, let me ask you a question. What noun, in your opinion, is the relative pronoun "that" referring to?

[amanmish88]

Hi,

I chose option D so that the parallelism is maintained because the first half of the sentence is "According to the National Science Foundation, in 2003 there....".

Coming to option C, i thought, the "number" 198,113 was compared to the "figure" for 1981. I always thought that if nothing is mentioned then 198,113 is considered a number rather than a figure.

In option C "it" would have referred to the number it self.
Adding more to it, the Manhattan Sentence Correction guide says that one should cross out an option on the basis of pronoun ambiguity as the last resort, if at all this rule needs to be applied.

Therefore on these grounds I had selected option D.

Please let me know where i am making the mistake.

[jlucero]

Hi,

I chose option D so that the parallelism is maintained because the first half of the sentence is "According to the National Science Foundation, in 2003 there....".

Coming to option C, i thought, the "number" 198,113 was compared to the "figure" for 1981. I always thought that if nothing is mentioned then 198,113 is considered a number rather than a figure.

In option C "it" would have referred to the number it self.
Adding more to it, the Manhattan Sentence Correction guide says that one should cross out an option on the basis of pronoun ambiguity as the last resort, if at all this rule needs to be applied.

Therefore on these grounds I had selected option D.

Please let me know where i am making the mistake.

Figure is a pretty open term that can refer to a number, ratio, percentage, pretty much anything. From one online dictionary:

FIGURE
a. A written or printed symbol representing something other than a letter, especially a number.
b. figures Mathematical calculations: good at figures.
c. An amount represented in numbers: sold for a large figure.

I'll assume where you said "In Option C" you meant D, but while pronoun ambiguity is pretty low on our SC checklist, the option between a clear, unambiguous "figure" and the pronoun "it", the GMAT does prefer clear language. Strike 1.

Second, "what it was in 1981" is pretty ambiguous. If you asked someone, "what was it in 1981?", you'd probably get a "what was WHAT in 1981?" Again, clear meaning trumps, which is why C is the correct answer.

[RonPurewal]

If you omit the percentage part, then your version works. ("Twice as many" would need to describe the number of people, of course; you can't use "many" for percentages.)

Right now, though, the modifier is stuck next to the percentage figure, implying that the percentage (not the number of students) is "double the figure for 1981".

[ridhi.nsit]

Hi Ron,

I am trying to understand why option E is incorrect.
Does it mean that a hypothetical option -
(F) a number double that of 1981.
Would be correct?

[tim]

No. Please reread Ron's latest post. The "double" refers to the percentage, not an actual number. BTW in general I would caution you against ever asking "what if" questions about changing parts of verbal questions, because there are often several interconnected parts that cannot be fully accounted for by a single change. Just focus on why the right answer is right and why all the wrong answers are wrong.

[vikhyatm812]

Hi tim, isn't " almost 42% of the graduate students in those fields " a non essential modifier. And if so, then isn't figure referring to 198,113 female graduates ?
Thanks