Verbal questions from any Manhattan Prep GMAT Computer Adaptive Test. Topic subject should be the first few words of your question.
praachiee
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Rotational velocity of galaxies

by praachiee Thu May 30, 2013 11:02 am

Studies of the rotational velocity of a galaxy at various distances from their center of mass have shown that ninety percent of the universe’s mass could exist in the form of dark matter.

A. rotational velocity of a galaxy at various distances from their center of mass have shown that ninety percent of the universe’s mass could exist in the form of

B. rotational velocity of galaxies at varying distances from their centers of rotation have shown that as much as ninety percent of the mass of the universe exists in the form of

C. rotational velocity of galaxies at varying distances from their center of mass has shown that up to ninety percent of the mass of the universe is made of

D. rotational velocity of galaxies at varying distances from their rotational centers has shown that as much as ninety percent of universal mass might exist as

E. galactic rotation at various distances from the galactic center of rotation have shown up to ninety percent of the mass over the universe exist in the form of

I agree that B is grammatically correct, but I took a lot of time to decide on the meaning of B.
In the correct option B, is the meaning not slightly changed from that in the original question?
A suggests a possibility for existence of dark matter, whereas B suggests that dark matter exists(not a possibility)
tim
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Re: Rotational velocity of galaxies

by tim Sat Jun 08, 2013 2:45 pm

Don't even look at meaning if you can eliminate four choices for being grammatically incorrect. If you agree that B has not grammar mistakes, did you find any other choices that were also free of grammar mistakes? If not, go with B and don't give the slightest thought to the meaning.

The other thing to keep in mind if you do end up looking at meaning is that every single word you change, in any sentence ever, changes the meaning. Please don't fall into the trap of assuming you have to adhere to the meaning of answer choice A, because if you did that then LITERALLY 100% of SC answers would be A! Not only is grammar far more important than meaning, but if the original sentence is wrong then you HAVE to change the meaning, even if only slightly.
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Re: Rotational velocity of galaxies

by HemalT607 Tue Aug 05, 2014 10:23 am

Could you please explain me the difference between the use of "various" and "varying"?
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Re: Rotational velocity of galaxies

by tim Fri Aug 08, 2014 8:13 am

Quantitatively, "various" would refer to several different things with different values, while "varying" would refer to one thing that takes on several different values as it changes.
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Re: Rotational velocity of galaxies

by MaxW61 Sun Apr 03, 2016 9:31 am

tim Wrote:Don't even look at meaning if you can eliminate four choices for being grammatically incorrect. If you agree that B has not grammar mistakes, did you find any other choices that were also free of grammar mistakes? If not, go with B and don't give the slightest thought to the meaning.

The other thing to keep in mind if you do end up looking at meaning is that every single word you change, in any sentence ever, changes the meaning. Please don't fall into the trap of assuming you have to adhere to the meaning of answer choice A, because if you did that then LITERALLY 100% of SC answers would be A! Not only is grammar far more important than meaning, but if the original sentence is wrong then you HAVE to change the meaning, even if only slightly.


Totally understand what you're saying here, but in this question, wouldn't "centers of mass" from the original sentence and "centers of rotation" from the correct answer B be completely different things? Seems to change the meaning well beyond intended. Thanks for your help! (Question below)

Studies of the rotational velocity of a galaxy at various distances from their center of mass have shown that ninety percent of the universe’s mass could exist in the form of dark matter.

A. rotational velocity of a galaxy at various distances from their center of mass have shown that ninety percent of the universe’s mass could exist in the form of
B. rotational velocity of galaxies at varying distances from their centers of rotation have shown that as much as ninety percent of the mass of the universe exists in the form of
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Re: Rotational velocity of galaxies

by NeetuJ81 Mon May 23, 2016 1:55 am

Hi,

I don't agree that OA should Be B.


Studies of the rotational velocity of a galaxy at various distances from their center of mass have shown that ninety percent of the universe’s mass could exist in the form of dark matter.


A) rotational velocity of a galaxy at various distances from their center of mass have shown that ninety percent of the universe’s mass could exist in the form of

B) rotational velocity of galaxies at varying distances from their centers of rotation have shown that as much as ninety percent of the mass of the universe exists in the form of


As per question : Its their center of mass not rotation. B changes meaning of the sentence.
ALso rotational velocity of galaxies - as if velocity of all the galaxies are same.

I agree in A, their is ambigous. But B is not correct.

@ronpurewal : pl help.
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Re: Rotational velocity of galaxies

by sg2010 Mon Sep 25, 2017 11:37 pm

Why does answer choice E requires "That" to be inserted?

galactic rotation at various distances from the galactic center of rotation have shown THAT up to ninety percent of the mass over the universe exist in the form of

I get it intuitively, but what is the grammar rule for this? It seems like the second half of the sentence is the main clause.
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Re: Rotational velocity of galaxies

by Sage Pearce-Higgins Sun Oct 01, 2017 4:41 am

The rule here concerns idioms of the verb 'to show'. One possible idiom is 'to show NOUN', for example: "He showed his bicycle to his friends." Another idiom is 'to show THAT CLAUSE', for example 'He showed that his bicycle was fast.' One is showing an object (in the sense of pointing to it), the other is displaying or proving a piece of information.

In colloquial English we'll often leave out the 'that' and, to be frank, the sentence 'He showed his bicycle was fast.' causes me no grief, although it's not the kind of formal English you're likely to see on the GMAT. Furthermore, there could be ambiguity here. In the problem cited above, we need to make sure that it's clear what the studies are showing: either 'up to ninety percent of the mass' itself, or some fact about that mass.

Technically, any clause starting with 'that' is a subordinate clause, even if it seems to contain the main point of the sentence.