SC: With surface temperatures estimated at minus 230 degrees

[RonPurewal]

i don't know any of that terminology, so, unfortunately, i can't help you there. perhaps one of our other moderators could, though—i'll ask.

[tim]

I think the fact that none of the moderators know this terminology is your surest indication that you're doing something wrong. Focusing on obscure terminology is *not* what will help you on this test. Learn how to recognize issues and deal with them, regardless of what technical terms can be attached to them.

[parasa311]

OA is B.
What is wrong with the other answer choices?

brief explanations:

(a)
"and with ..." isn't parallel to anything.
AND sets up parallelism, so there must be something to which "with..." can be parallel (other prepositional phrase, or other adverbial modifier). there is no such thing.

(b)
correct.
this is a type of modifier with which you should be familiar. (i have no idea what it's called - sorry)
here's another example:
john, his arms flailing in the wind, called out desperately for help.

note that the presence of frozen water SUPPORTS the claim that europa is "far too cold to support life", so it should be a MODIFIER.
this is done here.
it's inappropriate to place these two things in parallel with AND.

(c)
AND is rhetorically inappropriate (see above).
"considered as" is unidiomatic here.

(d)
this is not a sentence. (the clause before "and" doesn't have a verb; "considered" is a participle, not a verb, here)
"considered as" is unidiomatic here.

(e)
i don't think "considered to be" is wrong, although it's wordier than just "considered..."
this sentence has no verb at all! the only verb forms present are participles and infinitives, none of which is eligible to be the main verb of the sentence.

In choice B: "Its 60 square miles of water thought to be frozen from top to bottom" isn't it a clause and If it is shouldn't it be joined with "and" otherwise run on error? Please clarify. Thank you

[RonPurewal]

Official answers are correct!
Do not question the official answers!

far too many students on this forum make the mistake of questioning the correct answers. to do so is to waste your time and effort.

"is this correct?" is NEVER a productive question to ask about one of GMAC's correct answers.
the answer is ALWAYS yes.

"is this wrong?" / "is this X type of error?" is NEVER a productive question to ask about one of GMAC's correct answers.
the answer is ALWAYS no.

The questions you SHOULD be asking about correct official answers, if you don't understand them, are:
"why is this correct?"
"how does this work?"
"what understanding am I lacking that I need to understand this choice?"

you will find it much easier to understand the format, style, and conventions of the official problems if you retire the idea that they might be wrong.

[RonPurewal]

regarding the modifier that appears in the correct answer, i wrote about that modifier here:
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/foru ... tml#p92305

[DarshanP647]

Request you to explain why C is the incorrect option.

Regards,
Darshan

[tim]

Request you to read the entire thread.

[DominikR389]

The theory about Absolute phrases is chapter 10 page 169 of the sentence correction strategy guide (6th edition).

[tim]

Thanks for the reference. It's good to know theory, but to follow up on what I said on January 16, knowledge of obscure terms should never be confused with a true understanding of the theory. Don't let the terms get in the way of your mastery of the underlying concepts.

[zishj865]

OA is B.
What is wrong with the other answer choices?

brief explanations:

(a)
"and with ..." isn't parallel to anything.
AND sets up parallelism, so there must be something to which "with..." can be parallel (other prepositional phrase, or other adverbial modifier). there is no such thing.

(b)
correct.
this is a type of modifier with which you should be familiar. (i have no idea what it's called - sorry)
here's another example:
john, his arms flailing in the wind, called out desperately for help.

note that the presence of frozen water SUPPORTS the claim that europa is "far too cold to support life", so it should be a MODIFIER.
this is done here.
it's inappropriate to place these two things in parallel with AND.

(c)
AND is rhetorically inappropriate (see above).
"considered as" is unidiomatic here.

(d)
this is not a sentence. (the clause before "and" doesn't have a verb; "considered" is a participle, not a verb, here)
"considered as" is unidiomatic here.

(e)
i don't think "considered to be" is wrong, although it's wordier than just "considered..."
this sentence has no verb at all! the only verb forms present are participles and infinitives, none of which is eligible to be the main verb of the sentence.

Can you explain the following in a bit more detail, with examples. Thanks
brief explanations:

(a)
"and with ..." isn't parallel to anything.
AND sets up parallelism, so there must be something to which "with..." can be parallel (other prepositional phrase, or other adverbial modifier). there is no such thing.

[RonPurewal]

that choice has
.... and with xxxx

there's nothing on the left that's parallel to "with xxxx".
frankly, this should be clear; you shouldn't need any more detail to see that there's non-parallelism here. if that's not clear, you are definitely overthinking something here.

[liangl431]

anyway i think there should not be any "and" bihind because "and" means the latter have to parallel to the main subject. but i think the latter is more about an complementary information for the main one, so i should not be a part of the main clause. it's a modifier. only B doesn't contain "and", even it is a bit wierd to me, but there actuall no verb in side, it make sense.
i have to trust the logic here, becuase sth i did not know before doesn't mean it is wrong.

hi ron, can i think like that?
because i found that there always sth i did know, and it's not possible for me to know everything like you...

[RonPurewal]

i'm sorry, but i can't tell what you are trying to ask.

in any case...the official correct answers are correct!
do not waste your time thinking about whether you should "trust the logic" in those answers, and do not think about whether they might be wrong.
all you need to know is...
• the official correct answers are correct.
• the official correct answers are not wrong..

[liangl431]

i'm sorry, but i can't tell what you are trying to ask.

in any case...the official correct answers are correct!
do not waste your time thinking about whether you should "trust the logic" in those answers, and do not think about whether they might be wrong.
all you need to know is...
• the official correct answers are correct.
• the official correct answers are not wrong..

je suis desole, i mean:

the first time i read this topic below, i totally have no idea what's the meaning. i make the choice by the word "AND".
because i was thinking, the latter two clause were somehow not a paralle structure. it must be something else to explain.
but, still , i did not figure out the exact intention of the author, so i guess, there should not be "and"
so i pick B.

With surface temperatures estimated at minus 230 degrees Farenheit, Jupiter's moon Europa has long been considered far too cold to support life, and with 60 square miles of water though to be frozen from top to bottom

A) Europa has long been considered far too cold to support life, and with
B) Europa has long been considered far too cold to support life, its
C) Europa has long been considered as far too cold to support life and has
D) Europa, long considered as far too cold to support life, and its
E) Europa, long considered to be far too cold to support life, and to have

[RonPurewal]

B is the correct answer.

about "and", you are correct -- "and" is nonsense here, because the second part (about "60 square miles of water though to be frozen from top to bottom") is a further explanation of WHY people think this place is too cold to support life.
if you're just checking this reasoning, then, you're fine. (: