Twenty-Two Feet Long and 10 Feet in Diameter, the AM-1 is One of the Many New Satellites GMAT Sentence Correction

Question: Twenty-two feet long and 10 feet in diameter, the AM-1 is one of the many new satellites that is a part of 15 years effort of subjecting the interactions of Earth's atmosphere, oceans, and land surfaces to detailed scrutiny from space.

(A) satellites that is a part of 15 years effort of subjecting the interactions of Earth's atmosphere, oceans, and land surfaces
(B) satellites, which is a part of a 15-year effort to subject how Earth's atmosphere, oceans, and land surfaces interact
(C) satellites, part of 15 years effort of subjecting how Earth's atmosphere, oceans, and land surfaces are interacting
(D) satellites that are part of an effort for 15 years that has subjected the interactions of Earth's atmosphere, oceans, and land surfaces
(E) satellites that are part of a 15-year effort to subject the interactions of Earth's atmosphere, oceans, and land surfaces

“Twenty-two feet long and 10 feet in diameter, the AM-1 is one of the many new satellites” - is a GMAT sentence correction question. This particular GMAT sentence correction topic has been taken from the book ‘The Official Guide of GMAT Verbal Review’. This question checks Meaning, Pronouns, Subject-verb agreement, and Idiom. GMAT Sentence Correction questions comprise 11-16 questions to be completed within 65 minutes. Each Sentence Correction question contains a sentence with an underlined portion that includes 0-2 errors.

Answer: E
Explanation: The following concepts are tested here:

1. Meaning
2. Modifiers
3. Subject-verb agreement
4. Idiom

Option A: Incorrect.

In statement (A), we see a subject-verb agreement error at the beginning of the underlined part. The phrase “that is part” modifies the singular noun “one of the many new satellites”. It should be: ALL of the satellites ARE part of the effort. Hence, we need a plural verb. There is also an idiom error in the statement. The phrase “15 years effort” is not quite correct. If “years” were taken as possessive or called a “15-year effort”. Hence option(A) is eliminated.

Option B: Incorrect.

Statement (B) has the same subject-verb agreement problem as option (A). The phrase “…one of the many satellites, which is part of…” does not make much sense. It should be: ALL of the satellites ARE part of the effort. Hence, we need a plural verb. The difference between “which” (non-essential modifier) and “that” (essential modifier) is not clear. Hence option B is to be eliminated.

Option C: Incorrect.

Just like statement B, statement C uses a non-essential modifier. The phrases “15 years effort” and “effort of subjecting” has errors. The verb tense “are interacting” highlights the fact that the interactions are happening right now. So option (C) is eliminated.

Option D: Incorrect.

This statement uses the phrase "effort for 15 years that has subjected", which leads to awkwardness and redundancy. So option (D) is eliminated.

Option E: Correct.

This statement uses correctly the plural noun phrase "many new satellites" along with the plural verb "are". Option E correctly uses the simple present tense verb "interact" to refer to data that is permanent in nature. Furthermore, Option E uses the infinitive verb form "to + base form of verb" - "to + subject" in this sentence to refer to the intent of the "effort". Option E correctly uses "that" to refer to what is vital to the core meaning of the sentence. The satellites are part of a 15-year effort to subject how Earth's atmosphere, oceans, and land surfaces interact to detailed scrutiny from space, avoiding the grammatical construction error seen in Option C. Option E is free of any awkwardness or redundancy. Hence option E is the correct answer.

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