GMAT Exam  >  GMAT Questions  >  Until Antoine Lavoisier proved otherwise in t... Start Learning for Free
Until Antoine Lavoisier proved otherwise in the eighteenth century, many scientists hadbelieved that combustion released phlogiston, an imaginary substance whose propertieswere not fully understood.
  • a)
    many scientists had believed that combustion released phlogiston, an imaginary substancewhose properties were not fully understood
  • b)
    many scientists believed that phlogiston was an imaginary substance released by combustionand its properties were not fully understood
  • c)
    phlogiston was an imaginary substance whose properties were not fully understood and whichmany scientists had believed was released by combustion
  • d)
    phlogiston, an imaginary substance whose properties were not fully understood, was believedby scientists to be released by combustion
  • e)
    many scientists had believed that phlogiston was released by combustion and was animaginary substance whose properties were not fully understood
Correct answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer?
Verified Answer
Until Antoine Lavoisier proved otherwise in the eighteenth century, ma...
The past perfect "had believed" is correct because it is the earlier of two past actions (the later action is "proved," which is in the simple past tense). The main clause is correctly written in active voice. The clause "an imaginary substance whose..." correctly modifies "phlogiston."
(A) CORRECT. This choice is correct as it repeats the original sentence.
(B) The simple past "believed" is incorrect because it is the earlier of two past actions and should be in the past perfect tense instead: "had believed." Moreover, "was an imaginary substance released by combustion" is
unnecessarily in passive voice.
Finally, the construction "and its properties were not fully understood" is incorrectly parallel with "phlogiston was released by combustion" rather than subordinate to it, as in the original sentence; this also creates
ambiguity around the pronoun "its" which could refer to either combustion or phlogiston. Here parallelism is not needed.

(C) The placement of "phlogiston" immediately after the opening clause incorrectly implies that phlogiston had been imaginary until Lavoisier proved otherwise. Moreover, the sentence is unnecessarily in the passive voice.
(D) This sentence is unnecessarily in the passive voice. Moreover, "was believed" is incorrectly in the simple past tense. It should instead be in the past perfect tense ("had been believed"), because it is the earlier of two past
actions.
(E) This sentence correctly uses the past perfect "had believed" but its construction incorrectly implies that scientists had believed that phlogiston was imaginary.
View all questions of this test
Explore Courses for GMAT exam

Similar GMAT Doubts

Directions: Read the given passage carefully and answer the question as follow:It is not uncommon for close synonyms to be understood to share the same meaning. The difference between words like “hard” and “difficult”, for example, goes tragically unnoticed. One may employ one or the other with complete indifference, postulating no discrepancy between them. In general, this is well and good; most people lack the scrupulous pedanticalness to quibble over such trifles. Nevertheless, for those of us with ample compulsiveness (and tim e), it is of significant value to comprehend such nuances.Take for example the following sentences: 1) The test was hard. 2) The test was difficult. Is the difference between these synonyms readily apparent? Is there a noticeable difference between them at all? Indeed, these questions are valid and warrant answers. For, what would be the point to having multiple words with the exact same meaning? No, that would be superfluous; the English language being far too economical.While many close synonyms share similar, if not the same, dictionary definitions, the feeling, or mood, they convey is utterly singular. Although a dictionary can provide information about word meanings, pronunciations, etymologies, inflected forms, derived forms, etc., it cannot communicate how it feels to use a word.Granted, the notion that close synonyms can be used interchangeably is prevalent among English speakers. And alas, the dictionary—the text purported to be responsible for clarifying such issues—is of little assistance. In the end, it is left to us, the speakers of the language, those actively responsible for maintaining its sustenance and generation, to understand how these words make us feel and what mood we are inclined to attach to them. Using the examples and insights described above, one may come to recognize these subtle, yet crucial, differences.Q.According tothe passage, each of the following is true of a dictionary EXCEPT

Directions: Read the Passage carefully and answer the question as follow.What does laughter mean? What common ground can we find between the grimace of a merry-andrew, a play upon words, an equivocal situation in a burlesque and a scene of high comedy? What method of distillation will yield us invariably the same essence from which so many different products borrow either their obtrusive odour or their delicate perfume? Our excuse for attacking the problem in our turn must lie in the fact that we shall not aim at imprisoning the comic spirit within a definition. We regard it, above all, as a living thing. However trivial it may be, we shall treat it with the respect due to life. We shall confine ourselves to watching it grow and expand. We shall disdain nothing we have seen. We may gain from this prolonged contact, for the matter of that, something more flexible than an abstract definition—a practical, intimate acquaintance, such as springs from a long companionship. And we may also find that, unintentionally, we have made an acquaintance that is useful.For the comic spirit has logic of its own, even in its wildest eccentricities. It has a method in its madness. It dreams, I admit, but it conjures up, in its dreams, visions that are at once accepted and understood by the whole of a social group. Can it then fail to throw light for us on the way that human imagination works, and more particularly social, collective, and popular imagination? Begotten of real life and akin to art, should it not also have something of its own to tell us about art and life?The comic does not exist outside the plain of what is strictly ‘Human’. A landscape may be beautiful, charming and sublime, or insignificant and ugly; it will never be laughable. You may laugh at an animal, but only because you have detected in it some human attitude or expression. You may laugh at a hat, but what you are making fun of, in this case, is not the piece of felt or straw, but the shape that men have given it—the human caprice whose mould it has assumed. It is strange that so important a fact, and such a simple one too, has not attracted to a greater degree the attention of philosophers. Several have defined man as “an animal which laughs.” They might equally well have defined him as an animal which is laughed at; for if any other animal, or some lifeless object, produces the same effect, it is always because of some resemblance to man, of the stamp he gives it or the use he puts it to.Q.The phrase ‘has a method in its madness’ most likely means

Directions: Read the given passage carefully and answer the question as follow.The special subject of the greater part of the letters and essays of Schiller is Aesthetics, and before passing any remarks on his treatment of the subject it will be useful to offer a few observations on the nature of this topic, and on its treatment by the philosophical spirit of different ages.First, then, aesthetics has for its object the vast realm of the beautiful, and it may be most adequately defined as the philosophy of art or of the fine arts. To some this definition may seem arbitrary, as excluding the beautiful in nature, but it will cease to appear so if it is remarked that the beauty which is the work of art is higher than natural beauty because it is the offspring of the mind. Moreover, if, in conformity with a certain school of modern philosophy, the mind be viewed as the true being, including all in itself, it must be admitted that beauty is only truly beautiful when it shares in the nature of mind, and is mind’s offspring.Viewed in this light, the beauty of nature is only a reflection of the beauty of the mind, only an imperfect beauty, which as to its essence is included in that of the mind. Nor has it ever entered into the mind of any thinker to develop the beautiful in natural objects, so as to convert it into a science and a system. The field of natural beauty is too uncertain and too fluctuating for this purpose. Moreover, the relation of beauty in nature and beauty in art forms a part of the science of aesthetics, and finds again its proper place.Q.According to the passage, why is natural beauty considered inferior to man-made beauty?

Top Courses for GMAT

Until Antoine Lavoisier proved otherwise in the eighteenth century, many scientists hadbelieved that combustion released phlogiston, an imaginary substance whose propertieswere not fully understood.a)many scientists had believed that combustion released phlogiston, an imaginary substancewhose properties were not fully understoodb)many scientists believed that phlogiston was an imaginary substance released by combustionand its properties were not fully understoodc)phlogiston was an imaginary substance whose properties were not fully understood and whichmany scientists had believed was released by combustiond)phlogiston, an imaginary substance whose properties were not fully understood, was believedby scientists to be released by combustione)many scientists had believed that phlogiston was released by combustion and was animaginary substance whose properties were not fully understoodCorrect answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer?
Question Description
Until Antoine Lavoisier proved otherwise in the eighteenth century, many scientists hadbelieved that combustion released phlogiston, an imaginary substance whose propertieswere not fully understood.a)many scientists had believed that combustion released phlogiston, an imaginary substancewhose properties were not fully understoodb)many scientists believed that phlogiston was an imaginary substance released by combustionand its properties were not fully understoodc)phlogiston was an imaginary substance whose properties were not fully understood and whichmany scientists had believed was released by combustiond)phlogiston, an imaginary substance whose properties were not fully understood, was believedby scientists to be released by combustione)many scientists had believed that phlogiston was released by combustion and was animaginary substance whose properties were not fully understoodCorrect answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer? for GMAT 2024 is part of GMAT preparation. The Question and answers have been prepared according to the GMAT exam syllabus. Information about Until Antoine Lavoisier proved otherwise in the eighteenth century, many scientists hadbelieved that combustion released phlogiston, an imaginary substance whose propertieswere not fully understood.a)many scientists had believed that combustion released phlogiston, an imaginary substancewhose properties were not fully understoodb)many scientists believed that phlogiston was an imaginary substance released by combustionand its properties were not fully understoodc)phlogiston was an imaginary substance whose properties were not fully understood and whichmany scientists had believed was released by combustiond)phlogiston, an imaginary substance whose properties were not fully understood, was believedby scientists to be released by combustione)many scientists had believed that phlogiston was released by combustion and was animaginary substance whose properties were not fully understoodCorrect answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer? covers all topics & solutions for GMAT 2024 Exam. Find important definitions, questions, meanings, examples, exercises and tests below for Until Antoine Lavoisier proved otherwise in the eighteenth century, many scientists hadbelieved that combustion released phlogiston, an imaginary substance whose propertieswere not fully understood.a)many scientists had believed that combustion released phlogiston, an imaginary substancewhose properties were not fully understoodb)many scientists believed that phlogiston was an imaginary substance released by combustionand its properties were not fully understoodc)phlogiston was an imaginary substance whose properties were not fully understood and whichmany scientists had believed was released by combustiond)phlogiston, an imaginary substance whose properties were not fully understood, was believedby scientists to be released by combustione)many scientists had believed that phlogiston was released by combustion and was animaginary substance whose properties were not fully understoodCorrect answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer?.
Solutions for Until Antoine Lavoisier proved otherwise in the eighteenth century, many scientists hadbelieved that combustion released phlogiston, an imaginary substance whose propertieswere not fully understood.a)many scientists had believed that combustion released phlogiston, an imaginary substancewhose properties were not fully understoodb)many scientists believed that phlogiston was an imaginary substance released by combustionand its properties were not fully understoodc)phlogiston was an imaginary substance whose properties were not fully understood and whichmany scientists had believed was released by combustiond)phlogiston, an imaginary substance whose properties were not fully understood, was believedby scientists to be released by combustione)many scientists had believed that phlogiston was released by combustion and was animaginary substance whose properties were not fully understoodCorrect answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer? in English & in Hindi are available as part of our courses for GMAT. Download more important topics, notes, lectures and mock test series for GMAT Exam by signing up for free.
Here you can find the meaning of Until Antoine Lavoisier proved otherwise in the eighteenth century, many scientists hadbelieved that combustion released phlogiston, an imaginary substance whose propertieswere not fully understood.a)many scientists had believed that combustion released phlogiston, an imaginary substancewhose properties were not fully understoodb)many scientists believed that phlogiston was an imaginary substance released by combustionand its properties were not fully understoodc)phlogiston was an imaginary substance whose properties were not fully understood and whichmany scientists had believed was released by combustiond)phlogiston, an imaginary substance whose properties were not fully understood, was believedby scientists to be released by combustione)many scientists had believed that phlogiston was released by combustion and was animaginary substance whose properties were not fully understoodCorrect answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer? defined & explained in the simplest way possible. Besides giving the explanation of Until Antoine Lavoisier proved otherwise in the eighteenth century, many scientists hadbelieved that combustion released phlogiston, an imaginary substance whose propertieswere not fully understood.a)many scientists had believed that combustion released phlogiston, an imaginary substancewhose properties were not fully understoodb)many scientists believed that phlogiston was an imaginary substance released by combustionand its properties were not fully understoodc)phlogiston was an imaginary substance whose properties were not fully understood and whichmany scientists had believed was released by combustiond)phlogiston, an imaginary substance whose properties were not fully understood, was believedby scientists to be released by combustione)many scientists had believed that phlogiston was released by combustion and was animaginary substance whose properties were not fully understoodCorrect answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer?, a detailed solution for Until Antoine Lavoisier proved otherwise in the eighteenth century, many scientists hadbelieved that combustion released phlogiston, an imaginary substance whose propertieswere not fully understood.a)many scientists had believed that combustion released phlogiston, an imaginary substancewhose properties were not fully understoodb)many scientists believed that phlogiston was an imaginary substance released by combustionand its properties were not fully understoodc)phlogiston was an imaginary substance whose properties were not fully understood and whichmany scientists had believed was released by combustiond)phlogiston, an imaginary substance whose properties were not fully understood, was believedby scientists to be released by combustione)many scientists had believed that phlogiston was released by combustion and was animaginary substance whose properties were not fully understoodCorrect answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer? has been provided alongside types of Until Antoine Lavoisier proved otherwise in the eighteenth century, many scientists hadbelieved that combustion released phlogiston, an imaginary substance whose propertieswere not fully understood.a)many scientists had believed that combustion released phlogiston, an imaginary substancewhose properties were not fully understoodb)many scientists believed that phlogiston was an imaginary substance released by combustionand its properties were not fully understoodc)phlogiston was an imaginary substance whose properties were not fully understood and whichmany scientists had believed was released by combustiond)phlogiston, an imaginary substance whose properties were not fully understood, was believedby scientists to be released by combustione)many scientists had believed that phlogiston was released by combustion and was animaginary substance whose properties were not fully understoodCorrect answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer? theory, EduRev gives you an ample number of questions to practice Until Antoine Lavoisier proved otherwise in the eighteenth century, many scientists hadbelieved that combustion released phlogiston, an imaginary substance whose propertieswere not fully understood.a)many scientists had believed that combustion released phlogiston, an imaginary substancewhose properties were not fully understoodb)many scientists believed that phlogiston was an imaginary substance released by combustionand its properties were not fully understoodc)phlogiston was an imaginary substance whose properties were not fully understood and whichmany scientists had believed was released by combustiond)phlogiston, an imaginary substance whose properties were not fully understood, was believedby scientists to be released by combustione)many scientists had believed that phlogiston was released by combustion and was animaginary substance whose properties were not fully understoodCorrect answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer? tests, examples and also practice GMAT tests.
Explore Courses for GMAT exam

Top Courses for GMAT

Explore Courses
Signup for Free!
Signup to see your scores go up within 7 days! Learn & Practice with 1000+ FREE Notes, Videos & Tests.
10M+ students study on EduRev