A 6 min read

In this article, we’ll look at the solution to the 700-level GMAT Official Guide 2022 Sentence Correction question SC83811.01- “Lacking information about energy use…”.

SC83811.01- Lacking information about energy use, people tend to overestimate the amount of energy used by equipment, such as lights, that are visible and must be turned on and off and underestimate that used by unobtrusive equipment, such as water heaters.

[Refer to the Official guide 2022 for options].

Here is some general information about this OG question – Lacking information about energy use, people tend to overestimate the amount of energy used by equipment, such as lights, that are visible and must be turned on and off and underestimate that used by unobtrusive equipment, such as water heaters.

1. OG Question – SC83811.01- Lacking information about energy use…

Wow, this question is something. I will be honest. When I had seen this question for the first time a decade ago, I just freaked out. I had no idea how to go about it. But eventually, I started appreciating this question for all the learnings it carries. I can solve this question very comfortably now, and I will share the approach with you all.   

2. Video Solution- SC83811.01- Lacking information about energy use…

Loaded with multiple layers of information, this GMAT SC OG question has traps that require careful consideration. Read this article of watch the solution below to this OG question – Lacking information about energy use, people tend to overestimate the amount of energy used by equipment, such as lights, that are visible and must be turned on and off and underestimate that used by unobtrusive equipment, such as water heaters.

3. Understand The Meaning, Win The War

This sentence has layers of information. So, let’s unpack them by breaking the sentence into smaller pieces and extract the meaning:

This portion is crucial as I will present the meaning of this sentence. So, please be very attentive. The sentence says that people do not possess information about the use of energy. So, they think that

1. those electric articles that we can see and are turned on and off consume more energy.
2. those electric articles that are out of our sight consume less energy.

We also see examples of both kinds of electric articles. Lights are visible articles, and the water heater is an out-of-sight appliance.

3.1 A Sidenote for my friends in India  

My friends in India must be wondering how a water heater is an example of an unobtrusive or non-conspicuous electric appliance? We see it in our bathrooms and turn it on and off as required. While a water heater in India is actually a visible appliance, in the US, it is not. The central water heating system that is humongous in size is generally located in every house’s garage or basement. Therefore, it stays out of sight and has been cited as an example of unobtrusive equipment.     

4. Grammarly Gap in Choice E, The Most Loved Incorrect Answer Choice

Choice E reads: visible equipment, such as lights, that must be turned on and off and underestimate it when

Choice E most certainly looks very promising. It uses the succinct structure “visible equipment” instead of “equipment… that are visible.” This structure is identical to the expression “unobtrusive equipment” in the non-underlined portion. But the following are the flaws that plague this choice.

The Pronoun Demon: The pronoun “it” poses a big problem here. In my colleague Stacey’s words, we have a pronoun demon destroying the meaning of the sentence. Since a pronoun is used as a replacement for a specific noun used in the sentence, the pronoun “it” actually refers to “the amount of energy used by visible equipment” because this is the only kind of energy the sentence has mentioned so far.

If we plug this noun entity into the sentence, the sentence becomes completely illogical. So, we need to stay away from this pronoun demon.

The whimsical “when”: The word “when” is used very literally in GMAT SC problems. In this choice, the use of “when” suggests that people underestimate the amount of energy used by unobtrusive appliances only WHEN they consume energy. This meaning is certainly not intended. The sentence just presents general information that people underestimate the amount of energy used by such appliances. So, the use of “when” just does not work in this choice.

5. D for Done Deal

Choice D seals the deal by giving us the correct answer for this question. Let’s study the sentence with this choice.

The sentence just flows so beautifully with this choice. I say so because of the following reasons::

1. The two structures — “overestimate the amount of energy used by visible equipment” and “underestimate that used by unobtrusive equipment” — are perfectly parallel.
2. This choice also has a pronoun, but it is NOT demoniac. It is our angelic pronoun “that” correctly refers to the phrase “the amount of energy”. If you are wondering why just this part and not the whole thing as we saw in Choice E? The reason is simple. The phrase “used by unobtrusive equipment” is explicitly mentioned right after “that.” This pronoun “that” only lends logic to the sentence when connected with some other phrase. So, “that” is pretty dependent on some other phrase to provide logical meaning. But “it” is an independent pronoun and refers to the exact noun mentioned in the sentence.
3. The word “that” correctly refers to the noun “visible equipment” as all such appliances are turned on and off. So, “that” does NOT refer to the closest noun “lights” because the modification is not logical.

So, when we understand the meaning properly, we can solve this question without any hiccups. The perfect marriage of logic and grammar makes this sentence rich in learning.

6. Bird’s Eye View

Just for the sense of completion, let’s glance over all the answer choices:

Choice A: equipment, such as lights, that are visible and must be turned on and off and underestimate that

Choice B: equipment, such as lights, that are visible and must be turned on and off and underestimate it when

Choice C: equipment, such as lights, that is visible and must be turned on and off and underestimate it when

Choice D: visible equipment, such as lights, that must be turned on and off and underestimate that

Choice E: visible equipment, such as lights, that must be turned on and off and underestimate it when

So, you see. If you identify the culprits, arriving at the correct answer choice is actually simple. The first two answer choices suffer from the SV number agreement errors. The noun “equipment” is a collective noun and hence, takes the singular verb. Therefore, the use of the plural verb “are” for the subject “that” when that refers to “equipment” is incorrect.

7. Practice Question

Try your hand at this OG question to cement your understanding of the usage of a pronoun as a replacement of a particular noun entity in the sentence – Avalanches at Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park killed more than 200 people between 1885 and 1910, but they are now controlled if not prevented; cannons are fired at the slopes to make snow masses fall before they become dangerous.

You can review our video solution to understand how to solve this tricky official question below:

For general Myths and Truths about Pronoun Usages, read our popular article.

Hope this helps.
Thanks.
Shraddha  

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