While renewable energy installations like solar panels can dramatically reduce homeowners' electricity expenses, for properties located in heavily sha...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
While renewable energy installations like solar panels can dramatically reduce homeowners' electricity expenses, for properties located in heavily shaded areas, limited sun exposure may _____ the cost savings typically associated with solar power.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
exaggerate
eliminate
underestimate
misinterpret
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "While renewable energy installations like solar panels can dramatically reduce homeowners' electricity expenses," |
|
| "for properties located in heavily shaded areas, limited sun exposure may" |
|
| [MISSING WORD/PHRASE] |
|
| "the cost savings typically associated with solar power." |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Solar panels typically reduce electricity costs, but properties with limited sun exposure face different outcomes for those savings.
Argument Flow: The passage sets up a contrast between the general benefit of solar panels (dramatic cost reduction) and a specific limitation (shaded areas with limited sun exposure), leading to an incomplete statement about how this limitation affects the typical cost savings.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
This is a fill-in-the-blank question asking us to choose the best logical connector. The answer must create the right relationship between what comes before and after the blank.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- Looking at our passage analysis, we have a clear contrast structure
- The "While" clause establishes that solar panels typically provide dramatic cost savings
- Then we get "for properties located in heavily shaded areas" - this introduces a limiting condition
- When there is limited sun exposure, logically the solar panels will not work as effectively
- The missing word needs to describe what limited sun exposure does to the cost savings
- Since less sun means less solar energy generation, the cost savings would be significantly reduced or completely removed
- So the right answer should describe how limited sun exposure negatively impacts or removes the typical cost savings from solar power
exaggerate
- "Exaggerate" means to make something seem larger or more significant than it actually is
- This does not make logical sense - limited sun exposure would not make the cost savings appear bigger
- Contradicts the basic premise that less sun means less solar energy generation
eliminate
- "Eliminate" means to completely remove or get rid of something
- This makes perfect logical sense - if there is limited sun exposure, solar panels cannot generate much electricity, which would eliminate the typical cost savings
- Fits perfectly with the contrast structure: while solar typically saves money, limited sun eliminates those savings
underestimate
- "Underestimate" means to judge something as less than its actual value
- This is about making incorrect judgments or calculations, not about what actually happens to the savings
- The passage is discussing what limited sun exposure actually does to savings, not how people might incorrectly assess them
misinterpret
- "Misinterpret" means to understand or explain something wrongly
- Like choice C, this focuses on understanding or perception rather than actual impact
- The sentence structure requires a word describing what actually happens to the cost savings, not how they might be misunderstood