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Difficulty: MediumEliminating Redundancy

In 1856, eighteen-year-old chemist William Henry Perkin set out to synthesize quinine, a treatment for malaria. Instead, he accidentally created a dark purple mixture by chance, this unexpected substance became mauveine, the world’s first synthetic aniline dye.

Which choice best maintains the sentence's meaning while eliminating redundancy and ensuring grammatical correctness?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. he accidentally created a dark purple mixture; thisAnswer
  3. C
    he accidentally created a dark purple mixture by chance; this
  4. D
    accidentally creating a dark purple mixture, which

Answer

he accidentally created a dark purple mixture; this
The correct choice successfully removes the redundant phrase 'by chance,' which duplicates the meaning of 'accidentally.' Furthermore, it resolves the comma splice by replacing the comma with a semicolon to properly separate the two independent clauses.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the redundancy in the underlined phrase.
The words 'accidentally' and 'by chance' mean the same thing, so one of them must be eliminated to make the sentence concise.
ACT English questions require eliminating wordiness and repetitive phrasing.
2
Analyze the punctuation connecting the clauses.
The clause before the comma ('Instead, he accidentally created...') and the clause after ('this unexpected substance became...') are both independent. Joining them with only a comma creates a comma splice.
Two independent clauses must be joined by a semicolon or a comma plus a coordinating conjunction.
3
Select the option that corrects both the redundancy and the punctuation error.
The choice that removes 'by chance' and replaces the comma with a semicolon is the correct answer.
This option is both concise and grammatically correct.

Key Concept

Eliminating Redundancy

Alternative Method

Look for the shortest grammatically correct option. In redundancy questions, the correct answer is almost always the most concise choice that preserves the intended meaning.
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Eliminating Redundancy

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