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Difficulty: HardEliminating Wordiness

In 1915, mathematician Emmy Noether formulated a theorem that fundamentally altered the landscape of theoretical physics. Noether’s theorem proved that every differentiable symmetry of the action of a physical system has a corresponding conservation law. For instance, rotational symmetry—the fact that physical laws do not change regardless of spatial orientation—[underlies the conservation of angular momentum, which is a principle that is clearly demonstrated and shown when a spinning skater draws in her arms to rotate at a faster rate of speed].

Which choice most effectively eliminates wordiness and redundancy in the underlined portion of the passage?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. underlies the conservation of angular momentum, demonstrated when a spinning skater draws in her arms to rotate faster.Answer
  3. C
    underlies the conservation of angular momentum, this is demonstrated when a spinning skater draws in her arms to rotate faster.
  4. D
    underlies the conservation of angular momentum; which is demonstrated when a spinning skater draws in her arms to rotate faster.

Answer

underlies the conservation of angular momentum, demonstrated when a spinning skater draws in her arms to rotate faster.
The correct option is the most concise choice. It eliminates the redundant synonyms 'demonstrated' and 'shown', simplifies 'rotate at a faster rate of speed' to 'rotate faster', and uses a direct participial phrase ('demonstrated when...') instead of a wordy relative clause.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the underlined portion for redundancy and wordiness.
Identify that 'clearly demonstrated and shown' is redundant because 'demonstrated' and 'shown' express the exact same idea. In addition, 'rotate at a faster rate of speed' can be simplified to 'rotate faster' without changing the meaning.
Redundancy and wordiness violate the ACT preference for clear, direct, and concise writing.
2
Evaluate the grammar of the remaining concise options.
The option containing 'this is demonstrated' creates an incorrect comma splice by linking two independent clauses with a comma and no coordinating conjunction. The option containing '; which' incorrectly uses a semicolon before a dependent clause, creating a fragment. The option beginning with 'demonstrated when' is grammatically sound, using a participial modifier to connect the illustration concisely.
Eliminating wordiness must not introduce new grammatical errors.

Key Concept

Eliminating wordiness and redundancy in a passage by choosing the most concise grammatically correct option.
Estimated Time:45s
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Topics

Eliminating Wordiness

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