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Difficulty: MediumCommas with Nonessential and Parenthetical Elements

Launched by NASA in 1977, the Voyager 1 spacecraft was designed to study the outer solar system. A copper phonograph record, which contains sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life on Earth, is carried by the probe as it travels into interstellar space. This record is expected to last for billions of years, potentially serving as a message to extraterrestrial civilizations.

Which choice is the correct punctuation for the underlined portion of the passage?

  1. NO CHANGEAnswer
  2. B
    record, that contains sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life on Earth,
  3. C
    record, which contains sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life on Earth
  4. D
    record; which contains sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life on Earth,

Answer

The correct choice is the original punctuation, which uses a pair of commas to set off the nonessential relative clause.
The original phrasing correctly sets off the nonessential relative clause 'which contains sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life on Earth' with a pair of commas. Since this clause provides supplementary details that are not required to identify the noun 'record,' commas are grammatically necessary.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Determine if the clause modifying 'record' is essential or nonessential to the sentence's meaning.
The clause starting with 'which' is nonessential (nonrestrictive) because the specific record is already identified by name ('A copper phonograph record').
Nonessential information must be set off from the rest of the sentence with commas, whereas essential information should not have commas.
2
Select the punctuation that correctly encloses the nonessential clause.
A pair of commas must surround the clause, one after 'record' and one after 'Earth'.
Using a single comma, a semicolon, or commas with the word 'that' creates grammatical or punctuation errors.

Key Concept

Commas with Nonessential and Parenthetical Elements
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Topics

Commas with Nonessential and Parenthetical Elements

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