Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: 4
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
This question checks your ability to evaluate a scientific statement written in English and decide whether it is grammatically correct and logically consistent. The sentence compares the charge carried by an electron with the neutrality of a neutron. Error spotting questions like this require a combination of language sense and basic subject knowledge so that you can confirm the statement is meaningful and correctly structured.
Given Data / Assumptions:
Concept / Approach:
The conjunction while is commonly used to introduce a contrast between two clauses. The structure While X, Y is correct if both X and Y are full clauses with subject and verb. You must check subject verb agreement, article usage, word order, and also verify that the scientific content is reasonable. Since English grammar questions often use scientific context, recognising accurate science helps eliminate doubts about meaning. If no grammatical problem exists in any segment, the correct choice is No Error.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Examine part (1): While an electron. This begins a dependent clause, and the word an before electron is the correct article because electron starts with a vowel sound.
Step 2: Examine part (2): carries a negative electrical. This segment includes the verb carries and the adjectives negative electrical, which properly describe the type of charge. The noun charge appears in the next part.
Step 3: Examine part (3): charge, a neutron is neutral. The noun charge correctly completes the phrase a negative electrical charge. The comma introduces the main clause a neutron is neutral, which is grammatically correct.
Step 4: Put the full sentence together: While an electron carries a negative electrical charge, a neutron is neutral. The structure While clause, clause is correct and clearly expresses a contrast.
Step 5: Confirm that the science is accurate: electrons are indeed negatively charged and neutrons have no charge. Therefore the sentence makes sense and there is no error in any part.
Verification / Alternative check:
You can rephrase the sentence to check its structure. A similar version is An electron carries a negative electrical charge, whereas a neutron is neutral. This confirms that while is being used correctly to introduce a contrast. There is no tense disagreement, no misplaced modifier, and no article error. Since all segments are correct, you cannot choose any of the parts 1, 2 or 3 as the error. In such cases, the correct answer is always the option that marks No Error.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option 1 would be correct only if the phrase While an electron were grammatically wrong, but it is not. Option 2 would be correct only if carries a negative electrical were incorrect, but that phrase properly begins the predicate. Option 3 would be correct only if charge, a neutron is neutral contained a problem, yet both charge and the clause a neutron is neutral are accurate in grammar and meaning. Therefore options 1, 2 and 3 cannot be chosen, leaving option 4, No Error, as the only valid choice.
Common Pitfalls:
A frequent mistake in such questions is assuming that every sentence in an error spotting exercise must contain a mistake. This expectation may push students to manufacture errors where none exist, such as thinking while cannot appear in scientific statements or doubting the description of charges. Another trap is to overanalyse the phrase negative electrical charge and imagine it should be written in a different way, even though it is perfectly acceptable technical language. Always remember that some questions deliberately include a fully correct sentence to test whether you can confidently choose No Error when appropriate.
Final Answer:
The sentence is grammatically correct and scientifically accurate, so the correct choice is 4 (No Error).
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