To ensure the integrity of fossil evidence found at climatically unstable archeological sites, the immediate coating of newly exposed fossils with a specially formulated alkaline solution is as crucial, if not more crucial than, the prompt removal of the fossil from the site.
(A) crucial, if not more crucial than, the
(B) crucial as, if not more crucial than, the
(C) crucial as, if not more than the
(D) crucial, if not more crucial, than the
(E) crucial, if not more crucial, as the
This question tests you on conjunctions. If you are thorough with the use of conjunctions, this question should not be a difficult nut to crack.
Co-relative conjunctions come in pairs, joining various sentence elements that should be treated as grammatically equal
Ex
- Neither.. nor
- either.. or
- as..so
- as..as
- hardly.. when etc
In the given sentence,
To ensure the integrity of fossil evidence found at climatically unstable archeological sites, the immediate coating of newly exposed fossils with a specially formulated alkaline solution is as crucial, if not more crucial than, the prompt removal of the fossil from the site.
….. is as crucial as.. This is the correct structure using the correct co-relative conjunctions.
Option A, D and E do not follow this grammatical structure. Eliminate.
Option E uses the comparative adjective- “more”. It should be followed by “than” and not “as”.
If not more crucial than..
And not
if not more crucial, as. Eliminate E.
Option C-
As crucial as, if not more than the.
More what? More crucial- that is missing in C. Eliminate
Option B maintains the grammatical structure and is correct.