Question

directions: read the passage below. then answer questions about errors in the passage. edward murphy was a member of an air force team that performed complicated experiments during the 1) 1940s his work required much preparation and perfect execution. murphy has become renowned for 2) “murphys’ law,” which states that “if anything can go 3) wrong it will.” this 4) somewhat funny observation has spawned a plethora of 5) corollaries, such as hofstadter’s law: “it always takes longer than you expect, even when you take hofstadter’s law into account.” 6) these smart comments on the perceived perversity of daily life have been published in 7) several books. some of the volumes are general in 8) scope; some pertain to technical careers in aerospace or professional areas such as medicine or law. 1) a. 1940’s, his b. 1940s. his c. 1940s! his d. 1940’s – his e. correct as is 2) a. “murphy’s law,” b. murphy’s law,” c. “murphy’s law”, d. “murphys law,” e. correct as is 3) a. wrong, it will”. b. wrong it, will.” c. wrong, it will.” d. wrong it will,” e. correct as is 4) a. hilarious b. lofty c. comical d. laughable e. tenuous 5) a. corollaries b. corolaries c. corollarries d. corroleries e. correct as is 6) a. witty musings b. complex phrases c. detrimental utterances d. sophisticated sayings e. harmless annotations 7) a. several books, but some b. several books: some c. several books, some d. correct as is 8) a. scope some b. scope. some c. scope & some d. scope, while others

Explanation:

1. In the 1940s is the correct way to refer to the decade, and the next - sentence should start with a capital 'H' for 'His'. So, 1940s. His is correct.
2. The possessive of Murphy for the law should be "Murphy's Law," with a single apostrophe.
3. The quote should end with a period inside the quotation marks and there should be a comma before "it will". So "wrong, it will." is correct.
4. "Somewhat funny" can be replaced with a more appropriate synonym like "comical".
5. "Corollaries" is the correct spelling.
6. "Smart comments" can be better described as "witty musings".
7. The sentence is correct as it is.
8. A better way to separate the two parts of the sentence is "scope; some" to show a contrast or distinction.

Answer:

1. B. 1940s. His
2. A. "Murphy's Law,"
3. C. wrong, it will."
4. C. comical
5. A. corollaries
6. A. witty musings
7. D. Correct as is
8. B. scope. Some