Multiple choice

Because the planet’s core is more solid there and thus better able to transmit shock waves, an earthquake of a given magnitude typically devastates an area 100 times greater on the Mars than it does on the Earth.

  1. of a given magnitude typically devastates an area 100 times greater on the Mars than it does on the Earth

  2. of a given magnitude will typically devastate 100 times the area if it occurs on the Mars instead of the Earth

  3. will typically devastate 100 times the area on the Mars than one of the comparable magnitude occurring on the Earth

  4. on the Mars will typically devastate an area 100 times greater than will a quake of comparable magnitude occurring on the Earth

  5. that occurs on the Mars will typically devastate 100 times more area than if it occurred with comparable magnitude on the Earth

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The sentence is trying to express a possibility of something happening in the future so ‘will’ is the correct construct. Also ‘an area’ is the right object for the verb ‘devastate’. Hence (4).