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For discussions regarding questions that are considered on-topic for chemistry.se.

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I've bountied my 4.7 year old Astronomy SE question three times and still no answer. In this particular case, is it OK to post it here also?

Near-simultaneous cross-posting is always bad. The primary concern is answer fragmentation. Generally, flagging for moderator assistance to migrate is the way to go for questions that are less than ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 5,997
5 votes
1 answer
141 views

I had a question that did not have all of the information needed to fully answer. Is it better to rewrite the question, or start a new question?

There was this question "How do I determine temperature and pressure rise whenever mols of gases are added in a isolated room?" that I attempted to answer - but in the end I found myself in ...
Stephen Elliott's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
110 views

Would it be a good idea to ask here why uric acid is not 1,3,7,9-tetrahydropurine-2,6,8-trione but rather is 7,9-dihydro-1H-purine-2,6,8(3H)-trione?

Would it be a good idea to ask here why uric acid is not what I would have guessed, i.e. 1,3,7,9-tetrahydropurine-2,6,8-trione but rather is something that I find surprising, i.e. 7,9-dihydro-1H-...
Matthew Christopher Bartsh's user avatar
12 votes
3 answers
186 views

Are questions related to teaching chemistry on-topic?

I came across this question: Designing a mathematics course for 1st year chemistry students . The question is not directly about teaching chemistry, but it's about teaching mathematics to ...
S R Maiti's user avatar
  • 5,735
22 votes
1 answer
539 views

Regarding coronavirus questions

In recent days there have been an increase in questions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. These range from questions about homemade hand sanitiser formulations to increasingly outlandish theories for ...
orthocresol's user avatar
  • 71.9k
17 votes
0 answers
266 views

It makes no sense to me that this question about thermodynamics was closed as being physics rather than chemistry

Several users voted to close this question, Pressure-dependence of electrolysis voltage, in which the OP asked for help identifying the flaw in an electrochemical perpetual motion machine. I gather ...
theorist's user avatar
  • 12.3k
-2 votes
2 answers
174 views

How to make this question better?

So I asked this question. But it got 2 downvoted with 5 views. Which of the following alphabets have a five-membered chain as the longest chain? A, E, F, H, I, K, M, T, V, W, X, Y, Z? a) A, E, H b)...
user541396's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
52 views

Will this question be well received here?

Preference to longest carbon chain or double bond? Above structure and its nomenclature is given in my book. However, I suspect it is wrong because the Carbon chain of 8 instead of 7 is available. So ...
user541396's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
146 views

Is there a daily pattern in closing questions?

Anecdotally, I get the impression that more questions are closed at night then in the morning (my timezone is UTC -5). Are there times of day where questions of the same quality remain open longer? Is ...
Karsten's user avatar
  • 42.3k
1 vote
1 answer
46 views

Can I ask about alternative ways to synthensize a product?

I found ways to synthesise a product I need as part of a university assignment. We don't have the equipment or chemicals in the lab to do this task. Is it ok to ask on this site on how to sythensize ...
Peter's user avatar
  • 101
8 votes
0 answers
74 views

Creating question on jewelry cleaning

I had a question I was hoping I could get answered here, but since I'm not as familiar with your site, I wanted to post it on meta first to make sure I'm posing it in a way that's on-topic. My ...
David K's user avatar
  • 211
8 votes
1 answer
62 views

Can I post a question about where to find data for skeletal 2D chemical structures?

I would like to post a question about where to find data for 2D skeletal chemical structures. Is this forum a reasonable venue? I have found a number of websites which provide structural data in a ...
John Chris's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
83 views

About posting questions of high school level

I am new to this site. I just want to know that if my question/doubt is of low level, i.e, from high school, is it ok to post it or not?
noob_master's user avatar
9 votes
1 answer
127 views

Guidelines for closing as off-topic, belong on a different SE

Thinking about: Why room gets heated (closed and deleted, access to moderation tool > 10k reputation required) Now, I agree that this question has a strong physics bent to it, but thermodynamics is ...
Zhe's user avatar
  • 17.6k
12 votes
1 answer
206 views

What is the best site to ask computational questions?

I wish to know methods to calculate a particular entity which has to be calculated (computed) a high number of times in order to make my computation of the system quick and in realistic time. What is ...
fireball.1's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
192 views

Why is my question is not accepted on this site?

A user told me that my question, Hybridisation of coordination compounds, is not accepted on site. On What topics can I ask about here? page, the types of question that are not allowed are : Do-my-...
user8277998's user avatar
7 votes
2 answers
166 views

Do we need a close reason for stuff that's obviously less than prudent?

I thought of this while reading the following question: Can thermite be lit while mixed into butane? If not is there a flammable liquid that would work? Using a thermite flamethrower seems like a ...
Zhe's user avatar
  • 17.6k
-10 votes
1 answer
195 views

Should we completely ban all homework questions?

I have been a user of Chemistry SE for a little while, and most of the questions over here are homework. While a few of these questions show research effort and genuine need for help, a vast majority ...
Pritt says Reinstate Monica's user avatar
8 votes
2 answers
120 views

Policy on picture questions

I feel that there is a growing number of questions that consist of pictures. Most of these questions are homework questions such as this one. Images are not searchable. Furthermore, often times ...
CoffeeIsLife's user avatar
  • 4,314
16 votes
3 answers
218 views

Are we a bit overzealous with closing questions as homework?

As of this writing, this question has three close votes. As what? Of course as homework. I'm also seeing myself leaving questions open more often in the Reopen queue, and I'm one of the perpetrators ...
M.A.R.'s user avatar
  • 10.8k
10 votes
1 answer
115 views

I'm looking for a gooey substance that has a greenish glow, helps stick automobile parts together and saves the world from hunger in the process

I don't know if it's some visionary dude coming up with a revolutionary idea, some lunatic who wants to prove sciencez is wrong and water can be a fuel, a curious "chemistry layman"1 who aims to ...
M.A.R.'s user avatar
  • 10.8k
13 votes
1 answer
537 views

Are questions about the Ideal Gas Law chemistry?

(This is also applies to ideal gas law related topics, like Boyle's law, Charles's law, Gay-Lussac's law, etc.) On a recent question about how a bottle of air behaves when the temperature changes, a ...
R.M.'s user avatar
  • 5,011
9 votes
2 answers
205 views

Is this forum the right place to ask basic physical chemistry questions?

I have asked three questions about physical chemistry, two of which got answered and only one is answered satisfactorily. (I have nothing against airpuff's answer. He might be correct but I need a bit ...
user avatar
16 votes
3 answers
612 views

Policy on AMIRITE questions

Intro Consider two likely scenarios: Q: How many grams of $\ce{O2}$ are there in one mole of oxygen gas? I know that O is 16, so it should be 16 grams, AMIRITE? Please halp ugrant kthxbye ...
M.A.R.'s user avatar
  • 10.8k
9 votes
1 answer
134 views

Isn’t this question basically ‘what should I study’?

After having been away overnight and then scrolling through the list of active questions since my last visit I came across this one. If I try to boil this down to its bare essences, it would be one of ...
Jan's user avatar
  • 68.7k
7 votes
1 answer
166 views

Should I ask short questions in chat or on main site?

Recently, I had a question regarding the systematic name of $\ce{FeI2*2FeI3}{^{[\text{*}]}}$. Because the inquiry would be simple and short, and due to the possibility of sawed–off replies, I chose to ...
Linear Christmas's user avatar
26 votes
2 answers
1k views

Let's decide on what we should close as homework

The homework close reason is a thing I click on often these days. Recently, we're close-voting questions as homework that are from a broad range of scope. Unlike what's being seen in that screenshot, ...
M.A.R.'s user avatar
  • 10.8k
9 votes
1 answer
157 views

Questions about Plausible Chemistry in Fiction

I'm writing a science fiction novel. There is a scene in which the protagonist wants to accomplish a goal using a chemical reaction. Is it on topic to ask whether the specific reaction I envision is ...
Eric J.'s user avatar
  • 131
12 votes
1 answer
198 views

Policy on questions in basic mediums

Let's sit down and have a talk. Recently, we're closing a lot. 1 A good portion of the "offending" posts have been questions that either touch very basic concepts of chemistry, or are ones that you ...
M.A.R.'s user avatar
  • 10.8k
3 votes
1 answer
122 views

Pronunciation questions

Recently, a question on pronunciation was downvoted and then put on hold for being "primarily opinion based". That particular question wasn't the best-constructed, lucidly-typed question in the ...
Curt F.'s user avatar
  • 22.6k
7 votes
2 answers
141 views

If I want to buy compound/element X …

There is a rather recent question that I am not going to link to because of the meta-effect, which asks for potential sources of an element. But of course, the meta-discussion here should not only ...
Jan's user avatar
  • 68.7k
14 votes
1 answer
583 views

What to do about rudimentary questions?

I've come across a number of questions in the past week or so, often in the review queues, that require an answer that's exposition of this or that rudimentary aspect of chemistry (example). In many ...
hBy2Py's user avatar
  • 17.5k
13 votes
1 answer
284 views

FAQ update: How to ask (or close) questions that involve potentially controlled or dangerous substances?

Recently there was a flag on a question about the synthesis of an amphetamine. Last year there was a similar question about this topic: Scope of unsuitable questions to include security and hazardous ...
Martin - マーチン's user avatar
10 votes
2 answers
238 views

What do significant figures think of significant figures?

We have a significant number of significant questions (see also significant figure 1) that are asked here solely because they're problems people face in chemistry classes. Examples are: Significant ...
M.A.R.'s user avatar
  • 10.8k
22 votes
7 answers
967 views

How many shots will it take me to kill you with a neutron gun?

Recently, I've seen a trend of $\mathcal{\color{red}{SCARY}}$ questions back on chem. They're mainly about this: Get the picture? No? OK, I'll be more straight-forward 1: How to dissolve fifteen ...
M.A.R.'s user avatar
  • 10.8k
11 votes
2 answers
130 views

Are questions about "defect chemistry" more appropriate somewhere else than chem.SE?

I am currently studying in the field of defect chemistry. This is mainly about atomic changes in solids, crystals, functional materials etc. In my search for help, there don't seem to be any ...
Steeven's user avatar
  • 930
15 votes
1 answer
319 views

Are questions about analytical instrument maintenance in the scope of Chemistry.SE?

There is a lot of information on the web about chemistry, but finding information about how to maintain analytical instruments is more difficult. Are questions pertaining to maintaining instruments ...
Galen's user avatar
  • 705
5 votes
1 answer
87 views

Would this question about image analysis of a macromolecule be on topic here?

This question about image analysis of a macromolecule was recently posted to Photography SE. It's been rapidly closed because, as far as the denizens of Photography can tell, it's got little if ...
Philip Kendall's user avatar
12 votes
1 answer
133 views

Questions about safety on an industrial scale

There is a question about storing around 1000 liters of KOH, and I'm wondering about whether such questions should be answered here. I think that questions about safety are clearly on-topic and ...
Mad Scientist's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
134 views

What should we do about homework problems?

I have no statistics available, but when you take a "tour" in homework tagged posts, the ones that are on hold, usually get closed; not due to moderation strictness, but mainly due to the asker's ...
M.A.R.'s user avatar
  • 10.8k
7 votes
1 answer
48 views

Would questions regarding which file sharing sites exist for chemical files in particular be appropriate for Chem SE?

I have a question about which file-sharing websites exist that are specifically designed for chemical file formats (e.g., .mol, .pdb, .sdf, .xyz, etc.). Would such a question be appropriate for this ...
Josh Pinto's user avatar
  • 2,481
8 votes
3 answers
133 views

Why allow non-chemistry dimension analysis?

This question is not being closed on Chemistry, despite it having nothing to do with chemistry: Answer Conversion Problem Numerically in Kilometers Per Hour jonsca, whom I have much respect for, had ...
user avatar
4 votes
0 answers
23 views

Should dimensional analysis problems be on-topic? [duplicate]

We've had a few dimensional analysis questions in the past, but we've recently had quite a few more. I'm not calling anyone out here, I'm just stating a fact. These homework examples may not ...
jonsca's user avatar
  • 3,005
18 votes
1 answer
253 views

Thanks for being more diligent about homework questions!

By and large, our resident scholars-in-training have been doing a commendable job with including their initial attempts in the homework problems that have been posted. I'm pleased that new users to ...
jonsca's user avatar
  • 3,005
4 votes
0 answers
21 views

Merging tags Scope and Allowed-questions

I was looking at the Meta-tags and I think scope and allowed-questions are very similar and should be merged.
LDC3's user avatar
  • 8,166
7 votes
1 answer
233 views

Scope of unsuitable questions to include security and hazardous flags

I would like to propose that the scope of questions that are unsuitable for this site be expanded to include those where it is apparent that the user: is clearly unsuitably qualified to attempt a ...
long's user avatar
  • 12.1k
9 votes
1 answer
141 views

Should "Chemical Request" questions be on topic here?

Not to pick on anyone in particular, but the question https://chemistry.stackexchange.com/questions/5494/heaviest-non-hazardous-liquid-and-cheap-on-hold has brought up the issue of whether these "...
jonsca's user avatar
  • 3,005
-5 votes
1 answer
180 views

Asking Brainteasers

I had recently posted a brainteaser on the site and it was closed. I just joined the site a few days ago and I was just wondering why exactly asking such questions is not appropriate. https://...
kaliaden's user avatar
  • 2,125
1 vote
1 answer
128 views

Should we allow Synthesis questions subject to the six constraints listed below?

Terminology The asker is the original poser of the question. The compound is the desired result of the synthesis on which the question hangs. The synthesis is the synthesis of the compound. ...
Josh Pinto's user avatar
  • 2,481
3 votes
2 answers
91 views

Take on "soft questions"

Sparked off by https://chemistry.stackexchange.com/questions/1331/roundup-of-nobel-prize-predictions-for-2012 Should "soft" questions, like the one linked to above, be on-topic for us? By a soft ...
ManishEarth's user avatar
  • 15.3k