Questions tagged [allowed-questions]

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

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5 votes
1 answer
132 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 ...
0 votes
1 answer
105 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-...
12 votes
3 answers
182 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 ...
12 votes
1 answer
204 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 ...
22 votes
1 answer
535 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 ...
47 votes
1 answer
18k views

How do I ask homework questions on Chemistry Stack Exchange?

Mainly copied from https://physics.meta.stackexchange.com/q/714/7433 What is the policy on asking homework questions on Chemistry Stack Exchange? What kinds of questions are considered homework ...
17 votes
0 answers
261 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 ...
-2 votes
2 answers
170 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)...
2 votes
0 answers
48 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 ...
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 ...
15 votes
1 answer
316 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 ...
9 votes
1 answer
121 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 ...
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 ...
1 vote
1 answer
44 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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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, ...
2 votes
1 answer
77 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?
1 vote
1 answer
127 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. ...
7 votes
1 answer
187 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-...
12 votes
4 answers
179 views

Should we allow data questions?

Should we allow questions of the form "what's the <numerical value> of <compound>"? Eg: Is the specific heat ...
22 votes
7 answers
927 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 ...
7 votes
2 answers
164 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 ...
8 votes
2 answers
118 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 ...
-10 votes
1 answer
193 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 ...
16 votes
3 answers
216 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 ...
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 ...
7 votes
1 answer
232 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 ...
13 votes
1 answer
497 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 ...
9 votes
2 answers
201 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 ...
16 votes
3 answers
596 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 ...
7 votes
1 answer
165 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 ...
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 ...
12 votes
1 answer
192 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 ...
3 votes
1 answer
119 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 ...
7 votes
2 answers
140 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 ...
14 votes
1 answer
556 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 ...
13 votes
1 answer
274 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 ...
10 votes
2 answers
234 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 ...
11 votes
2 answers
127 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 ...
8 votes
3 answers
132 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 ...
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 ...
12 votes
1 answer
132 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 ...
2 votes
2 answers
131 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 ...
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 ...
18 votes
1 answer
249 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 ...
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 ...
5 votes
1 answer
105 views

We're now in public beta - so are more basic questions ok now? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: What kind of subjects in chemistry are considered “too easy”? Congratulations to all, on getting the site out of private beta and into public beta. Is it now OK ...
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.
9 votes
1 answer
137 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 "...