December 1st, 2008, 09:07 AM
From the many recent threads, I surmise that the chem forum is becoming more of a homework forum where many expect others to finish (or in some cases do EVERYTHING) their own homework. Why cant we be like the physics forum where some interesting (not necessarily textbook based) question is asked? Bleah.
Well, at least WM isn't here to give stupid answers...
December 1st, 2008, 10:34 AM
Lacking of experts. Everytime I made a new thread, nobody even answered my question.Originally Posted by oceanwave
Sadly most stuff in basic chemistry is really boring. Its kind of amazing to me that anyone actually goes on to study the interesting advanced stuff after having to learn how to calculate the pH of a weak acid etc in the introductory classes.
The basic stuff isn't that interesting to talk about, most people here can't really talk about the advanced stuff, and I think most of the people who do have expertise are really busy.
which threads have these been? usually if you don't get an answer it is the fault of a poorly worded question rather than a lack of expertsLacking of experts. Everytime I made a new thread, nobody even answered my question.
why so? i agree that basic chem is rather stale compared to advanced chem but its exactly because chem gets exciting in advanced levels that makes me want to pursue it in uni. anyways aren't u also a chem expert? a good example of one who still pressed on in chemistry!
The basic stuff isn't that interesting to talk about, most people here can't really talk about the advanced stuff, and I think most of the people who do have expertise are really busy.[/quote]
unfortunately, i think the root cause is that chemistry and its questions depend alot on a good grounding in a variety of reading. for example, its hard to solve for something one has not really heard of. physics for example, may not always need the exact equations for its solutions and allows for most physics students to give an answer. chemistry with its millions/billions of chemicals makes it hard for people to give an answer as even if one is a degree holder, it could just be in one small section in chemistry whilst the question being posed is not of his expertise.
I, for one, am intent on advancing my chemistry and hopefully when i know more, come back and try to help out more. currently its chemboy and organic god who does most of the work (i assume that u guys are uni grads, etc)...
I'm actually a university student and not reading chemistry =), but I have had a passion for chemistry from a young age and have done some reading above my level. I am doing a chemistry related degree (although not enough imo)
However by no means am I the definitive voice on this forum and you should ask chemboy if you are unsure of my answers as he really knows his stuff.
But for most of the questions you can trust me =)
I think oceanwave is right, the increasing requirement for specialists in chemistry means that the "jack of all trades, master of none" chemist is in short supply. especially at high level.
woooo...what degree program can that be? Im planning to do environmental chemistry (as said many many times) and from what i know, it's only a fraction of the tip of the ice berg on the number of chemistry related programs dealing in the environmental science sector. compounding the complexity is also and equivalent number of other branches of sciences and others (like economists, etc) which are required in the environmental sector so....yea, we're kinda screwed in a way...hahahaha...just a bleeper from wiki:
Environmental Science provides an integrated, quantitative, and interdisciplinary approach to the study of environmental systems.[1]. Individuals may operate as Environmental scientists or a group of scientists may work together pooling their individual skills.
* Environmental chemistry is the study of chemical alterations in the environment. Principal areas of study include soil contamination and water pollution. The topics of analysis involve chemical degradation in the environment, multi-phase transport of chemicals (for example, evaporation of a solvent containing lake to yield solvent as an air pollutant), and chemical effects upon biota.
As an example study, consider the case of a leaking solvent tank which has entered the soil upgradient of a habitat of an endangered species of amphibian. Physicists would develop a computer model to understand the extent of soil contamination and subsurface transport of solvent, chemists would analyze the molecular bonding of the solvent to the specific soil type and biologists would study the impacts upon soil arthropods, plants and ultimately pond dwelling copepods who are the food of the endangered amphibian.
for easy reference to the actual webpage:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_science
MEng chemical engineering
woot! that's a whole lot of physics included right?
yeh the title is misleading as the amount of chemistry you do is little, the university just assumes you know all the chemistry =)
You have more confidence in me than I do.
I'm just a sophomore in college. I'm taking organic right now and will be taking organic II in the spring. I want to do chemistry before I leave college somehow...sadly the college I'm transferring to next fall won't let me double-major, so I can't do chem then... I'll make it work though, as I really love it.
So yeah, I'm not an expert by any means but I'm certainly willing to help where I can.
It seems to me that there just aren't many interesting topics in this part of the forum. As someone else said, it is mainly just people looking answers to tedious homework type problems rather than people wanting to discuss interesting topics. I've been checking the forum pretty regularly since I joined, but it is too often that a topic grabs my attention.
Although I love chemistry, I would have to say that the subject itself is partly to blame. University level chemistry is often like a completely different subject than what is taught in school, particularly at lower levels. Advances in chemistry these days are also generally in very specialised subject areas, which means that even someone who knows a lot about one area may know almost nothing about another. Modern advances in chemistry are also generally pretty testable, unlike in physics where actual evidence of some theories can be hard to come by. This leaves the door open for people who don't know a lot about advanced physics to form their own ideas that can't be immediately dismissed.
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