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The following question has been closed with the explanation that it is in breach of the Homework Policy :

What will be the total work done by friction on the system (man+boat)?

However, it is not asking for a calculation nor is it asking someone to "do my homework".

It is clearly asking for a conceptual explanation of how internal friction relates to work done and kinetic energy. This difficulty has been raised in several similar questions but I have not found a clear and convincing answer on this site. The only answer to this question does not convince me, nor those who ask for more explanation in the comments.

Possibly this question is a duplicate of another - if so which one?

Possibly it could be closed as being unclear, because the problem itself is not sufficiently defined. But this can be easily rectified.

Please vote to re-open if you agree that this question deserves to have a good answer.

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I agree that it's not really a homework question, though pasting a screenshot of the problem they're working on certainly looks like our everyday HW problem, but as you stated,

Possibly it could be closed as being unclear, because the problem itself is not sufficiently defined. But this can be easily rectified.

OP requested an explanation but didn't really say of what it was they were looking for and what it was that they understood. Hence, until it's edited (which is significant enough change to the question that it should only be done by OP), I think it should remain closed.

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Please vote to re-open if you agree that this question deserves to have a good answer.

I will add to Kyle's answer a something that is often repeated on meta: A question should stand on its own. The choice to close/reopen a question should not depend on the types of answers the question may receive. Otherwise the quality of the question becomes irrelevant.

Therefore, if you think this conceptual physics question does not have an adequate answer on this site, then I would suggest just asking your own question that has the clarity that is lacking in the post you link to. That seems like a much more direct way to get the question out there rather than requesting a question be reopened, which might not happen.

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    $\begingroup$ Yes, "it has a good/interesting answer" is often mentioned as a reason to reopen; but that's never how it should work. If you think there's a good conceptual question related to the off-topic question, ask that one instead. $\endgroup$
    – JMac
    Dec 26, 2019 at 14:37
  • $\begingroup$ I do not see the point of posting yet another question instead of reopening a closed question, perhaps after editing to make it clearer what the difficulty is. Site policy (I think) is to discourage users from re-posting the same question after it has been closed, instead of editing the closed question. $\endgroup$ Dec 27, 2019 at 0:18
  • $\begingroup$ @JMac Yes I agree but that does not apply here because the question is not off topic IMO. The question is already conceptual, and although it is not perfectly clear this has not prevented someone from answering it to someone's satisfaction. $\endgroup$ Dec 27, 2019 at 0:25
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    $\begingroup$ @sammygerbil I believe you have good reasons to post a new question. 1) You feel like there isn't a good answer on the site to questions like this. 2) This question might not be reopened. 3) You could make the question more focused, clear, etc. 4) You don't think the posted answer on this question is adequate. Based on this, you could make a question that is distinct and not a repost of the question this post is about. $\endgroup$ Dec 27, 2019 at 1:18

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