29
votes
Accepted
Generalizing the homework policy
Questions which ask us to perform calculations are off topic.
This is too broad. I recognize that it's intended to head off boring copied-from-homework questions like "what's the optimal angle ...
robMod
- 86.3k
26
votes
Should we rename the homework policy?
Yes, we should.
"Homework" isn't the issue
I think we all agree that whether or not a post comes from a homework assignment is irrelevant, as illustrated by this example question:
Consider a ...
- 24.2k
24
votes
Allowing mathematical and homework questions on this site
I'm sorry, but the idea that our site policies are "controlling the learning of other less knowledgeable students of the universe" is just plainly ridiculous. That people on the internet won'...
ACuriousMindMod
- 122k
21
votes
Accepted
Users that post every question in their homework/exams
Recently I've noticed a few people posting questions in rapid succession, each with a screenshot of a problem. If you look at the questions as a whole, it's obvious they've split their entire problem ...
robMod
- 86.3k
20
votes
How do I ask homework questions on Physics Stack Exchange?
Bad:
Your question looks like: "Here is my homework. Solve it instead of me, now".
You scanned/photographed your textbook.
You don't show effort or curiosity towards the solution.
You don't bother to ...
20
votes
Replacing the homework policy 1: what existing questions should be on/off topic?
Sound pitch of glass with water
This is not a homework or homework-like question, it's not a calculation request, it's completely conceptual, but the question doesn't show any prior research, or any ...
- 75.8k
20
votes
Users that post every question in their homework/exams
To discourage rapid postings of the type alluded to in the question, methinks screenshots of text should be outright banned. I can understand a screenshot of a figure, but if it can be easily done ...
- 45k
18
votes
Replacing the homework policy 1: what existing questions should be on/off topic?
Mutual $E$ force due to charged coaxial rings
I think this is probably homework because it's really just asking how to solve a problem. However you could argue it's conceptual in the sense that it's ...
- 351k
18
votes
Replacing the homework policy 1: what existing questions should be on/off topic?
Three dimensional isotropic harmonic oscilator Hamiltonian
This is an advanced question (on quantum mechanics) that shows detailed effort. It could be argued that it doesn't actually ask anything ...
- 75.8k
16
votes
Poll: do you ignore the homework tag?
No, I don't have the tag on ignore.
Upvote if this is the case. To keep the numbers clean, please don't downvote.
$\quad$
- 131k
16
votes
The $F=ma$ competition was February 18th, 2021
The exam is over now! Thankfully, nothing went awry on this particular site.
- 101k
16
votes
Bounty on "entrance exam" question
[moderator hat off: personal opinion]
We don’t close homework-like questions based on where they are from. We close homework-like questions when they are about doing some single-purpose computation (...
robMod
- 86.3k
15
votes
How do I ask homework questions on Physics Stack Exchange?
The aim of our site is to be an authoritative source of information for active researchers, academics and students of physics and astronomy, and we want the posts here to be interesting, informative ...
15
votes
Allowing mathematical and homework questions on this site
Personally, I think it is fine for a site to decide what is on-topic and what is off-topic for the site. A different choice wouldn’t have been wrong, but having a specific policy (whatever it is) ...
- 94.5k
15
votes
Allowing mathematical and homework questions on this site
What's wrong with a homework-like question? Homework questions are specially written to expand and question one's understanding - it's a totally valid way of learning. If you think someone's trying to ...
- 67.5k
14
votes
Generalizing the homework policy
In my opinion, in this discussion there is too much focus on the "question" and not enough on the "value of the question plus the answer".
If the goal of the site is to be a "resource" to all serious ...
- 118k
14
votes
Answering "Homework-Like" Questions With Hints
The homework policy remains a contentious issue and feelings can run high about it so I'm reluctant to stoke the flames any higher.
However if we take the narrow interpretation of homework as the ...
- 351k
14
votes
Why was my question about the Devil's problem deemed a homework question?
Your question does not ask a conceptual question about physics, it simply asks users to solve the exercise you call "the Devil's problem".
That you ask us to solve the exercise not by saying ...
ACuriousMindMod
- 122k
14
votes
Accepted
Should Physics enable a "triage" review queue for homework-like questions?
I went into Stack Overflow and handled a few questions from the Triage queue there to remind myself a bit how this works. I've done over 1,100 triages on SO, but it had been a while so I had forgotten ...
- 4,829
14
votes
Why is there a homework tag if the posts keep getting closed?
I think this post emphasizes, once more, a real problem of PSE: some inconsistency between the stated policy of the site and how it is applied in practice.
The stated policy says
"A 'homework ...
13
votes
Why are homework related questions accepted on maths SE more than here?
Because this is a different community centered around a different topic, responding to different pressures, in a very different internet environment, and which has made different choices over a very ...
- 131k
13
votes
Why was my question about the Devil's problem deemed a homework question?
First, note that not all homework related questions are off topic here. However...
I wasn't interested in learning or understanding any physics methods; my interest was to find out whether 13 is ...
- 55.8k
12
votes
Replacing the homework policy 1: what existing questions should be on/off topic?
Extension in a vertically hanging rod
This is a homework question, and the OP admits it's a homework question. However the OP isn't asking us to do the problem, they are asking about the physics ...
- 351k
12
votes
Strict(er) adherence to homework guidelines?
Speaking as a university professor, I disagree with a stricter adherence to homework guidelines.
I think it's my duty to administer exams where cheating is ineffective, and I would not ask any ...
- 4,845
12
votes
Strict(er) adherence to homework guidelines?
I am not sure what can be done about this, but from my point of view an effective measure would be if everyone is vigilant at closing such questions and even if they are not closed, did not answer ...
- 55.8k
12
votes
Deleting answers due to the Homework policy is not beneficial
With due respect: we've already had this debate ad nauseum. Check this post from 2014 as a representative example, or more recent posts here , or here. PSE is NOT a homework site.
Whether or not ...
- 45k
12
votes
Why was this circuits question closed?
The title of the question is "Find the Thevenin's Voltage," and the first line is "Please solve this." In its current form, it is a straightforward homework question.
If there is a ...
ChrisMod
- 17.1k
11
votes
My question was closed on Phys.SE. Can you recommend me another Internet site where my question might be on-topic?
Problem Solving Strategies chatroom
This requires a rep of at least 20 points.
Typical questions come from college/university exam preparation (mainly JEE) and undergraduate level physics courses, ...
- 27.1k
11
votes
Replacing the homework policy 1: what existing questions should be on/off topic?
Thanks to dmckee for digging up an old deleted question asked by me a long time ago here. Here it is:
Suppose a plane of mass $M$ flies at constant velocity at a height $h$ above the ground. If $h$ ...
- 10.1k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible