Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Science/2021 November 2

= November 2 =

What's the term for prioritys.
What do you call this kind of situation: if something is both C and B, we call it C. If something is both B and A, we call it B. And so forth. I know this is a heavily CS question, but I know we have this in science, especially organic chemistry. For example, if a compound is both an alcohol and an amine, we call it an alcohol, but if something is both an alcohol and an amide, we call it an amide. So, some kind of precedence. What do we call this in CS, and, what do we call this in science? 67.165.185.178 (talk) 23:25, 2 November 2021 (UTC).
 * I remember asking a pharmacology scientist, if something is both an anti-biotic, and an anti-viral, what do we call it? He didn't know there was a thing, or a special word that emphasized both. 67.165.185.178 (talk) 23:27, 2 November 2021 (UTC).
 * How about "antiseptic"? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 01:42, 3 November 2021 (UTC)
 * I'm not sure there is a general rule stating that a compound that is both an alcohol and an amine should preferentially be referred to as an amine. An example is 2-aminoethan-1-ol, for which the infobox in our article lists a dazzling array of names, including β-aminoethyl alcohol. The suffix "-ol" in the preferred IUPAC name classifies it as an alcohol; the hydroxyl group is considered the functional group with the highest priority. In general, I think "priority" is a good term for indicating which one of a choice of two candidates is to be preferred; for a choice among a larger group, "highest priority" is more explicit. I can't think of a good situation where two names are equally appropriate, given their definitions, but where one conventionally takes priority. A cat is both a pet and a predator; whether we refer to Molly as a pet or as a predator depends on the context. Sometimes both are appropriate. --Lambiam 11:42, 3 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Sigh. Here's the priority, straight from my organic chemistry textbook. And I properly indented your comment . Carboxylic acid > ester > amide > nitrile > aldehyde > ketone > alcohol > amine > alkene > alkyne > alkane > ether > halides. 67.165.185.178 (talk) 12:55, 3 November 2021 (UTC).
 * My contribution was properly indented, because it was solely in response to the original question and had nothing to do with names for substances that are both antibiotic and antiviral. --Lambiam 17:10, 3 November 2021 (UTC)}
 * I think that the term the OP seeks is a classification and that article gives a lot of the background. In organic chemistry the series quoted is that established by Friedrich Konrad Beilstein in the 19th century and now implemented in the Beilstein database and elsewhere. The history of science is full of attempts to classify things. For example, the periodic table was developed when it was realised that classifying elements by their atomic number (rather than, say, their atomic weight) was useful. Such classification is a human construct: the appropriate classification depends on context — so, for example Beilstein's system does not include inorganic compounds and in some respects is not "logical". Any such systematic approach gains traction because it is useful and widely applicable. Mike Turnbull (talk) 14:12, 3 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Is the OP referring to the Cahn–Ingold–Prelog priority rules? That's only used in a specific application, though... -- Jayron 32 16:31, 3 November 2021 (UTC)
 * This is about the IUPAC nomenclature of organic chemistry. Crucial to its application is determining the parent functional group, if any, with the highest order of precedence. I think the Blue Book calls this "seniority order". The precise rules are very complex; one needs expertise to apply them. If I can believe our article, the alcohols (priority 7) come before amines (priority 9). Some textbooks, however, while referring to the IUPAC rules, present a different priority sequence. --Lambiam 10:57, 4 November 2021 (UTC)