instruction:
Generate the answer for a given question. The question requires common knowledge of English. Make sure that the answer is in detail, long, consistent with the context, and requires general knowledge of English. To be less repetitive, please vary your language for each question. Give a proper explanation to answer, and if necessary, provide the definition of various terms. And conclude your answer if it's long. If you have used other resources (e.g., Merriam Webster's.) to answer the question, include citations in your answer. You don't need to paraphrase the context of your resources, but make sure that your answer is consistent and complete.
question:
Is there a semantic difference between engine and motor? In some cases, would the use of one or the other word be technically incorrect?.
answer:
I like the definitions provided by WordNet and their definition is the way I've understood the difference: A motor is a machine that converts other forms of energy into mechanical energy and so imparts motion. An engine is a motor that converts thermal energy to mechanical work. wordnetweb.princeton.edu So an engine is a specific type of motor. That's why it's not incorrect to speak of a motorboat, or a motorcar, or a motor speedway, even if the boat or car is clearly powered by combustion. Note that if there's no combustion, there's no engine. Purely electric cars don't have engines. As nouns, motor can also refer to a nonspecific agent that causes motion: 'happiness is the aim of all men and the motor of all action', and engine can refer to something used to achieve a purpose: 'an engine of change', a railway locomotive, or a machine used in warfare: 'medieval engines of war'.

question:
How do you know when to use singular or plural nouns if they're used as adjectives? i.e. 32-bit computer vs 32-bits computer? teacher union vs teachers union? wedding planner vs weddings planner? sport medicine vs sports medicine? student council vs students council? Which one is correct?.
answer:
You are thinking of noun adjuncts, or attributive nouns. Both Wikipedia and someone from Pearson Education state that traditionally, all attributive nouns are singular. However, the number of plural attributive nouns have increased over the years in a rather arbitrary manner. This means that there is no longer a set rule to determine whether the attributive is singular or plural. Despite this, there is a rough guide that you can use. The attributive noun tends to be plural in the following situations: 1: The singular form might lead to ambiguity an arts degree (a degree in the humanities) as opposed to an art degree (a degree in fine art) [I believe that this situation is what is referred to on wikipedia as 'lexical restrictions', providing the example of 'arm race' vs 'arms race'] 2. There is no singular form of a noun (in pluralia tantum) a customs officer 3. There is a need to denote variety a soft drinks manufacturer [but] a car manufacturer 4. A topical issue comes forth, often in newspaper stories... the tapes issue the tapes compromise the Watergate tapes affair the White House tapes mystery and other examples, including jobs cut. [I am not entirely sure what the point of this fourth category is] [Source: Pearson Education , directly quoted apart from what is enclosed inside square brackets] To this list I add my own: 5. [The attributive noun is plural if] it comes from the possessive form of the word teachers union ladies man However, this is more of an explanation rather than a rule you can use. There are too many exceptions, and you are unlikely to know the origins of the word. It doesn't make sense that it is teachers union but not students council. Note that we often 'choose by ear and it doesn't matter (employee lounge, employees lounge)' (Chicago Manual of Style). I would argue that it would be easier to just look it up every time and memorise words instead of trying to find a rule or categorise them. Even as a native speaker, I was not entirely sure whether it was 'sport medicine' or 'sports medicine' before looking it up. If you find yourself completely lost and without internet, go with the singular form because it is the traditional form and more common.

question:
Coming from a technical background I'm slightly confused. What is the difference between simultaneously and concurrently? How do we use these words?.
answer:
I just looked these up in an online dictionary; this is what I found: concurrently: overlapping in duration simultaneously: at the same instant Both of them mean 'at the same time,' and are almost interchangeable. That said, if I had to point out a slight difference, I'd say that concurrently occurs over a longer time, and is a bit less synchronized than simultaneously. For example: The two processors were running concurrently, then they crashed simultaneously. In that example, I wouldn't swap the two words in question.