ASTR 3
Nature of the Universe
Description: Lecture, three hours; laboratory, two hours. Not open to students with credit for or currently enrolled in course 81 or 82. No special mathematical preparation required beyond that necessary for admission to UCLA in freshman standing. Course for general UCLA students, normally not intending to major in physical sciences. Introduction to vast range of cosmic phenomena including planets in our solar system and beyond, stars, supernova explosions, black holes, galaxies, and universe as whole. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 5.0
Units: 5.0
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Most Helpful Review
LOVED this class. Astronomy is super fascinating and this class was not hard. Very little math required (seriously, basic stuff) and science concepts are very manageable. Prof. Furlanetto posts all of his lecture audio online (which led me to skip a lot of classes and listen to hours worth of lecture... don't be me). His powerpoints are mostly pictures and short points, so the audio is where it's at. He's a cool guy, too. Clear, direct, reasonable, and sometimes funny. I liked him. There are weekly quizzes online. Usually 10-15 questions, and you should have no problem getting As or 100s on all of them because not only is there no time limit, you get 3 chances. You don't need to buy any homework software or anything--all quizzes are on CCLE. Exams are all multiple choice and not too bad at all. You have 2 midterms and a final. If you do the work and don't procrastinate too much, you should be able to get a A. There was moderate reading, but the reading was interesting (MOST of the time, anyway). I suggest not reading it all at once; split it up over the course of the week, because it does get a little much if you try to read it all in one sitting. Selling textbook for HALF off original price, so $50! Good condition. About 2 chapters are neatly highlighted, but the rest is clean; binder included. Email ************* if you want it :)
LOVED this class. Astronomy is super fascinating and this class was not hard. Very little math required (seriously, basic stuff) and science concepts are very manageable. Prof. Furlanetto posts all of his lecture audio online (which led me to skip a lot of classes and listen to hours worth of lecture... don't be me). His powerpoints are mostly pictures and short points, so the audio is where it's at. He's a cool guy, too. Clear, direct, reasonable, and sometimes funny. I liked him. There are weekly quizzes online. Usually 10-15 questions, and you should have no problem getting As or 100s on all of them because not only is there no time limit, you get 3 chances. You don't need to buy any homework software or anything--all quizzes are on CCLE. Exams are all multiple choice and not too bad at all. You have 2 midterms and a final. If you do the work and don't procrastinate too much, you should be able to get a A. There was moderate reading, but the reading was interesting (MOST of the time, anyway). I suggest not reading it all at once; split it up over the course of the week, because it does get a little much if you try to read it all in one sitting. Selling textbook for HALF off original price, so $50! Good condition. About 2 chapters are neatly highlighted, but the rest is clean; binder included. Email ************* if you want it :)
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Most Helpful Review
Okay, Prof. Ghez has got some good and bad points, but it's up to you decide which outweighs the other. For one, she's really passionate and you can tell from the very first lecture that she really loves what she does. She's pretty good at explaining the harder concepts in astronomy and she's concerned about student learning, since she'll try to clarify any confusion. However, she is NOT an easy instructor! For an intro to astronomy course, this class was way too difficult and had too much work (labs, weekly homeworks, 2 midterms, a cumulative final). In addition, the tests are hard since they involve mastery of the concepts as well as specific-detailed questions. On top of that, there is a lot of material to cover for one quarter, so one might feel really overwhelmed especially when finals come around. I think if she could just slow the workload, everything would be all cool. You learn a lot, but she's definitely gonna work ya!
Okay, Prof. Ghez has got some good and bad points, but it's up to you decide which outweighs the other. For one, she's really passionate and you can tell from the very first lecture that she really loves what she does. She's pretty good at explaining the harder concepts in astronomy and she's concerned about student learning, since she'll try to clarify any confusion. However, she is NOT an easy instructor! For an intro to astronomy course, this class was way too difficult and had too much work (labs, weekly homeworks, 2 midterms, a cumulative final). In addition, the tests are hard since they involve mastery of the concepts as well as specific-detailed questions. On top of that, there is a lot of material to cover for one quarter, so one might feel really overwhelmed especially when finals come around. I think if she could just slow the workload, everything would be all cool. You learn a lot, but she's definitely gonna work ya!
Most Helpful Review
Let me just start by saying that I am a north campus major, and I took Astro 3 with Hauser just to get rid of my GE requirement. I'm don't typically enjoy math or science courses, but he made this class genuinely interesting. I actually looked forward to his lectures, since he has a very quirky sense of humor and mixes in little videos to keep people interested. He also brought snacks each day for any of the 200+ students that were hungry. Who does that? The material is not that hard, and the weekly labs are manageable. I had Matt House as a TA and he was very helpful in answering any questions about the labs. Professor Hauser is very open to helping students with work and answering questions during office hours. I regret only going twice to ask for help. In terms of difficulty, I don't think there is a single class anywhere at UCLA where it is so easy to get an A. Prof Hauser curves the midterms and the finals to the extent that a C+/B- is an A. According to the final grades, almost 50% got some sort of an A, and over 90% got some sort of a B or A! Take this class if you're looking for an easy A, but more importantly, take it if you're looking for a professor that will make the subject fascinating. Bottom line...if Hauser is teaching Astro 3 again, and it fits into your schedule, TAKE THE CLASS!
Let me just start by saying that I am a north campus major, and I took Astro 3 with Hauser just to get rid of my GE requirement. I'm don't typically enjoy math or science courses, but he made this class genuinely interesting. I actually looked forward to his lectures, since he has a very quirky sense of humor and mixes in little videos to keep people interested. He also brought snacks each day for any of the 200+ students that were hungry. Who does that? The material is not that hard, and the weekly labs are manageable. I had Matt House as a TA and he was very helpful in answering any questions about the labs. Professor Hauser is very open to helping students with work and answering questions during office hours. I regret only going twice to ask for help. In terms of difficulty, I don't think there is a single class anywhere at UCLA where it is so easy to get an A. Prof Hauser curves the midterms and the finals to the extent that a C+/B- is an A. According to the final grades, almost 50% got some sort of an A, and over 90% got some sort of a B or A! Take this class if you're looking for an easy A, but more importantly, take it if you're looking for a professor that will make the subject fascinating. Bottom line...if Hauser is teaching Astro 3 again, and it fits into your schedule, TAKE THE CLASS!
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Most Helpful Review
huffman is not a hard professor. his curves are quite lenient and he doesnt demand much. and astro 3 isnt supposed to be a hard class...but for some reason, the two of those still dont equal to an easy A class. hes a good teacher, he really tries to get the students to learn something, but you still gotta pay attention and read and go to class or else its not gonna work.
huffman is not a hard professor. his curves are quite lenient and he doesnt demand much. and astro 3 isnt supposed to be a hard class...but for some reason, the two of those still dont equal to an easy A class. hes a good teacher, he really tries to get the students to learn something, but you still gotta pay attention and read and go to class or else its not gonna work.
Most Helpful Review
Winter 2021 - This class is definitely an EASY A class. Just make sure you use professor Larkin's slides and the STUDY QUESTION GUIDE. You don't even have to go to the lecture at all. I didn't go to the lecture this quarter, but I go over all the lecture slides before the midterm (This way can save your time). Make sure you go over ALL the questions of STUDYGUIDE provided before exams, and that is very very helpful. Lots of questions come from that studyguide. Just try to answer all those questions in advance based on information you can find in the lecture slides, and you will get through the exam very easily.
Winter 2021 - This class is definitely an EASY A class. Just make sure you use professor Larkin's slides and the STUDY QUESTION GUIDE. You don't even have to go to the lecture at all. I didn't go to the lecture this quarter, but I go over all the lecture slides before the midterm (This way can save your time). Make sure you go over ALL the questions of STUDYGUIDE provided before exams, and that is very very helpful. Lots of questions come from that studyguide. Just try to answer all those questions in advance based on information you can find in the lecture slides, and you will get through the exam very easily.
Most Helpful Review
This is a great class to take if you need a science GE and are not a science major. I took this class at the same time as Intro to Oceanography, and in comparison with the Ocean class this class was a lot more reasonable in amount of reading and material we were expected to cover in the class. I would definately recommend this class over the Ocean class because Lew has painstakingly thorough notes online for every slide on his lecture notes, and he has open note open neighbor quizzes and it's just a reasonable workload which makes it fun as well as entertaining. However you will have to study to do well on the midterm and final it is not just an easy A, and Lew is very anal about spelling, grammar, and exact wording.
This is a great class to take if you need a science GE and are not a science major. I took this class at the same time as Intro to Oceanography, and in comparison with the Ocean class this class was a lot more reasonable in amount of reading and material we were expected to cover in the class. I would definately recommend this class over the Ocean class because Lew has painstakingly thorough notes online for every slide on his lecture notes, and he has open note open neighbor quizzes and it's just a reasonable workload which makes it fun as well as entertaining. However you will have to study to do well on the midterm and final it is not just an easy A, and Lew is very anal about spelling, grammar, and exact wording.
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