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
3 of 5
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2025 - Do not take this class with Malkan. The professor is an arrogant man who does not know how to respect his students. We unfortunately got him as a replacement lecturer and no matter how much we studied based on the review sessions and lectures, the exams were written as if he wanted us all to fail. When asked questions, he becomes passive aggressive and rude. All students deserve to be treated with respect just as we respect our professors. I am surprised he has not had a self realization as he has bad reviews dated back to 2003. Doing some research on him now, I see he is associated with Donald Trump. Not sure if this means anything but I wanted to share. Worst professor I have EVER had.
Fall 2025 - Do not take this class with Malkan. The professor is an arrogant man who does not know how to respect his students. We unfortunately got him as a replacement lecturer and no matter how much we studied based on the review sessions and lectures, the exams were written as if he wanted us all to fail. When asked questions, he becomes passive aggressive and rude. All students deserve to be treated with respect just as we respect our professors. I am surprised he has not had a self realization as he has bad reviews dated back to 2003. Doing some research on him now, I see he is associated with Donald Trump. Not sure if this means anything but I wanted to share. Worst professor I have EVER had.
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Most Helpful Review
one of the worst professors i've ever had...he simply spits out facts and information without offering any valid explanations or understanding. do not take him for astro 3; we had substitute profs a few times, and they were sooooooo much more effective than ong. he seems like a really nice guy, but don't fall for it! when it comes to exams and grading, he's a hard-ass.
one of the worst professors i've ever had...he simply spits out facts and information without offering any valid explanations or understanding. do not take him for astro 3; we had substitute profs a few times, and they were sooooooo much more effective than ong. he seems like a really nice guy, but don't fall for it! when it comes to exams and grading, he's a hard-ass.
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Most Helpful Review
Spring 2020 - NOTE: I took this class during COVID-19 quarantine online. I don't know how different it was from a regular Astro 3 course, but I thought it was relatively easy. -LOTS of online coursework, all answers can be found online. I usually finished within 20-30 mins -Participation isn't necessary with lab sessions, just make sure you turn in the labs every week. One week it was just me and the TA doing my whole lab together. It like office hours and honestly great. -Rich is a boring lecturer, but honestly all the info on the slides are crucial to beating the exams. Just go over each of the slides in depth. Know them all. Strengths- The content of this class is so cool. I looked forward to learning about whatever the new topic was for the week, and it was even more interesting to see how each topic built on one another as the course progressed. Professor Rich is incredibly open to students asking questions and always gave us an opportunity to seek help when we needed it. I really appreciated that. Weaknesses- Professor Rich can be somewhat of a boring lecturer. He sometimes goes off on tangents about something that he discovered that relates to what we're learning, but has no resounding significance to the course. Additionally, the Mastering Astronomy assignments are quite pointless and I don't even see most of that information on tests. Overall, a great class and I would highly recommend it to another student who is looking for an interesting G.E. that will keep them busy with lots of information to take in. Professor Rich is passionate and I enjoyed going to his lectures to listen to him talk about the universe!
Spring 2020 - NOTE: I took this class during COVID-19 quarantine online. I don't know how different it was from a regular Astro 3 course, but I thought it was relatively easy. -LOTS of online coursework, all answers can be found online. I usually finished within 20-30 mins -Participation isn't necessary with lab sessions, just make sure you turn in the labs every week. One week it was just me and the TA doing my whole lab together. It like office hours and honestly great. -Rich is a boring lecturer, but honestly all the info on the slides are crucial to beating the exams. Just go over each of the slides in depth. Know them all. Strengths- The content of this class is so cool. I looked forward to learning about whatever the new topic was for the week, and it was even more interesting to see how each topic built on one another as the course progressed. Professor Rich is incredibly open to students asking questions and always gave us an opportunity to seek help when we needed it. I really appreciated that. Weaknesses- Professor Rich can be somewhat of a boring lecturer. He sometimes goes off on tangents about something that he discovered that relates to what we're learning, but has no resounding significance to the course. Additionally, the Mastering Astronomy assignments are quite pointless and I don't even see most of that information on tests. Overall, a great class and I would highly recommend it to another student who is looking for an interesting G.E. that will keep them busy with lots of information to take in. Professor Rich is passionate and I enjoyed going to his lectures to listen to him talk about the universe!
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3 of 5
