CLUSTER 70A
Evolution of Cosmos and Life
Description: Lecture, three hours; discussion, two hours. Course 70A is enforced requisite to 70B, which is enforced requisite to 70CW or 70DW. Limited to first-year freshmen. Use of concept of evolution, as it applies to biological organisms, Earth, solar system, and universe itself, to introduce students to both life and physical sciences. Examination of evolution of universe, galaxy, solar system, and Earth. Letter grading.
Units: 6.0
Units: 6.0
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2025 - I thought that this class was going to be easy-- as the previous reviews say. However, I think that in recent times, they have transitioned this class from primarily online to in-person, absolutely destroying the ease of this class. I would never take this class again. I studied weeks in advance for the quizzes, staying up late every night and writing every note on our one-page cheat sheet, but the quizzes were genuinely impossible. The quizzes were ridiculously hard, 20 multiple-choice questions and three throughout the quarter, asking about a fact that the professor probably said once and wrote in size 8 font on the slides. They ended up curving at the end of the quarter since the grade average was a D, but to this day, they have not disclosed what the curve was or how it was applied. My friend who had 6% higher ended up with the same grade as me. The final wasn't that bad; they realized that everyone was doing poorly and just repeated quiz questions on the final. Overall, a horrible class; the lectures were extremely detailed, overly extensive, and boring. Might be a fun class for someone genuinely interested in the cosmos, but as a humanities major, this class was NOT an easy GE. The final paper was graded lightly, though, depending on the TA. Original grade make up: Lab assignments / participation 25% A- Writing Assignment 35% Quizzes 20%/30% Final Exam 20%/10% Total 100%
Fall 2025 - I thought that this class was going to be easy-- as the previous reviews say. However, I think that in recent times, they have transitioned this class from primarily online to in-person, absolutely destroying the ease of this class. I would never take this class again. I studied weeks in advance for the quizzes, staying up late every night and writing every note on our one-page cheat sheet, but the quizzes were genuinely impossible. The quizzes were ridiculously hard, 20 multiple-choice questions and three throughout the quarter, asking about a fact that the professor probably said once and wrote in size 8 font on the slides. They ended up curving at the end of the quarter since the grade average was a D, but to this day, they have not disclosed what the curve was or how it was applied. My friend who had 6% higher ended up with the same grade as me. The final wasn't that bad; they realized that everyone was doing poorly and just repeated quiz questions on the final. Overall, a horrible class; the lectures were extremely detailed, overly extensive, and boring. Might be a fun class for someone genuinely interested in the cosmos, but as a humanities major, this class was NOT an easy GE. The final paper was graded lightly, though, depending on the TA. Original grade make up: Lab assignments / participation 25% A- Writing Assignment 35% Quizzes 20%/30% Final Exam 20%/10% Total 100%
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