EPS SCI 3
Astrobiology
Description: Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour; two field days. Origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life on Earth and in universe, paralleling major scientific initiative of NASA. Course material primarily from planetary and Earth science, paleontology and biology, astronomy, chemistry, and physics, with relatively little from mathematics. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 5.0
Units: 5.0
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2022 - Loved Jean-Luc. He’s a funny guy and you can tell that he’s really passionate about what he’s teaching. I thought it was hilarious whenever he’d casually cite his own research on the slides, but honestly if I was him, I would do the same. For me, class was easy as long as I payed attention during lecture, and the tests were also relatively easy and open-note. Some questions were a bit tricky but generally you could find the answers in the lecture notes, and if not, the textbook. I agree with some of the other reviews that sometimes the questions seemed to come out of nowhere or were worded weirdly, but most of the questions weren’t like this and usually you could make a solid guess based on process of elimination. Before any homework or test, I’d recommend looking at the equations on Jean-Luc’s slides and generally understanding what they can be used for. His homework was more challenging than Tina’s and sometimes covered topics that we didn’t go over too clearly, but again, you’ll most likely be okay as long as you go over the math. You also have unlimited time to think about the problems and can use your notes (and your lowest 2 homeworks get dropped!) Plenty of opportunities to do well in this class, plus I ended up loving what we learned in this class so I highly recommend it, especially if you’re down to completely upheave your perception of life and the universe.
Fall 2022 - Loved Jean-Luc. He’s a funny guy and you can tell that he’s really passionate about what he’s teaching. I thought it was hilarious whenever he’d casually cite his own research on the slides, but honestly if I was him, I would do the same. For me, class was easy as long as I payed attention during lecture, and the tests were also relatively easy and open-note. Some questions were a bit tricky but generally you could find the answers in the lecture notes, and if not, the textbook. I agree with some of the other reviews that sometimes the questions seemed to come out of nowhere or were worded weirdly, but most of the questions weren’t like this and usually you could make a solid guess based on process of elimination. Before any homework or test, I’d recommend looking at the equations on Jean-Luc’s slides and generally understanding what they can be used for. His homework was more challenging than Tina’s and sometimes covered topics that we didn’t go over too clearly, but again, you’ll most likely be okay as long as you go over the math. You also have unlimited time to think about the problems and can use your notes (and your lowest 2 homeworks get dropped!) Plenty of opportunities to do well in this class, plus I ended up loving what we learned in this class so I highly recommend it, especially if you’re down to completely upheave your perception of life and the universe.
Most Helpful Review
GE Cluster 70A Professor McKeegan cares deeply about his students and their learning. He taught GE Cluster 70 very well for several non-science majors. He makes the concepts really clear and organizes his lectures well. He uses great demonstrations to teach and tries to make the course very interesting. He was very helpful during review session also. I highly recommend that you take a course from him.
GE Cluster 70A Professor McKeegan cares deeply about his students and their learning. He taught GE Cluster 70 very well for several non-science majors. He makes the concepts really clear and organizes his lectures well. He uses great demonstrations to teach and tries to make the course very interesting. He was very helpful during review session also. I highly recommend that you take a course from him.
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Most Helpful Review
Runnegar co-taught this class with Professor Margot, and I always dreaded Runnegar and looked forward to Margot. Since the two taught in the same class, it's easy to compare and say that Margot was much better. Runnegar's lecture slides were all photos and diagrams, but no words or explanations, so you couldn't miss any of what he was saying because you had to write it all down. Also, his midterm was much harder I thought because the questions were all which of the following is NOT true, which I personally can't stand. All of this is simply in comparison to Margot, who put everything on the lecture slides and had easier tests. If you have the choice between the two for a GE or something, take Margot.
Runnegar co-taught this class with Professor Margot, and I always dreaded Runnegar and looked forward to Margot. Since the two taught in the same class, it's easy to compare and say that Margot was much better. Runnegar's lecture slides were all photos and diagrams, but no words or explanations, so you couldn't miss any of what he was saying because you had to write it all down. Also, his midterm was much harder I thought because the questions were all which of the following is NOT true, which I personally can't stand. All of this is simply in comparison to Margot, who put everything on the lecture slides and had easier tests. If you have the choice between the two for a GE or something, take Margot.
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2022 - I really liked Tina’s lectures! I’ve always been interested in ecology and evolutionary biology, so I found her content about the emergence of life on Earth (and potentially other satellites) to be really engaging and interesting. Tina’s also quite funny and puts a lot of memes on her slides (and generally makes them look cool), so I think most people would enjoy her lectures. The only con about Tina is that she doesn’t use Zoom, so you always had to go in person to sit in a class of 500 people wet coughing. I also mentioned this in my review of Jean-Luc, but the class should be easy as long as you pay attention during lecture, and the tests were also relatively easy and open-note. Some questions were a bit tricky but generally you could find the answers in the lecture notes, and if not, the textbook. I agree with some of the other reviews that sometimes the questions seemed to come out of nowhere or were worded weirdly, but most of the questions weren’t like this and usually you could make a solid guess based on process of elimination. Tina’s homework was manageable and pretty much was a copy of her slides. You also get unlimited time to think about the problems and can use your notes (and your lowest 2 homeworks get dropped!) Plenty of opportunities to do well in this class, plus I ended up loving what we learned in this class so I highly recommend it, especially if you’re down to completely upheave your perception of life and the universe.
Fall 2022 - I really liked Tina’s lectures! I’ve always been interested in ecology and evolutionary biology, so I found her content about the emergence of life on Earth (and potentially other satellites) to be really engaging and interesting. Tina’s also quite funny and puts a lot of memes on her slides (and generally makes them look cool), so I think most people would enjoy her lectures. The only con about Tina is that she doesn’t use Zoom, so you always had to go in person to sit in a class of 500 people wet coughing. I also mentioned this in my review of Jean-Luc, but the class should be easy as long as you pay attention during lecture, and the tests were also relatively easy and open-note. Some questions were a bit tricky but generally you could find the answers in the lecture notes, and if not, the textbook. I agree with some of the other reviews that sometimes the questions seemed to come out of nowhere or were worded weirdly, but most of the questions weren’t like this and usually you could make a solid guess based on process of elimination. Tina’s homework was manageable and pretty much was a copy of her slides. You also get unlimited time to think about the problems and can use your notes (and your lowest 2 homeworks get dropped!) Plenty of opportunities to do well in this class, plus I ended up loving what we learned in this class so I highly recommend it, especially if you’re down to completely upheave your perception of life and the universe.
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