EPS SCI 9
Solar System and Planets
Description: Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Properties of sun, planets, asteroids, and comets. Astronomical observations relevant to understanding solar system and its origin. Dynamical problems, including examination of fallacious hypotheses. Meteoritic evidence regarding earliest history of solar system. Chemical models of solar nebula. Space exploration and its planning. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 4.0
Units: 4.0
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Most Helpful Review
Professor Angelopoulos is incredibly nice and passionate about what he is teaching. He is always willing to answer questions during lecture and is very helpful if you go to his office hours. Like the previous eval said, he drops a lot of assignment grades and also curves the final grade. I changed my grading type to P/NP after failing my midterm but regret it because I ended up getting a really good grade after all the worse assignment grades were dropped/he curved the class. He also offers 5% extra credit which is not very hard at all. You want to attend all lectures because sometimes he gives pop quizzes, but they're T/F and only 10 questions. Overall, he's a very good professor who is passionate about what he teaches and is very nice.
Professor Angelopoulos is incredibly nice and passionate about what he is teaching. He is always willing to answer questions during lecture and is very helpful if you go to his office hours. Like the previous eval said, he drops a lot of assignment grades and also curves the final grade. I changed my grading type to P/NP after failing my midterm but regret it because I ended up getting a really good grade after all the worse assignment grades were dropped/he curved the class. He also offers 5% extra credit which is not very hard at all. You want to attend all lectures because sometimes he gives pop quizzes, but they're T/F and only 10 questions. Overall, he's a very good professor who is passionate about what he teaches and is very nice.
Most Helpful Review
The material is incredibly dry and boring. My friend and I would love to periodically look across the lecture hall to see who'd fallen asleep. People would often leave after a few minutes after lecture started, or you could look across and see tons of people on facebook (more than usual for a lecture, that is). As a person who hates math, I struggled with the midterm and final. The final was 40-something percent math, and there were about 15 formulas to choose from. He rounds your overall grade, not individual test grades. Also, he does not round up. I was .015% from the next letter grade. For those who don't fear math and who like the topic, he's a great guy. Friendly, likes young people, etc. He wears Bill Cosby sweaters and has an Aussie accent.
The material is incredibly dry and boring. My friend and I would love to periodically look across the lecture hall to see who'd fallen asleep. People would often leave after a few minutes after lecture started, or you could look across and see tons of people on facebook (more than usual for a lecture, that is). As a person who hates math, I struggled with the midterm and final. The final was 40-something percent math, and there were about 15 formulas to choose from. He rounds your overall grade, not individual test grades. Also, he does not round up. I was .015% from the next letter grade. For those who don't fear math and who like the topic, he's a great guy. Friendly, likes young people, etc. He wears Bill Cosby sweaters and has an Aussie accent.
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2023 - Professor Day was great!! This was her first time teaching eps sci 9 and she did a fantastic job. There are weekly MC quizzes, a midterm, and a final. Discussions are mandatory but not terrible, and extra credit is also offered (do this!). You definitely have to study for the midterm and final and memorize, but just stay on top of lectures (there is no text book). She records her lectures too. Overall, take this for an easy ge!
Winter 2023 - Professor Day was great!! This was her first time teaching eps sci 9 and she did a fantastic job. There are weekly MC quizzes, a midterm, and a final. Discussions are mandatory but not terrible, and extra credit is also offered (do this!). You definitely have to study for the midterm and final and memorize, but just stay on top of lectures (there is no text book). She records her lectures too. Overall, take this for an easy ge!
Most Helpful Review
Winter 2020 - Dear person who submitted on February 27, 2020: Why are you so pressed? The average midterm grade was a D. So? Multiple times he said that a 19 was a good score, and not to worry too much about midterm grades. There was also 22% worth of extra credit offered, which is miles above what any other class at UCLA will offer any student. That is literally 1/5 of your grade. You could skip the midterm entirely and still end up with at least an A-. Addressing the fact that you were "appalled" by some of the lecture material, what are you, 80 years old?? He tries to keep lectures fun and interesting for his students, and is super funny. Sorry he didn't pass out permission slips for the in-class videos. He also extended the dates for all the extra credits and tried his very best to make the most of a bad situation. What else did you want him to do? Discover the Kuiper Belt? Oh, wait! He did that already :/
Winter 2020 - Dear person who submitted on February 27, 2020: Why are you so pressed? The average midterm grade was a D. So? Multiple times he said that a 19 was a good score, and not to worry too much about midterm grades. There was also 22% worth of extra credit offered, which is miles above what any other class at UCLA will offer any student. That is literally 1/5 of your grade. You could skip the midterm entirely and still end up with at least an A-. Addressing the fact that you were "appalled" by some of the lecture material, what are you, 80 years old?? He tries to keep lectures fun and interesting for his students, and is super funny. Sorry he didn't pass out permission slips for the in-class videos. He also extended the dates for all the extra credits and tried his very best to make the most of a bad situation. What else did you want him to do? Discover the Kuiper Belt? Oh, wait! He did that already :/
Most Helpful Review
Spring 2025 - Easily one of the best science GE's I have taken at UCLA. I am a social science major, and I can say that Prof. Mainzer made this class understandable for everyone. Your grade is made up of the lab work, quizzes, final exam, and moon journal (I don't remember the % of each). Lectures were really engaging. Prof. Mainzer is approachable and passionate about her work. Attendance is not mandatory but highly recommended because she is amazing. We did not have a midterm because we had 3-question quizzes once a week. These quizzes are not nerve-wracking because she gives partial credit as long as you show your thought process. Also, if you are feeling unsure about the content from the lecture, I would recommend going to her office hours because she basically explains what is going to be on the quizzes. The final consisted of 10 questions, but I am not sure if it will always be like this because she had a printing error that day, but I believe it was originally 15 questions in 2 hours. It was a closed-note exam, but she gave a key on the front page with things we might want to remember. The work we did in the discussion was really fun. We did projects based on that week's lectures. They are mandatory for attendance, but are worth going to. She even gives prizes for the best work. The moon journal was the only homework assignment we had. It was a quarter-long assignment, but nothing extremely demanding. We basically had to take a picture of the moon every day and draw it to show the different phases of the moon. At the end of the quarter, we turned in a sheet with all of our moon drawings. They didn't have to be detailed as long as they showed the moon phases correctly. I would highly recommend this course. The professor is amazing, and it is really fun.
Spring 2025 - Easily one of the best science GE's I have taken at UCLA. I am a social science major, and I can say that Prof. Mainzer made this class understandable for everyone. Your grade is made up of the lab work, quizzes, final exam, and moon journal (I don't remember the % of each). Lectures were really engaging. Prof. Mainzer is approachable and passionate about her work. Attendance is not mandatory but highly recommended because she is amazing. We did not have a midterm because we had 3-question quizzes once a week. These quizzes are not nerve-wracking because she gives partial credit as long as you show your thought process. Also, if you are feeling unsure about the content from the lecture, I would recommend going to her office hours because she basically explains what is going to be on the quizzes. The final consisted of 10 questions, but I am not sure if it will always be like this because she had a printing error that day, but I believe it was originally 15 questions in 2 hours. It was a closed-note exam, but she gave a key on the front page with things we might want to remember. The work we did in the discussion was really fun. We did projects based on that week's lectures. They are mandatory for attendance, but are worth going to. She even gives prizes for the best work. The moon journal was the only homework assignment we had. It was a quarter-long assignment, but nothing extremely demanding. We basically had to take a picture of the moon every day and draw it to show the different phases of the moon. At the end of the quarter, we turned in a sheet with all of our moon drawings. They didn't have to be detailed as long as they showed the moon phases correctly. I would highly recommend this course. The professor is amazing, and it is really fun.
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Most Helpful Review
SELLING textbook for Earth and Space Sciences 9: "The Cosmic Perspective: The Solar System" Authors: Bennett, Donahue, Schneider, Voit There's no markings or high lightings in the book. The edges are a little worn but it's in good condition. Message me at ************* if you're interested! This is a super easy GE... Easy A!
SELLING textbook for Earth and Space Sciences 9: "The Cosmic Perspective: The Solar System" Authors: Bennett, Donahue, Schneider, Voit There's no markings or high lightings in the book. The edges are a little worn but it's in good condition. Message me at ************* if you're interested! This is a super easy GE... Easy A!
Most Helpful Review
Loved this guy. His class is simple, his lectures are about as informative as the reading, and he even has a sense of humor. He's very approachable and cares about students who have questions. As homework you basically get three handouts over the quarter that are mostly problem solving. Sometimes they're a bit challenging, but if you go to his office hours, he will explain them and in some cases do the problems with you on the board. Reading what he assigns does help for exams, and it's really not that boring (the book's tries at humor were actually amusing... at least the book for Fall08 quarter). The main key for this class is to go to his office hours and you'll be fine.
Loved this guy. His class is simple, his lectures are about as informative as the reading, and he even has a sense of humor. He's very approachable and cares about students who have questions. As homework you basically get three handouts over the quarter that are mostly problem solving. Sometimes they're a bit challenging, but if you go to his office hours, he will explain them and in some cases do the problems with you on the board. Reading what he assigns does help for exams, and it's really not that boring (the book's tries at humor were actually amusing... at least the book for Fall08 quarter). The main key for this class is to go to his office hours and you'll be fine.
Most Helpful Review
Summer 2024 - Professor Alan Rubin is an outstanding professor and a genuinely great guy. He's renowned in his field - he even has an asteroid named after him (6227 Alanrubin) and has authored books too. The class was both fun and informative, and I found it incredibly rewarding. My interest in the subject grew throughout the lessons. Professor Rubin is very supportive and understanding, always willing to give extensions and help clear up any doubts. One charming aspect of his lectures was his snazzy dressing - on the day we studied asteroids, he wore an asteroid shirt, and when we learned about Saturn, he sported a Saturn shirt. It added a fun touch to the learning experience.
Summer 2024 - Professor Alan Rubin is an outstanding professor and a genuinely great guy. He's renowned in his field - he even has an asteroid named after him (6227 Alanrubin) and has authored books too. The class was both fun and informative, and I found it incredibly rewarding. My interest in the subject grew throughout the lessons. Professor Rubin is very supportive and understanding, always willing to give extensions and help clear up any doubts. One charming aspect of his lectures was his snazzy dressing - on the day we studied asteroids, he wore an asteroid shirt, and when we learned about Saturn, he sported a Saturn shirt. It added a fun touch to the learning experience.
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2021 - Hilke is the bomb and this class is very easy, wether it's online or in person. Sometimes what you learn in class seems hard (hard formulas and other stuff) but her mid-terms are legit a joke. You will fool around with some formula that looks complicated then start the mid term and BAM 1st question is like what is a planet. The final exam was the exact same questions of mid term 1 +2 verbatim, all of which YOU COULD REVIEW. This class requires no hard math and you only need to understand basic concepts to do well on all her tests. And even if you don't do well on her tests slinky won't let you suffer because she offers a 10% EC opportunity, basically a whole letter grade, by going to the observatory and taking a selfie. Also, there was a select group of students in the F2021 class who gave the prof a hard time in class, wasted time, lowered the class avg etc. Don't pay attention to them, they just spent all class complaining like they were in HS and managed to procrastinate a 10% extra credit opportunity, miss it, and have the audacity to ask for A MAKE UP. This was also coming from the same select group of students who managed to get the chat disabled and said they shouldn't have to study for her tests bc she wasn't being fair. If you get anything below an A in this class (a 90 and above is an A lol) then that's what you deserve. Put in a few hours a week to this class and it's an easy A.
Fall 2021 - Hilke is the bomb and this class is very easy, wether it's online or in person. Sometimes what you learn in class seems hard (hard formulas and other stuff) but her mid-terms are legit a joke. You will fool around with some formula that looks complicated then start the mid term and BAM 1st question is like what is a planet. The final exam was the exact same questions of mid term 1 +2 verbatim, all of which YOU COULD REVIEW. This class requires no hard math and you only need to understand basic concepts to do well on all her tests. And even if you don't do well on her tests slinky won't let you suffer because she offers a 10% EC opportunity, basically a whole letter grade, by going to the observatory and taking a selfie. Also, there was a select group of students in the F2021 class who gave the prof a hard time in class, wasted time, lowered the class avg etc. Don't pay attention to them, they just spent all class complaining like they were in HS and managed to procrastinate a 10% extra credit opportunity, miss it, and have the audacity to ask for A MAKE UP. This was also coming from the same select group of students who managed to get the chat disabled and said they shouldn't have to study for her tests bc she wasn't being fair. If you get anything below an A in this class (a 90 and above is an A lol) then that's what you deserve. Put in a few hours a week to this class and it's an easy A.
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