I absolutely loved taking this class. Professor Young was a wonderful teacher and was very passionate about the material. The midterm was insanely easy, almost exactly the same as the study guide he provided us with. The final was significantly harder and had specific facts you needed to memorize (rotational period, size, etc.). Still, this class was by NO MEANS difficult. It was extremely fun and enjoyable.

Good things about this class:
- Definitely created to be an easy A. Just look at the curve.
- Has a study guide that is about 50-70% of the midterm and final (final less so).

Bad things:
- It was meant to be an easy A but I got a B because of the homework assignments. My TA graded them really harshly, and absent/late work is absolutely not tolerated.
- Also, because it's meant to be an easy A, there's hardly any curve.
- Professor Young uploads the slides to CCLE but they are mostly pictures and hard to understand without context. I strongly recommend going to class and taking thorough notes, or perhaps finding a friend to switch off.
- The final is much harder than the midterm. It's because the study guides for the midterm are a lot more thorough. To be honest, I can't really recommend how to study for the final because I got a B on it. What I can say is that it is simply not enough to study the guide or the slides.

Tips:
- The ocean floor is made of basalt.
- There are a lot of quizlets for this class. Especially regarding the final, memorize as much as you can. I think there was one quizlet in particular that looking back seemed to reflect the final really well.
- You don't need to know any math for the midterm or the final.
- I did not buy the book because the consensus on Bruinwalk was that it was not needed but seeing as I got a B, I can't exactly confirm that.
- Perhaps this is a little touchy to say, but for the sake of your grade, I truly recommend NOT getting a TA with a obviously foreign last name. I found it hard to understand the discussions, and getting help was often confusing. And really do put a lot of effort into homework assignments because, my God, they brought me down.

Overall:
- It definitely is meant to be an Easy A. Go to class, take good notes, study the guides and the quizlets, and you should be good to go.

This class was super easy and does not require very much effort. In the beginning, slides are filled with numbers and equations that seem intimidating, but none of them show up on exams and the professor clarifies that. Also, for the midterm, he gave us 32/41 of the questions beforehand, so we really only had to figure out 9 of the questions. The final included a lot of the midterm questions and was overall easy. Discussion can be annoying based on who your TA is. Overall pretty easy class and is a great GE for science.

Professor was so engaging, you can tell that he really loves the subject and it translates into every lecture. The lectures were extremely interesting and clear!! The midterm and final were fair, make sure to review the study guide that he gives! Overall such a fun and amazing course, highly recommend.

TAKE THIS CLASS!!!
The easiest science GE ever! I feel like it's impossible to not get an A in this class, weekly, quizzes, the midterm, and final exam are all online, multiple choice. I will say I did not have a great TA, but it was only based on if you showed up and completed the worksheet, not based on participation or correct answers. Professor Young is super sweet and you can tell he loves what he does!

Honestly the best professor ucla has to offer. His lectures are engaging, clear and he is nice enough to give a study guide for the midterm, which is exactly like the test. Same goes for the final. really great professor, an easy g.e. THE BEST

Grades are made up of:
Homework: 10%
Discussion exercises: 05%
Midterm 40%
Final 45%

Professor Young is a super engaging lecturer. You don't need to read the textbook at all - just make sure to stay awake (which could be challenging at times when he turns the lights all the way down to show us space pictures) and take good notes. Before tests, make sure to check out quizlet, just search for the course number and you'll see a ton of resources to study for the test. On top of that, go over the notes and you should be fine.

Grade is based on midterm and final. Both tests have study guides that have 20ish identical questions. No critical thinking at all, just memorization. Professor Young seems really cool and loves teaching but his lectures got kind of boring since he would just nerd out and talk about irrelevant space stuff. Definitely an easy GE

This review is for EPSSCI 106 (Physical Geochem) w Prof Young:
I took this class as a non-EPSS major, with fairly weak background in math & physics. There was some linear algebra, and quite a bit of conceptual calculus and derivations, but it was not the focus. If a non-physical science background is a big concern in taking this class, I'd say still go for it, it will be a little difficult but not impossible.

There was no real grade breakdown, the professor appears to have given grades for effort so just turn in the ~4 problem sets, midterm and final with your best attempt and you'd be set.

The prof posts pre-class notes that he makes himself (extremely useful for me as it succinctly explains key concepts and thought process in calculations exactly as he covers in class) and relevant materials e.g. textbook chapters. Bruincast and lecture notes are available as well. There is a lot of digestion to do per class as compared to many others I've taken, but that might be because I personally found it challenging to make sense of the more conceptual material. Definitely recommend first making detailed notes and then summarizing the key points of each lecture (i.e. final derivation, layman explanations for terms and objectives) and regularly use the summary to quickly 'relearn' and refresh your grasp on things.

The professor is very clear and detail-orientated, which I appreciated a lot. He defines every variable, doesn't assume you have prior knowledge of things (as the material is fundamental and it would be easy to have misconceptions or slips of mind), regularly reminds you what is going on in the middle of derivations (it's easy to lose track), and covers content in a systematic and logical manner. He also goes through examples which is extremely helpful because that's where I feel the pieces clicking together and figure out how to work through problems. Also empathetic and understanding, and accommodates for students.

In general, the class was pretty cool as the material was very fundamental and conceptual. I felt that it gave me a more solid understanding of the properties of matter, knowing what are all the variables that go into calculations and adjusted approximations for certain measurements and being able to apply it to some extent on real-life systems. I believe there is considerable overlap between this class and CHEM 110A, so taking either first would be helpful for the other in future (I'll be taking 110A after this which might make it less painful).

Prof Young has a contagious enthusiasm for the course content that made a lot of us more engaged in the material. This was good because the material can get pretty dry sometimes, with the professor sometimes spending too much time (for my tastes) on charts and graphs listing out data when the concept underlying is really all we have to know. Still, the class was enjoyable and genuinely interesting a lot of the time, and quite easy as well. There is one weekly assignment that you'll mostly finish during discussion section. Beyond that, the only responsibilities you have is to study for a few hours before the midterm and final, both of which the professor prepares us for with sample questions. Note that there is a (free) textbook associated with the class, but reading it is not necessary for the tests. Also, don't be scared about any mathematical proofs or complicated physics stuff that might pop up, you won't need to do any complex math for the exams, only know basic things like what the equation is used for. All the lectures are recorded.
In short, Professor Young has a pleasant and enthusiastic attitude and is knowledgable about the course content. The course content is interesting at times and honestly pretty boring at others, but overall I would recommend the class as an easy GE.