ASTR 3
Nature of Universe
Description: Lecture, three hours; discussion, 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, on development of ideas in astronomy and what has been learned of nature of universe, including recent discoveries and developments. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 5.0
Units: 5.0
3 of 4
Most Helpful Review
Spring 2020 - astro 3 with professor petigura was amazing! I liked his lectures and the workload wasn't bad and the material was interesting but above all he was really helpful and caring throughout the entire quarter. our midterm was 24 hr and open note; our final was optional, 48 hr, open note, no harm. the exams were kinda hard though. I also liked that he recorded lectures and uploaded them on ccle. labs were fine, a bit difficult sometimes but the ta (alec) helped a lot. I wouldn't say the class is an easy a but it's also not super intense or anything. either way, astronomy is interesting as hell and I would definitely recommend :)
Spring 2020 - astro 3 with professor petigura was amazing! I liked his lectures and the workload wasn't bad and the material was interesting but above all he was really helpful and caring throughout the entire quarter. our midterm was 24 hr and open note; our final was optional, 48 hr, open note, no harm. the exams were kinda hard though. I also liked that he recorded lectures and uploaded them on ccle. labs were fine, a bit difficult sometimes but the ta (alec) helped a lot. I wouldn't say the class is an easy a but it's also not super intense or anything. either way, astronomy is interesting as hell and I would definitely recommend :)
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Most Helpful Review
Dr. Reitzel is awesome. His lectures are not boring. He is so animated: he uses props and demonstrations to help everyone understand. He's super funny, likes cool music and is an all around nice guy. Just don't talk while he's trying to, or he'll get annoyed. This is a good class to get rid of a GE requirement while getting a decent grade. The tests are only 10 multiple choice and 5 short answer so you must know the material or your grade on it can be easily lowered. As long as you attend study sessions and actually re-read lecture notes and homeworks, you should be fine. Ooh, and Peter Plavchan is the best!! I love him, he is the best TA ever. Really nice, really tall... take his section if you can!
Dr. Reitzel is awesome. His lectures are not boring. He is so animated: he uses props and demonstrations to help everyone understand. He's super funny, likes cool music and is an all around nice guy. Just don't talk while he's trying to, or he'll get annoyed. This is a good class to get rid of a GE requirement while getting a decent grade. The tests are only 10 multiple choice and 5 short answer so you must know the material or your grade on it can be easily lowered. As long as you attend study sessions and actually re-read lecture notes and homeworks, you should be fine. Ooh, and Peter Plavchan is the best!! I love him, he is the best TA ever. Really nice, really tall... take his section if you can!
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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Most Helpful Review
Do not take this professor. She complicates every subject and doesn't seem to know what she is talking about. Whenever a student would ask her to elaborate on a topic, she would get tongue-tied and flustered, as if answering questions wasn't in the scope of her teaching. She's probably very knowledgeable but her ability to communicate topics can definitely be improved upon. Not only is she ridiculous and convoluted when explaining topics, but she expects more of her students than they can give her, which only so much information that she supplies. AGAIN, do NOT take her for Astro 3. She is absolutely ridiculous.
Do not take this professor. She complicates every subject and doesn't seem to know what she is talking about. Whenever a student would ask her to elaborate on a topic, she would get tongue-tied and flustered, as if answering questions wasn't in the scope of her teaching. She's probably very knowledgeable but her ability to communicate topics can definitely be improved upon. Not only is she ridiculous and convoluted when explaining topics, but she expects more of her students than they can give her, which only so much information that she supplies. AGAIN, do NOT take her for Astro 3. She is absolutely ridiculous.
Most Helpful Review
I do not recommend this class if you are simply looking for a physical science GE. Take Atmos Sci instead. Physical science is the worst for me, and this course was not easy. He would incorporate physics into the lectures, but it is assumed that everyone taking the course has no prior knowledge about physics. If you are interested in the universe and such you'll like this course, if not save yourself the pain.
I do not recommend this class if you are simply looking for a physical science GE. Take Atmos Sci instead. Physical science is the worst for me, and this course was not easy. He would incorporate physics into the lectures, but it is assumed that everyone taking the course has no prior knowledge about physics. If you are interested in the universe and such you'll like this course, if not save yourself the pain.
Most Helpful Review
Professor Shapley is super nice and her responses to email questions are very helpful/thorough. Her lectures present the material very clearly. I got an A in the class, but I read every page in the textbook...so I'm not sure how well you'll do if you don't read lol. Definitely go to her review sessions for the exams because there are some questions on the exams that she'll mention during the reviews. You'll end up saving yourself from missing two or three questions. You don't really have to do all that well on the exams...as long as you're about 10-ish% above the average lol. I only got B's on the second midterm and the final. The labs are pretty easy, but fast paced. Usually the TAs are nice, so I recommend just asking them if your answers are right for any of the answers you're unsure of. As long as you show that you put some thought into your answer, they'll explain the right answer to you if you're wrong. Overall, an interesting class and a good GE with a nice professor.
Professor Shapley is super nice and her responses to email questions are very helpful/thorough. Her lectures present the material very clearly. I got an A in the class, but I read every page in the textbook...so I'm not sure how well you'll do if you don't read lol. Definitely go to her review sessions for the exams because there are some questions on the exams that she'll mention during the reviews. You'll end up saving yourself from missing two or three questions. You don't really have to do all that well on the exams...as long as you're about 10-ish% above the average lol. I only got B's on the second midterm and the final. The labs are pretty easy, but fast paced. Usually the TAs are nice, so I recommend just asking them if your answers are right for any of the answers you're unsure of. As long as you show that you put some thought into your answer, they'll explain the right answer to you if you're wrong. Overall, an interesting class and a good GE with a nice professor.
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