JLM was absolutely terrific. He had a great presence in class and his lectures were pretty fun to attend. Great class, great material, great professor.

The co-instructor Tina Treude should be commended for her efforts as well.

One of the most passionate professors I've had. Take this class

Professor Margot was awesome. He was really enthusiastic and described what was going on in lecture in an organized way. He really cared that the students understood what he was talking about, and he's very approachable. ESS 3 was a little difficult, but just pay attention to what he talks about in lecture, because some random little things he talks about will be on the test. Make sure you know a good amount of bio & chem stuff, and pay attention to what the questions on the test are asking because they can be kind of tricky. I got a perfect score on the first midterm and I didn't do so well on the second midterm and final, and I got a B. If Dan is your TA this year, be prepared to have a couple pop quizzes and some projects that aren't hard, you just have to get creative with the concepts. I thought they were fun to write actually. Ask Dan questions because his discussion section is 30% of your grade.Overall, a very interesting class!

More interesting than the other professor.
Textbook is pointless.
Listen to his notes, and basically know science facts that he assumes you know. distances, ages etc.
I got a B, but only because i Re learned everything with my TA.

I was truly blessed to take Professor Margot for Astrobiology. He is EXTREMELY knowledgeable and is clearly very passionate about planetary physics/astronomy and the like. He always was able to answer student questions and had ample office hours for the class. When I talked to him he was friendly and welcoming, and very patient. His demonstrations were very applicable and taught the class a LOT about physics. What he taught in this class (which is a very easy GE geared towards north campus majors) helped me in my Physics 1 series classes. The best part was: he made it easy to understand and use.

I scored the mean on one midterm, and ranked in the top 15% for the other midterm and final. Somehow I pulled an A+, so I'm guessing his curve is a monster. I think he actually gave half the class an A of some form.

If you have the opportunity, take a class with Professor Margot.

Professor Margot's course is very easy if you have a background in science. Many students in my discussion had little background in physics and struggled as a result. I received an A on the midterm and an A on the final and an A+ overall. I put very little effort into the class.
As a lecturer, Professor Margot does well to keep your interest and tries and succeeds at making the material understandable for his students.

selling the textbook. fifth edition (you are allowed to use the fifth, sixth, or seventh edition.)

veronicafang@hotmail.com

I took this class during fall 2012, and I would have to say that Professor Margot is probably one of the most energetic and passionate lecturers around campus. He really cares about what he is teaching, and truly believes in the wonders of space and science. *disclaimer* On the other hand his tests are ridiculously hard consisting of conceptual physics, earth science, and the formation of the universe. BUT! do not be discouraged because even though you get a low grade on the tests (the average for my class was 75%) there is Runnegars test whom he co-teaches with and his test is way easier dealing with geology, and planet structures ( average was around 82%) and then they only take the best score out of the two midterms then double it to boost your grade. Also there is a final, but NO LAB! They have a great EC option in this class and all it takes is to go to the natural history museum, La Brea Tar Pits, or California Science Center and you automatically get 10% EC to your OVERALL! grade (so 70% + EC = 80%). So trust me when I say that professor Margot makes his class challenging but definately fair to his students. Also remember if you take this class there are weekly discussions and those are super important to your grade b/c you have HW and weekly tests, but the tests are generally SUPER easy so no worries, they are just there to boost your grade. So I highly suggest this course as an EASY science GE for any incoming freshman or lazy 4th year. I got an A- in the class with some work but it was fun. Also the textbook is pretty useful because professor Margot based his test off both his lecture slides and the reading, but it was generally more on his lectures. so make sure to go to class, trust me its fun and you wont regret it!

The second half of the quarter begins with Professor Margot teaching. He is a very enthusiastic and concerning professor. He is available at all times and asks for clarification during lectures. His power points were easy to understand and most of it comes from the book, so it makes it easier to follow along. The quizzes and homework were worth 40% of the grade. The quizzes were really easy they were based on lectures from the week before.So, just study up on the power points. They were occasionally graded out of 10, so 10 points each quiz. Overall, worth 10% of your grade. While, the homework was mainly based off of the book. Be warned, it is rare to get a perfect score on the homework because the T.A was kind of nit-picky in my class, especially if we did not thoroughly write word-for-word from the book. So, the homework was worth 30%. The final was quite difficult because it contained conceptual physics (as said before in the previous evaluation), it contained some questions about planets, mainly Io and Europa, ice giants, stars, carbon, doppler effect, and questions that were like "did you write your name on the scantron?" The final was worth 30% of the grade. Of course, the other 30% was from the midterm, which was mainly based on geology and mars. As said before, the T.A's take the best of the either two(midterm or final) and drop your lowest score, and double your highest score. Also, the midterm was curved.

Professor Margot is good in general. He has ppts for all his lectures put them online the night before the class so that you can preview. You don’t have to buy the textbook because professor himself explains everything in the class, and if you don’t understand, you can talk to your TAs and ask your friends. Nevertheless you can always refer to it for detailed explanation.

The class has homework and labs. Homework usually takes no more than 20 minutes and you can drop 2 lowest out of 6. Labs are in-section group work on 3-4 pages questions about what you have learned. These labs help you to understand the concepts and are easy to get a good grade. The first discussion was in the observatory, an awesome experience; the last discussion was in the meteorite gallery, which is also very interesting.

Before the midterm, the material focuses on concepts such as seasons, tides, eclipses, and many other things related to physics. Though he never tests calculation, you need to understand concepts such as Kelper’s Laws and Newton’s Laws. The midterm was difficult and a score around 80 was in the A range. The average is always around 60 and that is a B. The material after the midterm becomes boring because he introduces the solar system planet by planet. A lot of pure memorization of less useful stuff is required. Also he does less demonstration in the lecture, because there are probably less experiments to show. The final is hard, too. Only my friends who got A and both midterm and final earned an A or A+ in the end. For me I was below the average a little and got A for final, but still ended up with an A-.

What could the extra credit do if everyone does it? The trip to museum was fun anyway.

My suggestion: don’t take this class as something easy. Be cautious, or you will lose your A like me.