This class is an easy GE at least when taken online. The midterm and final were almost straight out of the notes and reading (you don't really need to do the reading although it's a pretty simple book; I used a lot of ctrl + F). The homework assignments, which are formatted as multiple choice "quizzes," are pretty short but don't rush through them — read the answer choices very carefully because the difference between true/false statements usually boils down to a single word and it's super easy to lose points.

You also have an opportunity for extra credit; you can visit a museum online (website)/in person and just have to take pictures and write a short blurb. It takes like 20-30 minutes at most.

You will alternate professors; first prof. Margot will start with basic physics and astro, then prof. Treude will explain criteria for life + examples of life in extreme environments, and then prof. Margot will finish with potential places to look for life + SETI. They're both good lecturers and the subject material is pretty interesting.

This class was, despite the pandemic, a lot of fun. Astrobiology is a really interesting topic, and I think the perspectives Profs. Margot and Treude brought to the table were unique. On Zoom, though there were some glitches, they were very good about answering questions (say, 10 minutes out of a 90 minute class). For over an hour of reading Zoom slides, it was a little boring, but a funny quip here or there did bring me back into the loop. I personally would have them lecture me again — though maybe that's just me.

In terms of easiness, this is where things get murkier. I had some previous experience with intro astronomy and physics, so Prof. Margot's lectures and content were easy to remember. By contrast, without any biology / lifesci experience, I had to do content memorization and concept work to make more sense of Prof. Treude's lectures, but it certainly wasn't excessive. Homeworks could be done with just posted lecture slides, but for the midterm and final, you definitely had to either re-watch the posted lecture videos while taking it OR take comprehensive notes to get every bit and detail. Not only that, but a few questions came from textbook concepts that weren't covered in class, so make sure you have a copy (or a pdf) of the book with you so you can look for it (either with Ctrl+F or the index).

TL;DR: Easy-ish A, especially with prior experience in physics and biology. Easy homework, but don't underestimate the exams — though open-note and all-MC, sometimes really specific lookup (textbook/lecture slides/recordings) is needed to get the answer if you don't know it already.

I loved this class! I took it (virtually) for fun and would recommend it to anyone who wants to gain some foundational knowledge in astronomy or biology. I would definitely recommend it to first year students, because it covers a wide breadth of introductory material for different fields. Also, lectures are live but do not require attendance!

This was the course breakdown:
Homework 40% (drop 2 of 8)
Take-home midterm exam 30% (multiple choice)
Take-home final exam 30% (multiple choice)

There were also 10 points of extra credit, and the weekly homework and exams were open-notes.

Dr. Margot taught more of the astronomy content and was very clear and knowledgeable. I attended his office hours and had a great time talking to him about SETI. He also has his CV published on the SETI page and he's done some very cool things, including lots of consulting for astronomy/sci-fi shows. The tests and homework were easy, although there are a few quantitative questions on the exams, which could be tough for people less knowledgeable in physics. I am a life science major with some (not much) background in math/physics and a lot of space knowledge, so I did not have issues with the material, but if you do not have a STEM background, it might be more difficult. Also, there were a few questions on the exams pulled directly from the textbook, so make sure to at least skim it before the exams!

I was dreading my last science GE, and I'm definitely glad I chose EPS SCI 3. It's an interesting enough class, I guess. Not really. It was interesting when we learned about the planets and that stuff, but we also had to learn about biology, which is something I wasn't so interested in. The class doesn't go super in depth, but I'm an econ major, so any biology is something I don't really like.

I didn't buy or really need the textbook, but apparently it's very light reading and can be purchased at a fair price.

I did like how there wasn't much work involved, as there are just really simple homework I did during discussions, one midterm, and one final. All the exams are multiple choice. Nothing was incredibly hard. Definitely easy to get a B in, maybe a liiiiittle bit harder to get an A.

There was still that question of the bridge being knocked down on the final!! I read it, and I was like "Wow Bruinwalk doesn't lie." WIND. Wind is the answer! Contrary to the previous review, I did see the relevancy. I don't know if that reviewer went to class, but we did watch a video during lecture where the wind was shaking the bridge, and it crumbled because of the resonance. Something like that.

There's also extra credit, which hardly really helps, but is still a good excuse to go out and do some educational things! I went to the Griffith Observatory, which was a fun, especially if you drag along a buddy. You just need to take a couple of timestamped pictures and write a paragraph or so.

I'm sure it's one of the easier science GEs, but not really exciting.

Margot and Treude are both very knowledgeable about their areas (Margot teaches the astrophysics parts and Treude teaches the biology parts). I never went to live lecture because they posted the slides and it was easy enough to just use the slides for weekly hw quizzes and the open-note midterm and final. If you know basic physics, chemistry, and biology, this class will be an easy A, but I know people who had a weak science background and struggled. I just slacked on the final because I thought the extra credit (museum visit) was worth more than it was.

Jean-Luc is an okay professor. When he stays on topic, he's knowledgable and clear. He often goes off on tangents about the philosophy of science and logic. I understand it's important, but a class about something as interesting as biology shouldn't be hampered by one of the professors wanting to waste time on content out of the scope of this class.

The questions on the topics he taught (he and Tina did 1/2 of the total lectures) always wanted specifics that he wouldn't explain well or would merely gloss over.

Jean-Luc Margot and Tina Treude jointly taught this class. Both professors are strong lecturers, and they explain concepts pretty slowly and clearly. This was by far the easiest class I have ever taken at UCLA. Multiple-choice homeworks and exams.

The class is designed as an easy GE. In fact, I believe a lot of the lower divisions classes in EPS SCI department are. The homeworks and exams are all easy. The only minor problem is that Professor Margot sometimes talk about really confusing astrophysical stuff, such as the multi-stages of the Bigbang, that are kind of hard for me to grasp because I personally didn't take any physics in high school. But none of the difficult stuff are tested, so there's that. Professor Treude teaches the biology part and I find her content clearer than Margot's because the concepts are more concrete and finite and there are no extraneous untested things. I wouldn't take this course again personally to be honest because I find the physics part a bit boring and remote. But that's just me.

I would definitely recommend this class for anyone looking for a fairly easy science GE. Lecture content is engaging and the prof is always willing to go further into depth in a given topic when someone asks a question. Weekly homework is a quick quiz on the lectures which usually don't take very long at all. If you have a strong science background, this class will be almost no work at all for you, but even if you don't, all the concepts are explained very well. Overall a very engaging and easy class to take.

I took this class online during COVID and I enjoyed it. There are two professors that teach this course: Margot focuses on the astronomy/physics parts whereas Treude on the chemistry/biology section. The lectures themselves can get kind of boring since they're just reading off the slides, but they are recorded and you can always watch them at a later time. If you have some sort of background to these fields / have been exposed to them, the material is really easy but for some that do not, I understand how it can be somewhat difficult. The class is broken down the following way:

Homework (40%)
Midterm (30%)
Final (30%)

For the homework assignments, they are assigned weekly. The best 6 out of 8 count towards your final grade, and they all come straight from the lecture. They are very easy if you have the lectures in front of you and can just look through them. I also found the midterm and the final to be fair. The exams are open notes/lecture/recordings so I would recommend going through them right before the exams. If you've been paying attention during lecture that's all you really need to do well on them. There are also a few random questions that get thrown into the exams that are from the textbook, so make sure you at least have it with you so you can ctrl + f .