No need to go to lecture, but maybe it helps (I wouldn’t know). I gave up on going to lectures because on the first day I showed up late and had to sit on the floor, as there were no more seats left. Hw is 40% of grade and really short (graded on accuracy however). Midterm was moderately easy, but Final was hard (both all MC). I used the pdf version of the book and posted ppt slides to study for exams; very light work load, but I would say put in some effort if you want the solid A. I got median on the midterm and a 50-something % on the final, whoops. (Pretty much equivalent to taking ¼ of a class if you don’t mind getting a “P” or somewhere from A- to B-)

There are two professors (1 for the first half of the quarter: Jean-Luc Margot, and 1 for the second half of the quarter: Tina Treude). Prof Margot makes the lectures somewhat fun, but Prof Treude has a thick accent that makes her difficult to understand. The material is extremely boring if you're taking this for an easy GE and not actually interested in the subject. Don't wait until the day before final to study because there is a lot of material.

Honestly, this is not an easy A GE unless you take it as a Pass/No Pass. I stopped going to lecture week 3 because they were not engaging and found myself reading all the powerpoints and taking notes on my own before each exam. I got a 68% and 70% on the exams and had a 98% for homework and got a B because of the extra credit, but changed it to Pass/NP for other reasons. Anyways, this class is not as easy as others make it seem but I have to admit Jean luc Margot makes the lectures a little bit more bearable.

I don't know why Jean-Luc Margot has a ton more reviews than Tina Treude when they divide the class pretty equally (if anything I felt Tina Treude lectured more). They're both incredibly knowledgeable in their fields, but Jean-Luc Margot is more interesting. At least in my opinion. Maybe that's why he has more reviews.

In my opinion (and it seems like opinions are divided) the class wasn't too difficult. Weekly homework was 40%, midterm was 30%, and final was 30%. So there is a lot of weight on weekly homework, which isn't hard at all. For me, the material can be boring, but there are some interesting facts, especially if you like learning about planets, since there was a lecture on Mars and the big moons of Jupiter and Saturn. As long as you leave some time to go over the material before an exam, it shouldn't be too hard.

This review is for EPS SCI 15 (INTRO TO OCEANOGRAPHY) since she is not listed with this class in bruinwalk.
Honestly, EPS SCI 15 is a seriously insanely complex class, with it being an intro class. The mid-term wasn't hard, but the requirements that go around this class make your grade primarily focusing on the lab itself... which is ridiculous if you already did your lab requirement. I don't think the lab portion should be required if you already did it! My lab requirement class made it a separate listing... Anyways. I think the concept of weekly lab tests is absurd and over the top. Also, what's the point of the lab assignments if they don't even count for our grade? My TA was extremely nice and patient but sometimes what she made is do during lab wasn't as easy as it was to do on the quiz. Although Treude does allow 10% extra credit, it isn't enough for what she makes you go through with this glass being a GE. This class is only an easy A/B if you have it as a pass/ no pass. Also, the lectures are ridiculously boring and her voice can get very soft and makes it hard to hear at times. The slides also have so much info and most of the time it's pointless writing what she has on the slides because she posts the slides on CCLE, which makes it more convenient to focus more on what she says that isn't on the slides (which is rarely... since she generally reads only what's on the slide). I can't wait for this class to be over... Way too much stress for a class that grad schools won't even care about if you're a non-stem major... and even then, I have some stem friends in this class who hate it. Also, that lab final... Treude needs to find a way to make this class a learning experience and not a stress experience. This class does have the potential to be fun, but the stress brought through the lab makes this class a hell.
Oh UCLA... how I hate your science reqs as someone who is a humanities major...

Although Treude is a petite individual, she manages to make her presence clear. She does have a German accent, but in my opinion, it did not make understanding her any difficult. Her lectures seemed to go by very slowly although her class was an hour and 15 minutes. I mainly feel like that was because she would primarily read off of the slides and it wasn't really until the end of the quarter that she started to add more input towards the powerpoints. Also, I felt that this class would be fun if it wasn't for the lab portion, which is 40% of your grade (30% weekly lab quiz and 10% lab final). The lab quizzes were generally inconsistent as to how they were structured- sometimes they were fairly easy and sometimes they were fairly hard. They do take off the 2 worst scores but I did fairly poorly on the exams even though I studied a day before and studied before the class started. Also, the mid-term was structured in a very basic manner, but I also did not do as I thought I would because I did not know how to study but it's literally just memorizing the powerpoints. The 10% portion of the extra credit is very generous by part of Treude, but it can only help so much. If you do poorly on the labs quizzes and on the lab final, you MUST do good on the both the mid-term and final. I would recommend this class, but it is not one I thoroughly enjoyed since it was highly memory based and not hands-on as I thought it would be.

Fun class to learn stuff about the environment if you're a non-stem major trying to cover your GE requirements. I would not recommend this class if you have done your lab requirement, and would only recommend this class if you need to cover it. Lab is a big part of your grade and the lab quizzes given on the weekly basis are quite tough since they are very selective on details. Treude offers easy extra credit and can boost your grade. Emily was a great TA, would recommend because she was very patient and willing to help out during the lab assignments.

Labs were almost related to lectures but just had math to it. Lab quizzes were easy somewhat, you just have to remember the slides and pre readings. I didn't read the books she assigned and I got a B+. Lab activities were group assignments. Lectures were kinda boring because Prof. Treude read off slides. it was interestingly challenging but its purely memory-based. She has a German accent, do her a favor and don't enroll if you hate German accents.
RR

Prof. Treude is a great professor and made this the easiest class ever! She can be a bit dull sometimes and does just read off the slides but they are always very clear and she uploads all the slides afterward. The comments about her German accent are unfounded—her accent is not thick at all and far from a level where you can't understand her.

Be wary of the lab. They aren't too hard in my opinion but it is a pretty big part of your grade and sometimes the lab quizzes can be tricky. However, two of your worst lab grades are dropped and Prof. Treude gives you extra credit worth 10%.

I have never gotten lower than an A- until I took this disaster of a class. I have never fallen asleep in class until I took this class. I had never failed a quiz until I took this class. Treude is by far the worst teacher I have ever had. I know she's smart and kind, but her lectures were incredibly disorganized and impossible to pay attention to. I had no clue how to study. I had to switch to Pass/No Pass so that my GPA didn't get annihilated. Please, I am on my hands and knees begging whoever is reading this, do not take this class. Trust me. Please. I took the time out of my day to add this class to Bruinwalk just so that I could save someone from the fate that has befallen me. I am only saying this because I care deeply about whoever is reading this.