This class is pure memorization the whole way through. The lab sections were painful, and if you're even 2 minutes late, you can't take the quiz which accounts for 30% of your grade. Honestly the class was painful, but lecture attendance isn't necessary since Professor Treude reads off the slides. The end of the course was jumbled by the COVID crisis, which is why my grade majorly tanked. Had to attend my lab section to take the lab final, even though campus was shut down.

Some parts of this class are really interesting (tides, tsunamis, coral reefs, etc), some parts are a drag (sediments, seawater, micro-organisms) but I'd definitely recommend this class if you need a life science lab. Some of the lab quizzes can be tricky (and detail-oriented) but the lowest 2 out of 8 are dropped so they aren't bad at all.

I took this class winter quarter of my freshman year. I went to lecture only 3 times and still got an A because Prof. Treude posts the slides online, which is nice. It's good if you read the textbooks (20 dollars total), but you're ok just by reading the slides online (there is a summary at the end of each lecture). If you only study the day before from the slides summaries, the tests are not too easy but still doable. The COVID-19 situation helped with finals though, otherwise it would have been harder for me to get an A. This class also satisfies the lab requirement. The labs are a pretty important part of the class, as you have a quiz every week (best 6 out of 8 will count for 30% of the final grade). Studying for the quizzes is the only work on a weekly basis that you have to do. I had my lab at 11 and usually by just studying the same morning of the quiz I managed to lose only half a point. The content is super boring though. TA Hannah Tandy is super good and nice.

Tina seems like she's fun in class. Her powerpoints are filled with pictures of her on adventures and she ties them into the lecture. However, if you have ANY concerns/problems/accommodations that require you to email her she is a BEAST ( and not the good kind). She was very rude to myself and a lot of other class members who emailed her about many different things (accommodations for people during the COVID-19 madness, material being covered on the midterm that she specifically said would not be covered, not being able to go to lab for family emergencies, etc). The lab quizzes were kind of difficult in my opinion because I did not have time before every lab to completely memorize the packet of information we had (in which random stuff you read in one line somewhere would be a question on the quiz out of 8 points so if you do bad you're basically done for). Her midterm was fine but the final was harder because you had to know specific details written in small font on her powerpoints that you probably would not have thought twice about. She gives generous extra credit though, which is why I ended up with an A-. If you're debating taking this class, I wouldn't waste your time. Take another class. If you need a lab take GEOG 5.

I honestly couldn't give you much insight into Tina as a lecturer because I literally never went to lectures. She even said on the first day that coming to lectures isn't mandatory. Her slides are posted online and she just reads off the slides so. . .I bought the textbooks because they were cheap, but I never used it. The labs brought me bad to middle school labs and the tests were very elementary school - esque. You basically just have to make sure you found a great quizlet, memorize all the terms, and then you're good.

The extra credit is stupidly easy. You just go to a museum/aquarium, take a picture, write 2 sentences, and then get 10% added to your grade (with the midterm and final respectively lowered in grade distribution). Also the final only covers material from after the midterm, so it's all pretty manageable.

The only issue is that you do have to take the time to study before each tests and the content is boring as hell. But overall, a great GE that gives you lab credit.

It is true, you do not have to attend lectures, although lab is required. Tina is an incredibly boring lecturer. She just reads off the slides. However often the content is interesting itself. Midterm and Final are both multiple-choice and fairly easy if you review the slides. Labs are way more informative but make sure to actually do the readings. I would like to mention that often, Tina was not very accommodating and rude to students who asked questions. Keep in mind the quarter I took this class was the beginning of the COVID crisis. She was not very understanding.

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. Treude taught more of the biology content, which I found very interesting because I am a life science major. Unexpectedly, it overlapped well with my MIMG 101 class. Dr. Treude talked about her research too, which I found interesting.
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!

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.

Tina was a great lecturer. She was very clear and very passionate about what she taught. I'd happily take a class with her again.

I'm going to be completely honest and say that I really struggled with this class! The lectures felt very lengthy and difficult to understand, though I really appreciate that both Professor Treude and Margot left up their slides and recordings of the classes. The recordings and slides made homework so much easier for me to get done (you will definitely need them). The midterms and finals were definitely the most tedious parts of the class. I would mainly say that the wording of the questions was the most difficult part for me to process. My major is in the liberal arts field, which probably explains why. Despite my own confusion, most of the stem based majors that took this class said it was their easiest class and barely took any time for them. I would definitely find a group of people to study with as soon as possible, since your grade essentially consists of homework, midterms, and the final, with nothing else to boost your grade up.

Even though this class was personally super difficult for me, it had a lot of pros to it! The homework was fairly simple and was required to complete every week (which helped me boost my grade). Your two worst homework scores also get dropped, and there is extra credit that is offered and available to complete online. I wouldn't necessarily take this class again, but it's definitely not the worst science GE out there!