I didn't expect to like this class but was proven wrong. Professor Shapley loves what she teaches and that genuine interest is contagious. She is super engaging and I thoroughly enjoyed taking her class. There is basically no homework, the tests are easy multiple-choice, and the lab is super basic math. I highly recommend this class. It is super unique and a great way to expand your overall knowledge. I may not ever apply this stuff in the workplace but I have hella sick facts and a new appreciation when I look up at the sky. This class rocks!

I absolutely loved this class! Shapley is a fantastic gal, super engaging and easy to approach. She hosted zoom review sessions about a week before each exam, which were recorded and posted. The review sessions are super interactive, like she'll ask questions in the chat and stuff, which tbh was really good preparation for the exams.

This class is pretty nice to fill a lab requirement bc the labs were super chill. Lab attendance was taken (at least for my section with Shreya, who is fantastic btw), but you have 24 hours to complete and submit the lab so it's easy.

This class is basically a sampling platter of a bunch of different parts of astronomy so it's very interesting, but also a bit of a beast just by sheer volume of content. It is mostly conceptual and there is minimal math and actual hard physics. Shapley gave us a formula sheet for all the exams to do any calculations.

There is a 1% extra credit opportunity for this class where you can either visit Griffith observatory and like do a little write up, or write a paper on a JWST finding you like. The two midterms were not curved. She didn't advertise it but I'm pretty sure the final was curved somehow. Our final was "cumulative" but heavily, heavily focuses on the new content so definitely study that. You do need to memorize numbers for this class or at least have a relative scale of things in the universe.

Also you do not need the textbook. Never opened it.

Overall, this course was interesting and I enjoyed the subject material. Prof. Shapley is an amazing professor, very easy to approach and converse with, and clearly expresses her enthusiasm about teaching this course. The labs are overall pretty easy as long as you pay attention in class and to the lectures. That being said, the course itself isn't a walk in the park and definitely requires some extra review outside the class, especially for the midterms that seem to draw questions from small details you might not pay much attention to in the slides. Professor: 10/10 (excellent) Course: 8/10 (interesting) Difficulty: 9/10 (probably the hardest course I've attempted so far simply due to the amount of information I need to digest)

Professor Shapely is a fun and passionate professor in astronomy. She is a great professor who has fun and engaging lectures. Her lectures do tend to be very information heavy with 55 long slides on average but she does post them on BruinLearn before class. Her lectures are also recorded and posted on BruinLearn.
There is a weekly quiz based on the lectures of that week alongside a weekly two-hour lab. All lab grades are completely up to your TA and done with a group.
There are two midterms and a final which are all just MCQ, everything on the tests is on the lecture slides. Professor Shapely also offers Zoom reviews the weekend before the test. If you pay attention to her lectures and take notes or review and study the lecture slides you can pass her tests. I do find the heavy lectures make it difficult to know everything which can make the test extremely challenging. If you pay good attention, take great notes, and truly take time to review and study your notes you will pass the tests. I struggled with the tests, failing both midterms and final but the curve at the end helped a lot.
Extra credit is offered through a three-page reflection essay after visiting Griffith Observatory or on recent astronomical discoveries.
If you are looking for an interesting GE to finish your lab requirement this is a great option, this is NOT the easiest class and definitely requires dedication in notes, studying, and preparing for the tests.

• 20% Lab assignments
• 10% Homework assignments
• 20% First midterm exam (in class)
• 20% Second midterm exam (in class)
• 30% Final exam

The professor for this class is super engaging and fun, but the exams definitely aren't the easiest. The average grade on each of the exams was a C, but Prof Shapley curves the class at the end of the quarter which means you don't have to ace the exams to get an A in the class (I got a C+ and B on the midterms and got an A on the final & ended with an A). She also offers an extra 2% grade boost at the end of the quarter which really helps. Overall, you can definitely get an A in the class if you're willing to put in a little work and study for the exams.

Alice Shapley is as wonderful as they come. She is a great person and a fantastic gal. I'm a big fan of hers.

The class is as easy as you make it for yourself. Every lecture's slides are posted on bruinlearn at the start of class. This being said, you can get lazy. fast. No attendance is taken.

Some people struggle with this class and others dont. Very conceptual based and very little math (not zero, just not as math saturated as one may think. the labs are a different story though not difficult). Shapley openly states that we won't be tested on anything that isn't on the slides. So, learning the slides and giving it the best go that way is beneficial.

She says you need the textbook. You don't. Supplemental at most. Are helpful, but overall just not necessary.

Grade Breakdown:

labs:
eight labs, must go to INSERT labs in order to pass the labs. Can makeup only one lab.
The labs aren't bad, they just read poorly, but overall its fairly easy to get through and if you ask your TA the right questions, you'll be able to get the correct and right answers from them.

Midterm setup:
40 questions, multiple choice,
first midterm was lectures 1-8 and second midterm was lectures 9-16

Final setup:
cumulative of all lectures.

Shapley is a super nice instructor and very respected in the field of astronomy. She can be dry sometimes and the class definitely picked up in speed and intensity after the second midterm, but with studying and putting in the work, an A is attainable. She said there is about a 5 percent curve for the class, which also makes getting a good grade easier. There is an extra credit assignment which involves a short write-up and attending the Griffith Observatory. For Fall 2018, the assignment was worth 1% extra credit, less than I've heard it being worth in the past, but still I'll take the points.

The TA's are nice and helpful, but some of them can have strict grading on the Labs during section which can be kind of annoying, but you can usually get the answers out of them by asking them repeatedly.

Overall, I would recommend this course if you're looking for a GE that isn't TOO tough, but don't walk into this class expecting an A just by showing up.

This class was recommended by Bruinwalk. I thought it to be on the easier side, but the midterms and final were definitely challenging. I got an F on the final, but did do well on the homework quizzes and labs, so I think that helped my grade. There is also a final curve for the entire class, so that helped me much too. The labs are okay, I would definitely getting a good lab group!! I was lucky yo have gotten an astronomy major in my group HEHE!

I would recommend the class to a freshman trying to get a GE done. I did not go to lecture after week 6 due to slides being posted online and the professor not being very engaging... Extra credit is simple and fun. 3 pages of what you did at the Griffith Observatory. If I would've read, I think I would have earned the A.

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Professor Shapley was a fine professor, Astro 3 is a good class to take if you want to your GE reqs done. When I picked this class I thought It would be a breeze, since I already knew stuff about astronomy. However the course demands you to know more than just the basic stuff you probably know about astronomy. The class is basically Shapley doing her lectures which are posted online. While she tries her best to make them engaging they are usually boring and you will probably look at your phone checking to see how much time is left. That is why by the time week 2 or 3 come along many people in the class no longer show up to lecture. The class is broken up grade wise like this:
Homework Quizzes: 10%
Labs: 20%
Midterms(2) 20% each
Cumulative Final exam: 30%
The homework quizzes are easy and if you paid attention to lecture or are competent in using google you should ace all of them especially given that you have two tries. Labs are probably the worst thing about this class probably because of the length (2 hours) and the TA I had. My TA was the head TA, Mathew Yu and while he was nice, he proved to be harsh and sometimes a unfair grader. He will quickly rush over topics that sometimes may have been briefly mentioned or not talked about in lecture. While he would explain questions and lead you to the right answer, and would check answers on your lab he would still give me and others lower than expected grades. I remember that I got a answer ran by him and told him word for word and he told me and my lab partners it was good. When i got my lab back two weeks later he did not give me credit on that question which was worth several points. I was outraged because how can you deduct points when say it’s correct. This was not an isolated case because I noticed other questions that were told were correct were marked down throughout my labs. Overall in total I ended up with 83% in my labs but I believe it would be higher had my TA had be fairer. The midterms were easy as I got A’s in both exams. The review session she offers are good, and I strongly suggest you attend them, as it would save you from getting 1-2 questions wrong. The final was a little tougher than expected because it was filled with a lot of calculation questions unlike the midterms and was after the week that saw the scurball Fire cancel my last class of the course. Shapley is nice that she offers, a 1.5% extra credit bonus if you go to Griffith Observatory and write a short report on it. at the end there is a curve which will only help you, and I thank it for boosting my grade.
Overall Shapley is good profesor and Astro 3 is good class to take for a science GE. I felt that I had expanded my knowledge of astronomy, espically the newer developments. Just note to be in top of things, and don’t think the tests will be a joke. Beware of the labs and in my opinion avoid the head TA. If you work hard enough and do the extra credit you should be able to get a A- or better.