I loved Winter quarter of this cluster, especially because I really enjoy biology (though not a bio major) and it was therefore also much easier than Fall in my opinion. The big change from Fall quarter is that Friscia lectures on evolution instead of Larkin lecturing on astronomy. Friscia is hilarious and great at explaining the concepts he presents.

The textbook (Tangled Bank) is "mandatory". If you have a good grasp on the bio concepts, you can probably do without it, but it's definitely a good resource if you struggle with bio. It's not a difficult read so it's worth having around.

Again, they guide you through the paper throughout the quarter so that it's not so daunting. I would definitely recommend going on the field trips (there were 3 in Winter quarter alone when I took the class), as they are all paid for (in terms of transportation, lodging, etc. except food). The overnight one to Nevada was super fun and we got to collect fossils. I would say this is one of the few classes that has a field aspect to it.

I would recommend sticking it out for Winter even if you struggled with Fall because the material is more familiar to most people, especially if you've taken some sort of biology class in high school. Overall a great class and one of my favorites.

The material focuses on biology and chemistry, and it is somewhat easier than CLUSTER 70A yet still hard. That said, if you follow instructions, you can get the grade without learning; this class is very obviously designed just to knock off GEs. The lecture and discussion are two separate classes. There remains a quiz (online, half multiple-choice and half free-response) every other week, and they are hard. Everything else is in discussion and again graded primarily on completion.

TL/DR: Decent class. I preferred Friscia for the lecturers and he is pretty funny. Class is very similar to Cluster 70A. For more on the grade breakdown and experience I had with it, see my link (didn't want to clog this site) https://docs.google.com/document/d/15vILblHwWrnV7KnB-sOFzTRnQE2QPA7nmHxj4gdNKBU/edit?usp=sharing

Friscia is intrinsically an evil human being with wicked intentions. His goal is not to teach you. His goal is to morally degrade you and make it clear that your existence in this world is a burden to society and that you're nothing but a disgraceful presence to mankind. He wants his students to fail. He feels HAPPY when his students SUFFER. He hates it when his students succeed. It makes him ANGRY!!! It ENRAGES him that you are a happy human being. If you ask him for help or address confusion about a quiz, he will provide you with the most inhumane, vile, degenerate, morally corrupt answer known to man. He is truly an evil and sinful human being. If you have a functioning brain and a will to live in this world and contribute in some way to society, you wouldn't want ANYTHING to do with this guy.

My Cluster 70B professors were Jewitt, Friscia, and Brown. This was my favorite class all three quarters. The topics of the evolution of the universe/galaxies/stars/planets/life/ecosystems were SO interesting. I would absolutely take this class again in a heartbeat. It has upended my life plan because now I am debating pursuing a career in astronomy/biology/ecology. GREAT CLASS! GREAT TEACHERS! The workload is soooooo do-able. It is just readings each week and then a quiz every other week.

Papa Tony takes us to museums for free. Papa Tony doesn't give finals. Papa Tony is life.

Overall, I'd say that winter is definitely the easiest quarter of cluster 70. Friscia is an engaging lecturer who's very passionate about the natural sciences and evolution, and his quizzes are pretty easy compared to Petigura & Jewitt. There are even a couple of fun field trips that I'd recommend you hop on with your class friends! Again though, grading really depends on your TA, and you'll have two different ones for this quarter: one for busy work and labs (which are kinda annoying but easy), & one for your final paper assignments. Even if you struggled a bit in the fall quarter of this cluster, I would recommend continuing with at least this next quarter because the benefits of completing everything are definitely worth it.

this class is extremely unorganized but its pretty easy. When you have 3-4 professors lecturing about whatever it becomes pretty hard to keep up. Also, they are terrible at making slides, your quiz score depends on your attendance in lecture since slides are not helpful/logistical nightmare.

Overall, it's pretty easy, get a good TA and your A is locked in. Bad TA, you better hustle, but overall 50% of the kids get A's.

Attendance is "mandatory" with iClicker. Sitting at home and pressing one button once every class also suffices.

Shoutout Ariel Graykowsi for carrying my grade. She's a great TA and really understanding/willing to help.

It is super easy if you actually put the work in. I slacked off in this class because it was almost too easy and that ended up not working out in my favor. The teaching team is awesome. Briley is the best TA.

I enjoyed the content of this class a lot compared to the fall quarter content. I like bio more in general and thus found this class to be more enjoyable. The teaching staff is always there for you if you need it and extra support is everywhere. My TA was super helpful and answered all my questions. The pace was very quick this quarter though and it made things a little less clear. Quizzes were pretty manageable.