Professor Brown made this class incredibly interesting and easy to digest, which I came to appreciate as I took this class as a GE outside my department. There are two books required for this class, but they can easily be found online through libraries, etc. I personally did the readings, from what the weekly MCQ quizzes (5 questions generally) are based on, but the quizzes (at least for this quarter) has unlimited tries leading up to the due date, so you could go back and look for your answer. A large part of your grade is lab, but the TAs are extremely helpful, they essentially guide you through all of the questions while asking for your insight. Go to your section and you will get full credit essentially! There were two exams in this class, not counting quizzes, the midterm and final, which were multiple choice plus one free response question at the end. I found both to be reasonable, nothing surprising if you attended lecture and understood the learning objectives, definitely nothing to fear. I am glad I took this class, it definitely has made me considered taking more GEs in this department and/or another class with Professor Brown.

I took this class with Brown during the Spring Quarter 2020 during quarantine . In general, this was a very great class and overall a relatively easy. There are two lectures per week along with one lab class.
The labs are very easy as the TA goes over everything with you, which means that you are usually finished with the weeks assignment just by attending the section. There are also assigned readings, which I would recommend skimming over them since I did find them somewhat helpful.
Brown assigns weekly quizzes, which are easy points since there are unlimited attempts. I would recommend paying attention during lecture and taking notes as you do NEED to know the material in order to perform well on the midterm and final.
STUDY THE STUDY GUIDE LIKE IT IS THE EXAM! Brown provides a study guide for both the midterm and final so make sure to take them filling everything out. Personally, I found the final to be easier than the midterm and Brown took the best score out the two exams for this quarter.
If you are looking for an easy GE, take this class!

I loved this class so much! Took it during spring 2020/covid-19 quarter.
This class seems to be really great for people with a preexisting interest in dinosaurs. Personally, I love Jurassic Park/World and this class satisfied all my dinosaur curiosities.
Well administered, tests and quizzes are easy, labs are easy, no homework other than reading (which you don't really have to do imo). Lectures are engaging.
I highly recommend this as a science GE. Learning about deep time/evolution really helped me understand humans' place in the universe.

Took this as a GE and I loved, loved, loved this class. I have wanted to take it ever since I heard it was offered at UCLA, and it didn't disappoint. It was such a cool experience to be in a class about dinosaurs as a humanities major and Prof. Brown was great.

I took this in an online format due to covid-19 but if anything that just made the class easier. The books Brown assigns for reading are also GREAT, like seriously so well written and fascinating, I loved them. I had Valeria as a TA and she was fantastic, super kind, helpful, and also willing to share her experience in the field as a paleontologist which I really appreciate. Labs were really easy as long as you came to discussion, as we literally did them question by question with the TA's. Quizzes were a breeze because you could re-do them as many times as you wanted until you got a 100, and the midterm was ridiculously simple as long as you read and went to class (I got a 100). The final was also trivial because you could replace whatever you got on it with your midterm grade, so as long as you do well on that, you're set (and even if you do bad on the midterm, no worries, the final was just as manageable).

My only criticism is that I wish this class talked more about the ecology of dinosaurs, this class mainly talked about bone structure of fossils, bodily processes, identifying species, and stuff like that. As someone who has loved dinosaurs since they were a kid, I really wish we could have talked more about actual behavior patterns/ what it would have been like to live life as a dinosaur. But, this is just personal preference and totally subjective.

Overall, all you need to know is that this class is a super unique, fun, and easy GE, I could not recommend it enough!

I took this Spring of 2020 during the coronavirus quarantines/protests. Even so, it was a really easy class: there are easy quizzes every week with no time limit and unlimited retakes based on the books. The midterm was also easy (got 100%) and based mostly on lecture material. Didn't go to a single lecture or read a single slide after the midterm, and the final was made so that your midterm grade also counts for the final. Labs took longer since they were online but were also basically free points as I had a great TA who walked us through everything. Also, there are two textbooks required, but I barely read either of them and you can find them both online in PDF format!

Overall, if you need an easy GE during spring quarter, take this class! You'll learn a lot about dinosaurs!

If you're looking for a great GE, 10/10 recommend this one, if you're into dinosaurs of course. Every lecture was really fascinating and easy to digest, Dr. Brown has one of the most engaging lectures I've seen on campus. There are labs, which can be hard, but if you get a good TA there's lots of chances for help and guidance. The final wasn't that bad as long as you study the materials given and paid attention to the lectures. It wasn't the easiest class ever, you still do have to study and put in some work, but if you like the material it makes it a lot easier. Really fun class and you do learn a LOT about dinos.

Grade Distribution:
Lab Assignments: 45%
Reading and Lab Quizzes: 20%
Final Exam: 35%
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The content of this class is so fun and engaging, and Dr. Brown presents it is an easy way to understand. She's a pretty good lecturer and is obviously passionate about her subject. I do not recommend buying the books for this class as her lecture slides alone should be enough to study for the exam. Overall, the labs were very easy and fun. It felt really similar to high school where the students were handed worksheets to fill out in the 2 hours given each week for lab. I worked in a group (which I highly recommend) and we did pretty well on all the labs, especially since the grader was pretty nice. The TAs main job is to help you in lab, so if you are feeling stuck go to them (especially Lauren Tafla who is very helpful). The reading quizzes each week were extremely easy, especially considering that you could infinitively retake them but the lab quizzes were harder. They were generally only 5 questions and based off 3D images from lab, but I was lucky that I did well on all of them. Also the lowest lab, reading, and lab quiz gets dropped for the class. This class did originally have a 15% midterm but because of the Palestine protests it was canceled, and the lab assignments and final exam's grade were inflated instead. The final exam is a little daunting considering all the specific dinosaurs and bones you have to know, but I found it easier than expected. It consisted around 55 multiple choice questions, with 3 write-in answers. However, the exam got extremely curved so don't worry too much. Overall, I highly recommend this class especially if you want an easy but fun lab science.
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GEs fulfilled by this class:
Foundations of Scientific Inquiry: Life Sciences with Lab Credit
Foundations of Scientific Inquiry: Physical Sciences with Lab Credit

My favorite class I've taken, by far. It's not just obscure dino facts, but seeing through the eyes of a scientist how all these puzzle pieces of evidence can help us solve mysteries of evolution and ancient ecosystems. Prof Brown's lectures are good. They're recorded and pretty enjoyable to listen to. Labs are easy - look at fossils and answer questions about them. A good amount of reading, but you don't really need to do it to succeed on the quizzes. Final exam was a breeze. Go to labs, make flashcards using the slides, review using the study guides she posts, and it would be hard not to get an A. At the end of the day, it's a dino class. 10/10

i was worried about my grade in this class because of the closed book midterm/final on niche dinosaur facts, but the labs + online quizzes constitute a big chunk of the grade so that it didnt matter and ended up being a relatively easy A. recommend!

This is a pretty easy class if you want to fulfill your scientific inquiry GEs. However, there is a lot of information to memorize. I just finished the final and it was honestly easier than I thought it would be; in fact, it may have been one of the easiest tests I've taken at UCLA thus far. I barely studied for it and thought I was going to do poorly, and got a 110/115. She curved the final and gave an extra 10 points, which was very generous of her. Although our midterm was canceled due to the ongoing protests and the final was worth 35% instead of 25%, it had some of the questions from the practice midterms, study guides, and followed conceptually from lecture slides. No tested lab material at all and the readings aren't necessary to do well. These questions are not designed to mislead you in any way, and at times you may even find the question giving you the answer (e.g., bipedal = ankles).

For labs, my TA, Lauren, was very nice and easygoing so my lab group and I almost got 100% every time. I heard other TAs in this class graded other labs harshly, but labs are always full points if you are collaborating with others and ask your TA questions.

For the quizzes, the lowest one is dropped and you get unlimited attempts for the lecture quizzes. However, you do not get unlimited attempts for the lab quizzes. I got 4s and 5s on the lab quizzes almost every time since some of the questions are tricky and can be misleading surprising. The lecture quizzes are 5/5 every time if you don't forget to do them. I had a friend who missed two quizzes and his grade tanked because of that so make sure to stay on top of them since they can creep up on you.

Overall, this is a pretty easy class. Make sure to prioritize labs, the quizzes, and actively engage in lectures and you should get nothing less than an A.