I am going to be honest, I hated this class. For a GE, this class was incredibly tedious and advanced. I am not a STEM major, so maybe that is why this class seemed extra difficult. The lectures were incredibly boring and we rarely finished the slides in class. I will say professor Peltzer is a very sweet looking professor. He clearly knows a lot about earthquakes. However, he is one of those professors that knows so much about his content, that it seems he expects we are just as familiar with the material. Most of which I will bet we have never seen before in school. The slides are posted, but there is no audio/video option I am aware of. That can be troubling since some of his slides are just abstract pictures.
The grade breakdown included 1 midterm, 1 final, 7ish labs, 7ish reflections, and an extra credit assignment I believe. The tests were largely memorization based and often queried about random one-off facts that seemed irrelevant. I did finish with an A, but that is only because I am a decent test taker. If you struggle on tests, it will be difficult to feel successful in this class. Definitely not an easy GE.

Peltzer is passionate about this class and is clearly knowledgeable. I went to class up until week 7 when I finally gave in and realized going through the slides in 20 minutes is just as helpful and way more efficient. The actual content is interesting and not very difficult - not the same can be said about the tests. There is one midterm and one final. Both are too hard for a GE. There is a 3% extra credit that requires you to give up one Saturday. However, there is no curve. From some emails, I learned that 6 kids got a 92.4+ but he refused to give any of them an A. In the end, a class like this should translate to an easy A but it did not for me. It may not for others who don’t study excessively for a GE class.

This is a very easy and interesting GE. The professor is nice and understanding. I recommend this class!

I would recommend taking this class to fulfill the science GE w/lab requirement. The workload wasn't bad at all. There are worksheets assigned during the lab section that you get one week to complete but they're super easy and usually everyone finishes during section. Also every week a short report is due where you pick a video/article from a list and just write a short 3-4 sentence summary.

I think I went to a total of three lectures and was able to finish with an A+. I just made sure to keep up with the lecture slides every week and do the labs/short reports + extra credit. The midterm wasn't too bad, mostly general concepts, and he lets you bring a one page handwritten cheat sheet which definitely helped. The final was harder because he asked some more detailed questions and made you use the equations mentioned in class, so the cheat sheet really helped me because I wrote down every equation and every bit detail about ground slip, rupture, magnitude, etc. about the earthquakes mentioned in the slides.

The grading scale is 30% labs, 30% midterm, 30% final, 10% short reports, and there's an opportunity to go on a field trip for 3% extra credit or to write a short earthquake safety report. He also drops your lowest lab grade.

I never went to lecture but the professor seemed really nice! I would recommend taking this class for a GE because the assignments are really easy/quick to do and you really just need to go over the lecture slides and take a bit of time to make your cheat sheet to do well on the exams. There's also easy extra credit!

Overall, this was a pretty decent class. Prof. Peltzer is a really nice guy and is very passionate about geoscience--something that's obvious through his lectures. I took this online, so in-class engagement was pretty minimal, but I think he did a good job trying to keep our attention. I'd definitely recommend this class to anyone looking for an easy GE that is pretty interesting as well.

This professor really tried to make this class fun and engaging, but there's only so much you can do to make information about earthquakes exciting. It is an easy science GE compared to other ones, but it is incredibly boring. Your grade depends on 30% lab, 30% midterm, and 40% final. The labs were doable with some help from the TA with a week to finish them. The midterm and final were all multiple choice, but a cheat sheet was allowed for the final. There was also the option of a field trip or a 2-page paper for 3% extra credit which helped me out a lot. If science isn't your thing and you want an easy enough GE and don't mind being bored for a while, then take it.

I feel like the review before me is pretty intense. I guess it would have helped to go to lecture, but he basically reads off the slides and adds a little bit of more info. I agree that the labs 30% did save my grade from anything lower than a B (I think I ended up with 108%?) and the field trip 3% EC definitely contributed. That said, I NEVER went to lecture after the midterm and prior to that, I went but wasn't really there mentally...Prof. Peltzer knows what he's talking about, but I found the topic to be dry. There was an overly enthusiastic student, so I guess it's just a matter of whether or not earthquakes, plate tectonics, etc interest you. He was generous enough to add 5 pts to out final since the test scores were on the low side, so that was cool! Long story short, read the slides on your own time, take notes, and you should be fine. Go to lecture if that helps/makes you feel better, but from first hand experience, it's not impossible to get an A if you don't.

DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS IF YOU WANT AN EASY GE. If you want an A in this class, you need to attend lecture and put in some time studying. Luckily the labs are easy A's and make up 30% of your grade, and Peltzer rocks and offers extra credit that can boost your grade by 3% (!!!!). The tests are difficult though--lots of info, and you need to know how to use and apply formulas (which you need to have memorized--Omori's law, Richter magnitude formula, etc). I knew going in that I was going to take this class pass/no pass, and so I barely studied and never went to class (went to one lecture after the midterm and that was literally it). I managed to pass fine thanks to the labs carrying my grade, but if I was looking to get an A in a GE I would not have taken this class because at best I would have gotten a B. The average score on the final was a 71 if that puts things into perspective. So basically if you want an A, either don't take this class or actually work hard in this class. Peltzer is a sweetheart and more than willing to help you--unfortunately, for most people (myself included) earthquake science is the driest subject you can teach.

This class is not the easiest GE you will ever take. The labs are extremely easy and have lots of bonus points. They are worth 30% of your grade and I had over 100% for all of my labs combined. The midterm is also worth 30%. If you show up, take good notes, and study a little bit each week, you will do great. Unfortunately, no one actually does that because it's a GE. I showed up to most of the classes and took notes sometimes. I studied two days before and ended up with an 82%. Then there is the final. I didn't study much because I was busy at work, but I went to even fewer classes and took almost no notes following the midterm. I read through his review slides and read the slides from the second half of the course the day before the final. I ended up with a 78%. These are not the best grades, luckily for me there is the opportunity to earn 3% extra credit through either a field trip or a short paper. Do this assignment! I had almost no business getting an A- in this class. If not for the easy labs and extra credit, this would not have been the case. If you are willing to do a good job on the labs and complete the extra credit, you will be fine. He's a good professor and is pretty funny. If you have any interest in earthquakes definitely take this class. If you are looking for the easiet GE, I'd recommend taking Geography 5 instead. This is a good class that is pretty interesting.

Professor Peltzer is the best! You can tell he is a super nice and down to earth professor who just really loves earthquakes. There was an opportunity this quarter to go on a field trip all day for extra credit (3%) and it was actually fun! Peltzer knows what he is talking about and is SO willing to help out anyone. Definitely a really awesome professor.