I think this class overall is pretty reasonable, but got pretty confusing real fast toward the end. I get that we get free points and all that, but I feel this class is a little too much for a GE. There are so many concepts and weather patterns to memorize and understand, and it becomes quite overwhelming and lots of my classmates this quarter felt the same. Professor Chamecki is nice and does try to be helpful, but I think the material just makes me zone out during lectures. If you do not enjoy science or weather, please don’t take this class because it is very much centered around those concepts.

Marcelo is such a nice guy. He’s pretty hilarious and gave really engaging lectures on otherwise boring material. The tests weren’t difficult also. I’d recommend this GE.

Prof. Chamecki is super charismatic and encourages students to immediately ask for help (either in class or office hours) whenever they don't understand a concept. Good attendance gets you more extra credit, and his lectures are recorded so attendance isn't mandatory. Required online book/homework access. A lot of content but definitely not hard to study for.

Probably one of the best professors I've had at UCLA. Science isn't my strong suit, but this class was incredibly engaging. I had no interest in the atmospheric environment before, but now I'm happy I know all the information I learned. I feel like I look at science through a different lens now, as a means to learn more about how the world works around us rather than an exhausting academic subject. It's honestly really cool learning about wind, weather, tornadoes, etc. Professor Chamecki is really funny and really passionate. The material wouldn't have been as interesting if he didn't teach it. He is also incredibly considerate, and genuinely cares about student learning. He is always open to questions and enthusiastic to answer them. The workload is not too heavy, just homework modules once a week that take a half hour or less and are really helpful in learning the material. Attendance in lecture is mandatory but it's definitely worth attending!

To anyone taking this class in the future, GO TO DISCUSSION AND GO TO CLASS! A significant amount of the points for the class are given when you turn in the weekly discussion worksheet and answer the live questions in lecture - and you don't even have to get them right, it's entirely participation points. Of course it's a good idea to try on them as a way to study for the test, but at the very least go and answer them. There's a total of 1085 available points in the class (though 85 of those are extra credit), and you need 930 for an A, 900 for an A-, 870 for a B+, etc.. The participation in class and in discussions is worth 345 of those points!! I finished with an A-, but skipped a discussion section and didn't go to class live all the time... if I went to that discussion section or two more classes, I would have gotten an A. Don't be an idiot, take the free points.

For anyone trying to find an interesting science GE, this class is great. Despite the current situation with online classes, Marcelo really made an effort to make the lectures and material engaging, and it overall worked well.

A lot of points come from attending lectures and participating in the quizzes, as well as worksheets from the discussion sections. These are basically free points as long as you show up. Homework is light, about 1 assignment a week taking around 30 minutes. Marcelo encourages reading the textbook before lectures, which I found really helpful later on (understanding material and studying) but it's not necessary. The exams (2 noncumulative) were all multiple choice and proctored online (camera and mic), overall fair if you've studied even just a little bit. I found redoing the homework assignments and going over the in-class quizzes to be helpful. Also, there's a lot of extra credit available mostly from attending all the lectures and discussions. For those taking the lab component (3L), there were 4 assignments throughout the quarter given more than a week in advance. These were a bit time consuming, but nothing too crazy. Grading was generous and as long as you explain your reasoning, you should get most if not all of the points.

Overall, this class has great material and is taught even better by Marcelo. He's a good professor and cares for his students. Many times throughout the quarter he was helpful during and after lectures and was open to accommodate student's needs. I'm glad this class was one of my first at UCLA and it was a good impression of what the AOS department has to offer.

Professor Chamecki is FANTASTIC. Would highly recommend his class. He gives a lot of free points for in-class quizzes and the discussions sections are really useful and are graded based on participation. The exams are also non-cumulative which is nice. My major has nothing to do with AOS at all and this was probably one of the most fun classes I've ever taken.