idk i didn't go to class or watch lectures at all. lab attendance mandatory. she posts lectures and slides. labs are easy if someone at your table knows what is going on. but our TA pretty much would just tell us the answers to everything we asked about. you do not have to do the readings at all. weekly 5-question reading quizzes are google-able and have unlimited attempts on bruinlearn. bi-weekly 5-questions lab quizzes also on bruinlearn don't have unlimited attempts, but i didnt know any of the content and googled based on the context of the question and always got 100%. i tried squeezing all the content in the day before the midterm & final, but this is the first class that this method has not worked for with me. there was just way too many concepts and dinos to memorize it was impossible so i gave up. i also thought i failed both exams because i literally guessed on all of the questions. that being said, i got a 52/58 on midterm mcq and 7/7 on one written response question and for the final i got 41/43 on mcq and 14/14 on a couple written response questions. midterm was 28-30 mcq and final was 43 mcq. she deliberately makes the written questions extremely easy, basically the most basic concept you could know. she curved both tests i believe. grade distribution: midterm 15%, labs 40%, weekly reading quizzes 10%, bi-weekly lab quizzes 10%, final 25%. definitely recommend. automatic A

I'm an engineering major, I took this just to fulfill GE requirements but I loved this class. I found it incredibly interesting and super easy. Most of your grade is basically given to you for free. Tips: 1. Ask your TA's if you're not sure on lab answers. They will probably just give you the answer. 2. Don't overthink the lab quizzes. They're not designed to trick you. 3. Go over the study guide and lecture slides a couple times for the tests and you'll ace them. She curves them too, but you shouldn't need it, everything in this class is super easy. Take the class! You'll have fun and have almost no work to do for it ever.

this class is interesting, the tests are easy, the professor is nice, the grade distribution is generous, and the only homework you have is weekly five-question quizzes that you can take as many times as you want until you get a 5/5. I can't recommend this class enough.

This class was randomly so difficult this quarter. I know this is supposed to be an easy science GE but I just did NOT feel that way. There was a LOT of memorization to be done for the exams (I think this was the first quarter that this class was going to be back in person for lectures, exams, etc.) and it was so much information that I just genuinely was not interested in at all for a GE.

I was a total dinosaur kid in elementary school so this was the perfect science ge to take, especially since I'm really really really bad at science. Labs were really fun since we just looked at fossils and pictures of dinosaurs. The midterm and final were pretty easy as well, especially since they were online (although this might have been because of covid idk). We also had weekly online quizzes with unlimited retakes. Honestly I didn't need the textbook, just go to lecture! Professor Brown is really cool too, and we got to learn about her work with the La Brea Tar Pits!

Compared to the other professors in this class, Dr. Brown just does not compare. Her slides are not clear and the review questions she posts makes it hard to follow along. She word vomits and makes it hard for the students to take in the information she's supposed to be teaching.

I really love this class, but Doctor Brown is just not the clearest with her lectures at times. This does not mean you shouldn't take the class-- the class is fantastic. Take it!

Overall, this cluster is a great option for non-stem majors looking to know out their science GEs, however that didn't mean it was a walk in the park. This course is split into three subsections, one per quarter, because it is a year-long course. Professor Brown began instruction in winter quarter, and though she was evidently very educated and passionate, I found her lectures to be somewhat dull and kind of boring. Pro tip: how well you perform in this class honestly has nothing to do with the professor and everything to do with which TA you have. Lastly, I will say that the biweekly quizzes are somewhat difficult, but this section of the course, Cluster 70B, is significantly easier in workload, clarity, and overall easiness than Cluster 70A.

good lecturer, annoying pet bird

Okay so this class did not dissapoint. I loved it from begining to end. Professor Brown is an awsome lecturer, though sometimes she does gove a lot of information and goes through it pretty quickly. Regardless, learning about dinosaurs and what actually qualifies as one in more detail is pretty freaking awsome. Before every lecture started she'd play a scene from the Land Before Time or from the Jurassic Park/World movies. I also really enjoyed the labs and how at the very first lab she took us on a walk around campus to mirror a timline of ancient life on earth. There was a lot of information to sort through, but I'd take this class again. She was also very helpful to answer questions during office hours and broke down any concepts I had issues with. After class if something is bothering you from lectures or your confused don't be afraid to go up to her and ask. She'll definitely answer your question.