I genuinely thought this was a very interesting class. Professor Saltzberg always appeared happy to teach the course and really was motivated during every class. I think he really wants to see his students succeed. The workload was very manageable, besides the exams there was barely any outside of class work besides homework assignments and finishing labs which I appreciated. My TA for my labs was also super nice and was always happy to help during office hours. I'm not a STEM person and not really a math/science person in general (I took this as a GE) so the exams were pretty difficult for me. They require A LOT of studying after the first midterm. If you're looking for an easy GE and you're not a STEM major, I wouldn't consider this as an easy course at all. They teach it well, but it's just a lot of material and concepts to wrap your head around so it requires a bit more effort than most classes. I really found it interesting though, and I think it was a course very well taught. He also released practice exams before every exam which was really helpful, and it gave you a good idea of the types of questions that would be on there. But if you're not good at math or understanding scientific concepts, I'm going to be real and say that this will be a challenging class.

This is one of the best science GEs you are going to take. The prof is both super engaging and super nice, he always posts recordings and lecture materials after class, and he writes very reasonable tests. If you are coming in with zero knowledge, this is a perfect class. The labs can be a bit long, but the TAs are all pretty helpful and they are quite easy to finish as long as you are paying attention.

Professor Saltzberg is so passionate about the material and makes his lectures very engaging. He is extremely helpful and you can tell that he wants the best for his students. I went to office hours a few times just because he is such a great professor. He explains things in a simple and easy way. His exams are also pretty straight forward. The practice exams and quizzes were very similar to the exams! Also, the labs are super fun and easy as long as you do the work. I would highly recommend this class. Super interesting, great professor, and pretty easy.

This is a great GE for your lab credit. The labs were really simple and fun. Professor Saltzberg was entertaining and the in-class assignment was always really easy. This class really dragged towards the end of the quarter as the amount of random space info that is dumped on you become overwhelming. But super easy to manage and relatively interesting.

One of the BEST first classes I took as a freshman! Professor does many fun experiments during lectures which makes it engaging. I remember seeing an exploding gummy bear and when the whole class was throwing a beach ball of the earth all around the room just for funzies. He is very funny and passionate for astronomy so I highly recommend. I HAD NO knowledge on astronomy other than that the sun was a star and we are on earth lol. Still managed to pull an A- and I did not read the textbook AT ALL. Midterms & finals will heavily be on lectures, in class worksheets, labs, and hw. The hw is a “quiz” but you have unlimited attempts to get all the right answers (make sure to remember the answers and u derstand the concepts)… I saw a lot of the EXACT same questions from hw on the midterms. Midterms and finals are 20 mcq with up to AT MOST 3 frqs. Make sure to take the practice tests because it is the exact same format. Professor will tell you what will be on the exams so it is pretty straightforward. I got As on both midterms then a C on the final..ouch but managed to pull through. Extra credit is provided but only boosts by 1% so make sure to do well on your labs (TA gives u all the answers if u ask) and do all the hw and in class sheets! INFINITY/10 love the class :))

Professor Saltzberg is a great professor for a great class. I would recommend Astronomy 3 to anyone looking to knock of a GE requirement and a lab requirement. Firstly, professor Saltzberg is very happy to be teaching. He is kind of a nerd about astronomy and is very passionate about teaching his students. He records all of his lectures and posts all of his recorded lectures and slides to a dropbox which is very accessible. There really is no need to read the book as all of the information on tests is from the lectures. He also gives you infinite tries on the homework which should guarantee a 100%. His two midterms and final are super fair and he allows a notecard on the tests. I mean if you pay attention in class and write a good notecard, there's no reason why you shouldn't excel in this class. The labs were generally easy as they were just a worksheet, and could easily be finished within an hour. The TA's are also very helpful which makes the overall experience, of the labs and the class much more enjoyable. Overall, if this class with this professor presents itself as an opportunity to be taken, I would take full advantage. I spent about 1-2 hours a week outside of class for this class, but keep in mind I also did the readings because I was interested in the topics.

Saltzberg is amazing! He is so fun in the classroom and creates well balanced lectures between slideshows and interactive demos. The class has two midterms and one final all of which were pretty simple, but you do need to study for them especially when the material gets more difficult. Homework and in class assignments were very simple and the TAs really help with labs so you don't have to worry about that. If you want a fun and easy GE defiantly take his class!

This class is definitely manageable if you take your time with the material and come to lectures. For students who are not used to this type of mathematics, the TA's and professor were very understanding. Professor Saltzberg is good at explaining the topics and if you are interested the ideas come naturally. Honestly, just by coming to lectures, you will have a good chance of scoring a good grade. So I definitely recommend it!

Have no complaints about this class whatsoever. The class is graded on in class assignments, labs, homeworks (which you have multiple attempts on), and midterms/finals. The exams aren't hard since they cover the material the professor teaches in class. Lectures are laid back and interesting, and Mr. Saltzberg is very nice/understanding. Always willing to help in class or in office hours. Overall a very great pick for a GE.

I loved Astro 3 with Saltzberg. Learned a lot and the tests were not too difficult. It is acknowledged that the class is a GE and many students are not on math/STEM courses so there’s not a ton of math content. The class genuinely sparked my interest and taught me a lot of interesting things that I was able to retain even after tests. Classes are recorded and slides/notes are also posted which was super helpful plus there is an option to attend every lecture via zoom. Definitely recommend reading the textbook alongside the lectures though if you do decide to take this class. Thankfully I actually found the textbook pretty easy to read and insightful, and definitely necessary if you want to fully grasp the content.