This class was tough.
Course Overview:
It is one of the most difficult classes I have ever taken but I learned a ton. This class changed the way I studied for other exams in other courses and challenged me to do more than memorize facts. I had to visualize diagrams in my head and make more outside connections in order to understand and be able to perform on exams.
Course highlights:
The professor was fantastic. Leonard cared about each and every student in his lecture and wanted us all to succeed. If you needed extra help, he was there for all of it. In class he would find quirky ways to get us to remember the material, and gave us outside tools to be prepared for everything. He is one of my favorite professors and is the only reason I survived this course along with enjoyed the material I was learning
Hours per week:
12+ hours
Advice for students:
Make flashcards for literally every concept, key word, and main idea. Start memorizing and understanding from day one because the final is cumulative and the ideas build off of each other throughout the course. The course is difficult but manageable. Read all the material given and spend extra time going over and understanding it. Go to all his office hours even if you do not have specific questions and just take notes on what he says and explains.
Not too easy. Not too difficult.
Course Overview:
I would highly recommend this class, but especially with Dr. Leonard. There were several hard concepts, especially in the physics part of the class, but he made them easier to understand and explained them very well. The material was also extremely interesting and kept me engaged throughout most of the class.
Course highlights:
Professor was very good, but there was also very little work to be done, however, the tests required a good amount of studying in order to do well on. I learned about various cosmologies, black holes (my favorite part), Einstein's relativity theory, the births and deaths of stars, and the fate of the universe.
Hours per week:
0-2 hours
Advice for students:
Read the book and take notes, along with rereading the powerpoint slides. The answers to the online quizzes are all on Quizlet, but go over the answers when preparing for the final. Definitely read how to prepare for exams in the Course Reader and follow them. Give yourself at least a week to prepare for the exams, because there is a lot of material. The final is cumulative and worth 40% of your grade, however, if you go to class, and go to one of his events outside of class, he will bump up a borderline grade (boosted my grade 3%).
Not too easy. Not too difficult.
Course Overview:
I would recommend this course because it will definitely open the student's eyes on the universe. I would never have gotten into the topic of physics again if it were not for this class. I t will make you question the ways that you thought about the world beforehand.
Course highlights:
The highlight of the course would have to be lessons about the life and death of stars. I learned that there are MANY different paths that stars can take while they are alive and they can be categorized by sizes. I also learned that the color of stars can tell the observer how hot the temperature of the star is.
Hours per week:
6-8 hours
Advice for students:
I HIGHLY advise future students to take the time to study. It definitely is not the easiest course to grasp unless you have been putting in the time to learn the fine details.
