ASTR121 | PlanetTerp

Information	Review
Derek Richardson ASTR121 Anonymous 05/09/2024	I had him for Astr 120 and 121, I really enjoyed his class and he’s a very nice and passionate teacher. This is the only class i actually read the textbook for most the time, you can get by with not but the textbook is free and fairly interesting. All exams are open note and you can ask others for help so as long as you check answers with others in the class you’ll probably get an A. The lab kind of sucks at first because it’s all in python coding and you have to write entire lab reports but it grows on you as you get used to it (i had never coded or written lab reports or had a lab before this). Getting a good table group is really important in this course though, it doesn’t really affect your grade much to have a bad one but it makes the class a lot less enjoyable. For astr 120 he chose the table groups based on a survey and i loved my group, for astr 121 he let us choose and i went with a random group and we didn’t communicate well at all.
Derek Richardson ASTR121 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 05/02/2024	I love Derek as a person and professor but don't really like the setup of the class. It's flipped learning, so you read the textbook before class and then do review and group work during class. For this reason, I didn't really get any learning out of actually going to class but had to attend because there was one short, graded group assignment at the end of each class. However, plenty of time was given for homework assignments and all of the exams (including the final) were take-home and open book, making it easier to perform well. I also love the OpenStax textbook used in this course.
Stuart Vogel ASTR121 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/16/2023	Very nice and understanding-- most definitely wants you to understand the information. There is a LOT of information to cover, and knowing the learning goals on the slides is crucial. However, on some of the exams the questions weren't entirely focused on the learning goals, so it's important to know a little bit of everything. Each lecture is around 30-60 slides, which really builds up by the time the first exam comes along. Definitely take advantage of tutoring hours. Homework isn't as bad as 120, and you should always 100% do the retest. Overall, Dr. Vogel is very nice and caring, but I think the class would benefit more from learning more about the learning goals, rather than going over extra information that is in the slides.
Stuart Vogel ASTR121 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/16/2023	Dr. Vogel is great as a person. He's very nice and helpful during office hours. There are several opportunities to get extra credit, whether that be the bonus question on the homework or the bonus question on exams. He also does open-note retests for the midterms, which are helpful and a great grade boost. However, the course material is VERY heavy. He does a set of slides every class and either rushes through very important topics or skims the surface of topics that should probably have been discussed more. So it becomes extremely difficult to get through the material when people turn it into a Q & A session because to make up time, he'll often rush through the rest of the slides. He encourages people to ask questions during the lecture and highly rewards these people, but those who want to get through all the material end up missing content as a consequence. The lab part of this class is probably the worst. Again, there is so much material to get through with an unreasonable amount of time. It's a necessity to work on the lab for several hours outside of class, and the TAs grade the lab harshly.
Stuart Vogel ASTR121 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/15/2023	Overall a very caring professor. Lots of information to study from the slides, but if you focus on the learning goals you should be okay. Tutoring was really helpful. Lab was a lot of work, so make sure to do most of it during the lab period.
Stuart Vogel ASTR121 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 05/02/2023	Overall, he is a very understanding and caring professor. I will admit that his lectures are not very engaging, in my opinion, and that there is A LOT of material covered in this class (around 800-1000 slides to study per exam). However, he does give opportunities to raise your grade and passing the class/doing decent isn't hard if you put in the work. The lab that goes with this class is a pain, and has been the worst part of the class. It's a lot of work and TAs are really nit picky on grading.
Christopher Reynolds ASTR121 Expecting an A Anonymous 04/27/2009	Probably the best professor I have had at this university. He makes the class really interesting and its really not hard to sit through the hour fifteen minute lecture. Hands out his powerpoint notes so you can just take notes on them and then he posts them online if you miss class. Should be a straightforward class if you are good at math.
Christopher Reynolds ASTR121 Expecting a B mbusch 04/22/2009	This class can be hard. Getting a B isn't too hard but getting an A requires some dedication. However, the professor is incredible and the information is fascinating. He obviously loves teaching as well as astronomy. If you're a physics or engineering major and you're comfortable with deriving equations this is a great class to take. It's the only class I have that I'm always excited to go to. I had him for 120 as well and it was just as good (don't take 121 without 120, it's doable but difficult).

Derek Richardson
ASTR121

Anonymous
05/09/2024

I had him for Astr 120 and 121, I really enjoyed his class and he’s a very nice and passionate teacher. This is the only class i actually read the textbook for most the time, you can get by with not but the textbook is free and fairly interesting. All exams are open note and you can ask others for help so as long as you check answers with others in the class you’ll probably get an A. The lab kind of sucks at first because it’s all in python coding and you have to write entire lab reports but it grows on you as you get used to it (i had never coded or written lab reports or had a lab before this). Getting a good table group is really important in this course though, it doesn’t really affect your grade much to have a bad one but it makes the class a lot less enjoyable. For astr 120 he chose the table groups based on a survey and i loved my group, for astr 121 he let us choose and i went with a random group and we didn’t communicate well at all.

Derek Richardson
ASTR121

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
05/02/2024

I love Derek as a person and professor but don't really like the setup of the class. It's flipped learning, so you read the textbook before class and then do review and group work during class. For this reason, I didn't really get any learning out of actually going to class but had to attend because there was one short, graded group assignment at the end of each class. However, plenty of time was given for homework assignments and all of the exams (including the final) were take-home and open book, making it easier to perform well. I also love the OpenStax textbook used in this course.

Stuart Vogel
ASTR121

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/16/2023

Very nice and understanding-- most definitely wants you to understand the information. There is a LOT of information to cover, and knowing the learning goals on the slides is crucial. However, on some of the exams the questions weren't entirely focused on the learning goals, so it's important to know a little bit of everything. Each lecture is around 30-60 slides, which really builds up by the time the first exam comes along. Definitely take advantage of tutoring hours. Homework isn't as bad as 120, and you should always 100% do the retest. Overall, Dr. Vogel is very nice and caring, but I think the class would benefit more from learning more about the learning goals, rather than going over extra information that is in the slides.

Stuart Vogel
ASTR121

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/16/2023

Dr. Vogel is great as a person. He's very nice and helpful during office hours. There are several opportunities to get extra credit, whether that be the bonus question on the homework or the bonus question on exams. He also does open-note retests for the midterms, which are helpful and a great grade boost. However, the course material is VERY heavy. He does a set of slides every class and either rushes through very important topics or skims the surface of topics that should probably have been discussed more. So it becomes extremely difficult to get through the material when people turn it into a Q & A session because to make up time, he'll often rush through the rest of the slides. He encourages people to ask questions during the lecture and highly rewards these people, but those who want to get through all the material end up missing content as a consequence. The lab part of this class is probably the worst. Again, there is so much material to get through with an unreasonable amount of time. It's a necessity to work on the lab for several hours outside of class, and the TAs grade the lab harshly.

Stuart Vogel
ASTR121

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/15/2023

Overall a very caring professor. Lots of information to study from the slides, but if you focus on the learning goals you should be okay. Tutoring was really helpful. Lab was a lot of work, so make sure to do most of it during the lab period.

Stuart Vogel
ASTR121

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
05/02/2023

Overall, he is a very understanding and caring professor. I will admit that his lectures are not very engaging, in my opinion, and that there is A LOT of material covered in this class (around 800-1000 slides to study per exam). However, he does give opportunities to raise your grade and passing the class/doing decent isn't hard if you put in the work. The lab that goes with this class is a pain, and has been the worst part of the class. It's a lot of work and TAs are really nit picky on grading.

Christopher Reynolds
ASTR121

Expecting an A
Anonymous
04/27/2009

Probably the best professor I have had at this university. He makes the class really interesting and its really not hard to sit through the hour fifteen minute lecture. Hands out his powerpoint notes so you can just take notes on them and then he posts them online if you miss class. Should be a straightforward class if you are good at math.

Christopher Reynolds
ASTR121

Expecting a B
mbusch
04/22/2009

This class can be hard. Getting a B isn't too hard but getting an A requires some dedication. However, the professor is incredible and the information is fascinating. He obviously loves teaching as well as astronomy. If you're a physics or engineering major and you're comfortable with deriving equations this is a great class to take. It's the only class I have that I'm always excited to go to. I had him for 120 as well and it was just as good (don't take 121 without 120, it's doable but difficult).

Reviews for ASTR121