AST R1234

A few problem sets that were done in groups and didn't take more than a few hours, quizzes that pulled directly from the problem set questions, in-class activities that were also done in groups, and the midterm and final were both directly inspired by the questions on the problem sets and quizzes. Overall a very good experience, as Prof. Helfand grades very generously and fairly.

I was worried that the subject would be too high-level (and sometimes it was), but Prof. Helfand was very knowledgeable and taught it in an engaging way, and the problem sets were much more manageable (which was the content used on the actual exams)

4-5 hours a week for non-pset weeks, 8-9 hours a week for pset weeks. Took me a longggg time to do psets (split them up with a group) since I'm not a math person so it doesn't come easily to me. In-class simulations — participation based — 5%. Asking questions on the discussion board. Was 5 but then he shortened it to 3 for us — participation based — 5%. Write a 300ish word "news story" esque summary of academic journal article about atoms — 5% 5 quizzes, only 4 are counted so he drops the lowest — 20%, so 5% each. Our last quiz was participation based. 5 problem sets, only 4 are counted so he drops the lowest — 20%, so 5% each. Midterm exam — 20%. It was 7 or 8 questions I think and you got to choose 5. Something like that. Final exam — 25%. I think he told us it will be 10 ish questions and we can choose 7? Not sure, haven't taken it yet. He wants the average to be around an 85 so he told us he'll add a certain # to everyone's score at the very end of the class. I pass/failed this class (am taking it to fulfill the Barnard psych outside science requirement, so I can do that and count it for credit) but I may uncover if I get an A. I'm expecting to get around an 85 though, but it could all go much much worse or slightly better depending on how the final exam goes, which I haven't taken yet.

I agree with that other CULPA review that says this is essentially a math course. It is. The lecture slides go more into description, but the lecture slides are ultimately much different from the problem sets/quizzes. The concepts of the concepts are interesting and it's evident that Helfand is passionate, but I was just taking this to fulfill the science requirement and I was very confused. The math was way above my level, and the math in the problem sets was much different from the focus of the lectures, making it hard to want to come to class. I think it would be interesting for people with a strong competence in math who are interested in dabbling in astronomy/physics, but it's not something I would recommend to another humanities student. However Helfand is a very passionate teacher and very intelligent in his field. He's a great guy and always SUPER available for office hours whenever, and is a very quick responder to his emails. He'll also often help you out with giving answers to the problem sets. No issues with him as a teacher, I'm just not a mathy person so wasn't a big fan of the course material in general. Helfand was also confusing at times, but he has a wonderful spirit.

A chapter reading in his textbook for almost every class. Basically nobody does these readings. I did because catching errors or mistakes would give us extra credit. But I don't think many people did. It didn't help much for comprehension, as he basically tells us everything the textbook says during class. 5 problem sets of 10 questions each throughout the semester. Encouraged to work with others on this. Some took 1 hour, most took 2 hours, one took 6 hours. I worked with one other person on these. 5 quizzes of 2-3 questions the class period after problem sets are due. Can use all notes for these. These can be tricky. Allowed to drop lowest score for problem set and lowest score for quiz. One midterm, one final. He likes his exams to have a B average, but he does not curve - he gives everyone a flat number of points until the average is a B. For our midterm, the average was 77, so everyone got a free 8 points to. make the average 85.

All homework, quizzes, and exams are 100% math-based. This is a math class. Be aware of this. Having said that, as someone who is not fond of math, this class was not too bad. Helfand is a really great professor and very easily accessible for office hours. Like others have said, in much of his classes he teaches like a story. He doesn't do much math in class, but when he does a problem on the board, pay attention because he does it quickly and it means it will show up on the problem sets and quizzes. But most of the time you have to figure out the math by yourself. You are allowed (encouraged) to work in groups of 2-3, so find a seat neighbor or buddy on class 1. As someone who is not strong in math but did take ap calc BC and ap stats and ap physics a number of years ago, I probably would have left this class with a B+ having attended all classes and studied a decent amount. But Helfand gave us so many opportunities for extra credit that I left with an easy A. Take advantage of the extra credit. It's not hard or time-consuming and it gave me almost a full letter grade in points. If you're not decent in math (no specific math knowledge beyond algebra necessary) and thinking through problems, I would avoid this class. Emphasis on thinking.

Several problem sets, midterm, and final. Nothing to lose sleep about.

People complain way too much about this class. Admitedly, first semester was pretty boring. But the second semester was absolutely fascinating...I never wanted to miss a class. His take on the history of the earth's climate, as well as the history of the universe, made the class worthwhile. The problem sets are also challenging, but not overly so. If you work with a couple people and come to office hours, each can be done in less than 2 hours.

not too bad at all. midterm and final questions are very similar to problem sets and quizzes so just make sure you can do those problems and you'll do fine.

Prof. Helfand is amazing. I never thought I would make it through the science requirement alive, but after a full year of Helfand I am glad to say that science-phobic students have a great option. That being said, this is NOT a class you can totally blow off. It will get hard and frustrating if you do that since there is no textbook to fall back on. But if you go to the lectures, do the problem-sets and go to Helfand during office hours - he is probably the most accessible and friendliest professor I've met at Columbia - by the time the final rolls around you'll be in good shape. one of the few science classes at Columbia where the prof. will bet with his students, perform soliloquy's from Hamlet or run into a wall at full speed, all in the interest of teaching.