ASTR 1210

This class was BAD. Professor Li is such a sweet man, passionate about what he teaches, but every lecture is just a bunch of vague slideshows and him rambling on. If you pay attention, they can be super interesting, but getting lost in the teachings is so easy. He usually has 3 in-class quizzes (the lowest one is dropped god bless), and then a final at the end of the semester. However, he'll tell you that a certain concept is important and will be on the quiz, and it's nowhere to be found. To get a good grade, you need to memorize EVERYTHING. I spent hours memorizing important/big concepts only for them to never be spoken of again, and the test asked questions about a tiny detail in the presentation. The final is even worse, it's cumulative, so it's on everything the semester taught, but you'll never know what will be on the test. This class is good if you can pay attention to endless slideshows and know ALOT about astronomy beforehand. Do any extra credit he offers, ur going to need it. He's such a sweet sweet guy, but the way the class runs is just brain kill. #tCFF23

This course is more difficult than it seems and the content is very boring and repetitive. It is mostly rote memorization and the only way to do well in this class is by studying the slides and maybe looking at the reading to get more information about some concepts. The professor basically just read off the slides during class so there's not much point in attending lectures except to do the in-class questions (a Zoom option is provided as well). Overall, the content is not challenging if you apply yourself but it's difficult to put in the effort and get excited about such dry course material. Not necessarily the easy A class it's often advertised as.

Professor Li is a great instructor who clearly cares a lot about his field. Personally I thought the lectures were interesting, but they can be content-heavy so maybe not for everyone. There are two labs (one required, one optional) and I recommend trying to complete both because it's a great opportunity to tour the observatory and stargaze, especially if you're from a more urban area. Exams aren't bad---there are usually one or two questions that are a bit hyper-specific---but definitely doable if you pay attention in lecture. Overall a great overview of astronomy and I learned a lot!

People really oversell how easy this course is: there are three closed-note quizzes (the lowest one is dropped, which is nice) and a final exam which make up 85 percent of your final grade. There's no good way to study for them, as content is drawn seemingly at random from various slides covered throughout the unit — the questions don't align with the professor's key points in lecture and often felt unreasonably niche to me. About 30% of the class went to lectures. I went to all of them and honestly regret it. They aren't a great use of your time, and just self-studying the powerpoints might be better value for your time.

I also had a frustrating experience with the labs. There are two: a constellation lab and a telescope lab. The constellation lab is basically completion (you have to pass a very easy quiz) and the telescope lab gives you 3% of course-wide extra credit, which is very good value. However, since both are based on astronomical observation, they require a clear sky to complete. I guess I just got unlucky, but I had to sign up for the constellation lab 3 times as my first two attempts got "clouded out" and had both of my sign-ups for the telescope lab "clouded out" as well, so I wasn't able to complete it for extra credit.

I don't mean this in a harsh way, since Li clearly means well and wants students to feel passionate about the subject material, but this was one of the worst classes I've taken at UVA.

#tCFF23

This professor is not as easy as the others so I have been told. Everyone always says that this is an easy A with little to no work, which confused me until I learned that the other professors gave take-home exams or open-note quizzes. Li's class is the opposite with quizzes that are closed note, and a full in-person closed note exam. This isn't the coolest because the quizzes and final exam make up a total of 85% of your overall grade. The class itself is hard to sit through and pay attention to, though he does try his best to make it interesting. Maybe if you're really interested in astronomy this class won't be as hard for you. There's no homework though so it's a bit of a give-and-take.

#tCFF23

The professor is nice but he makes you memorize a bunch of specific and tedious details for the test which aren't helpful.

A fairly easy class? I am not interested in astronomy at all but I took it because I needed a science class to fill a gen ed requirement. Li is a really nice guy but I found it hard to pay attention during class because I found the topic really boring. However, if you go to class and pay attention, it's not hard to get an A at all. All of the test questions are basically from the slides. Tests are a few T/F, mostly multiple choice, and then 5 free response questions where you explain a concept in 2-3 sentences. The free response are graded pretty leniently because I didn't use proper terminology most of the time and still got full credit. You have to do a constellation lab which is really easy and is pass/fail. There's also a telescope lab you can do for extra credit which will at 3% to your course grade. Li will also drop your lowest exam grade.

Overall, easy class but boring if you are not interested in astronomy. No homework as well.

#tCFfall22

This class is HARD. The reviews from this class seem like it could be management if you think you’re good at memorization, however, you must memorize content on hundreds of slides for each quiz. The quizzes are hard in the sense that they are made up of very niche questions from the lecture slides. There are 3 quizzes made of 5 T/F, 20 MC, and 10 short answer. The lowest of these three quizzes gets dropped. The final is double the layout of the quizzes. You don’t need to go to class besides to get the iclicker points, however, my lectures were all recorded so I would have to go back and rewatch to understand difficult material.

If you're looking to fulfill a science requirement or get an easy A, do NOT take this class. Unless you retain information from bare bones slides and are extremely passionate about astronomy, you will struggle more than expected. I read the reviews and decided I'd take it anyway. I'll probably end up with a C+. I attended 90% of the lectures, ended every class with 5 new pages of jam-packed notes, and still missed the miniscule details he'd put on the tests. He reviews concepts very fast and although understandable, you have to put lots of work in outside of the class to actually fully understand the more difficult concepts. I didn't spend much time reading the textbook, but it's useful if you want more clarity on a topic. He definitely tests verbal/lecture slides material more than anything on the midterms though. All in all, this class made me more knowledgeable about various astronomical concepts, but it won't be a grade boost for me at all. Li is a nice professor, though. #tCFfall22

I thought that this class was pretty easy and low-stress overall. Professor Li is super nice and friendly, and he is very passionate about astronomy. There is a textbook that is assigned for homework reading, but Professor Li goes over the exact same material in class, so I always ended up skipping it after the first few weeks, and it never caused me any trouble. The material was, for the most part, very interesting, although there were a couple lectures that did get a bit boring. There are 3 quizzes throughout the semester, your lowest grade of which is dropped, and each quiz has true or false, multiple choice, and free response questions. The material on the quizzes was pretty much just recalling stuff directly from the lectures, and there were very few questions based on application of the material as opposed to memorization of it. Most of the material was very easy to memorize too, or I could usually guess it correctly. A few of the questions would ask for hyper specific details that did seem unfair to ask us to memorize, but those were the vast minority, and most of the questions were fair in my opinion. The final was the same format as the quizzes and a little harder in difficulty, but it really wasn't too bad. Both of the labs are really fun and easy, and they add to your grade, so they're super helpful. Don't forget to sign up for them early though, because they fill up REALLY fast! Professor Li also uses iClicker for this class so you have to answer questions during lecture to get points for your grade, but, at least for this semester, he would always have a Zoom of the class going so that we could watch remotely and do iClicker remotely if we couldn't make it. Overall, I thought this was a great class to take as it was super interesting and pretty easy, and Professor Li was extremely nice and interesting.

I would recommend this class mostly just for those who are interested in astronomy; otherwise, it's a 5050 recommendation for people who just want a science credit done. Most of the folks who are commenting here finished with A's in this class, and I would say that most of these comments are NOT representative of how the average student would perform in this class. Unless you're very interested in this topic or are just very intelligent with comprehending a lot of material both easily and quickly, this class is most definitely not an easy A. At least for Li, your grade will be determined very heavily by your exam scores (3 midterms + final; lowest of the midterms is dropped). There is no (mandatory) homework in Li's class, but it doesn't matter since you're going to have to try hard to earn an A regardless. If you essentially memorize the 85 pages of notes you'll have at the end of the semester, you'll do well. Otherwise, you won't. He does not make the exams easy in any regard, and you will not come remotely close to acing them unless you're verrrryyyy well versed in the subject areas. An A is possible in this class but only after studying extremely hard for the exams or otherwise just knowing everything very very well. The lectures/powerpoints tell you everything you need to know; however, you won't really take in any information from them if you're taking thorough notes simultaneously, which is very necessary to do. Memorizing my notes while studying is how I learned anything in this class. At least for me, attending lectures was for clicker points and getting good notes down and rarely actually allowed me to take in the material he's teaching since he goes extremely fast. There are easier classes to take for a science requirement. Bottom line, you should probably find something else.

I took this class to satisfy the general education requirement and it did require some work if I'm going to be honest.
This professor has an obvious passion for astronomy but as someone who just wanted to get through the class, it was pretty difficult. There were 3 tests and a cumulative final, all of which were a combination of true/false, mult. choice, and short answer.
He structured the test so that it was linear, meaning we couldn't go back to a question after answering it, and that was frustrating. I passed the class CR and I know I could have done better if I had put more effort in (reading the textbook, paying more attention in lectures, etc) but to be honest, my priorities were elsewhere, so if you are looking to fulfill a requirement, this course may not be the easiest.

* a note: i took this class during COVID-19 and it was taught all online synchronous.

#tCFspring2021

If you're looking for an easy A, take ASTR 1210 with Li. Although his lectures can be a bit dry, he's a nice and accommodating prof. If you study the powerpoints well, you'll be fine for the tests (which he drops your lowest). There are daily REEF participation questions that account for a good percentage of your grade, so best to attend all the classes and answer all the questions (although need not get all questions right to fulfill full points for that portion of the grade). Overall, it's an easy class if you pay attention.
#tCF2020

There's a plenty of professors for this class but I still recommend Li. His lectures are well organized and the slides are very helpful, which is a plus when it comes to quizzes. He is very approachable too. I'd say the grading is pretty easy: 3 quizzes (drop lowest grade), clicker points, and a constellation lab. There's a telescope lab for extra credit which is pretty chill too, and it gives you 3% boost on final grade. The quizzes can get into details, but all the information is in the slides so just try memorize them all. I bombed my first quiz (75ish) but did pretty well in the other two (95ish), though the difficulty is consistent/slightly increasing. It's a totally doable class, and probably an easy A if you study.

Prof. Li definitely likes what he does and his lectures can be really interesting, but the quizzes are often very specific and just based on memorization. I definitely recommend reading the textbook to reinforce his lecture, but also go to lecture to get the iClicker points and see the videos/animations because they aren't in the online slides. The constellation lab is super easy, and so is the extra credit telescope lab which you should definitely do to get a grade boost. Overall, a decent way to get a science req out of the way without taking a super confusing and difficult class

Professor Li is extremely passionate about what he teaches, although it can be difficult not to fall asleep in the lectures. The quizzes he gives can sometimes have very specific questions so there is a lot of memorization needed, but overall it was a decent way to knock out a science requirement.

Good professor & good lecturer; lectures are very informative, & he always tries to keep class engaging & is accepting of questions & willing to go over more difficult concepts. I did not really need to do the readings for this class-- they're a helpful supplement, but the quizzes are based on his PowerPoints, so if you review those and your lecture notes, you should be fine. DO NOT be deceived into thinking this is an easy class; this is NOT. However, I would still recommend this class for students who maybe aren't looking for a science or math major but are still trying to find an interesting class that will fill a math/science requirement. Definitely do the extra credit lab. Plenty of opportunities to boost your grade, and these are IMPORTANT- it is easy to get lost in this class if you aren't careful. Overall, a worthwhile course.

Professor Li is a really nice professor and teaches the class very well. It does get a bit boring but overall the subject material is very interesting. There is no assigned homework, just one assigned project which is just you going out to look at some stars for an hour and is very easy to pass. The quizzes can be a bit tricky but if you review the PowerPoints ahead of time then you should be fine! You get to drop your lowest quiz grade as well. You have to go to class for iClicker points for your participation grade. He recommends that you do the textbook readings but he only tests you on materials from the PowerPoints so I never did them and did well on the quizzes. I definitely recommend this class.

Super easy and offers extra credit!

I took this class thinking it would be an easy natural science/math requirement, but it ended up being my hardest class this semester. The lectures are very repetitive and the tests require a lot of studying. Professor Li gives you quite a few opportunities for boosting your grade, but the amount of time and effort I put into the class wasn't worth the mediocre grades I was getting.
Basically memorize every single detail of every single lecture powerpoint, and you might do well. Unless you're actually interested in astronomy, I wouldn't recommend taking this class.

Nice class. Don't trust the average GPA in here though - exams are tricky and you have to put a lot of effort to get an A.

This class was impossible for me. Li is super nice and approachable, but I found his lectures incredibly boring and not helpful when it came time for studying for quizzes. Attendance isn't required but you have to go to get your clicker points, which is a nice grade booster. DO the extra credit telescope lab. You can drop your lowest quiz grade but the final is cumulative. I wouldn't take this class again.

Honestly super easy and the material is interesting, and you don't even have to take notes, you can just read the slides right before the exams and do well.

AVOID. If you don't need to take it then DO NOT.
Lectures are boring, but you have to go to get clicker points. DO the extra credit lab, you will need it. For tests, make sure you read the textbook (it's actually very helpful).
I would not recommend.

Li is the kind of professor where you can just tell how passionate he is about the subject and how much he cares about students. Though it's very possible to do well on his midterms solely from the slides he posts online, I would highly recommend going to class because of how interesting his lectures are, especially after the first few weeks. The final was definitely harder than the midterms, but was manageable. Awesome class

Definitely think this class has gotten harder over the past couple years, but I still enjoyed it. Li is awesome and everything you need for the exams is in the powerpoint online. You can drop a quiz and get a lot of extra credit which is nice, but a lot of people did poorly on his quizzes

It's real hard

Great professor, if you want to take astronomy save yourself and your grade and just take it with him! He's passionate and a great lecturer.

Great lecturer who tries to make lectures fun. Always includes a 5 minute video under a 'time to relax' slide

Professor Li is awesome! He is a really nice guy, engaging and also very committed to your learning. The class is not hard at all if you do the readings, which are very interesting if you like astronomy. There are 3 quizzes (you can drop your lowest grade) and a final. You can even get extra grade if you attend a telescope lab. I did the readings and attended most of the lectures and got an A+.