[amydien]

Im not sure if this is the right place, but I had no other choice. I dont think my university has its own forums. lol.

Im wondering if anybody has taken Introduction to Astronomy (PCS 181)? It seems interesting, but when I tried to sign up for it, I realized it is under the Physics Department. I wanna know if you do maths, like calculus and er...physics(?) in that course. Math is my weakness. And I havent done any math since grade grade 11. =(

If you're not from Ryerson University but have taken intro to Astronomy, please share your thoughts on this too. I'd appreciate it. Thanks!

[namola]

Hey, I know several people who took that course in the past and they said it was a fairly easy course. From what I remeber I don't think there were any calculations involved like you would imagine there to be as a course related to physics at least by name. If your looking for a really easy lower level elective I would recommend sociology of pop culture(soc202 I believe) It's a really easy course.
Ask if you have ne other questions.

[Tranberry]

Hmm...would insight on first year astro at U of T (St. George) help?

Three of my close friends all took intro to astro in first semester and all got 4.0's in it. They said it was really easy and required only basic physics which they teach you in the course anyways.

['Noche.]

I've taken intro to astronomy at York. Mine was labeled under NATS (natural science), which a 1000-level course is required in order to complete the degree.

Anyway, yes, there are formulas and equations (ie. math and physics). I found it fairly easy, but I've taken all the sncs in grade 11, bio&chem in grade twelve, as well as calc and dropped algeo halfway through. If you haven't taken ANY physics at all or if you haven't done too much math, you might want to look at another course. The majority of my class was arts students, and some of my friends in that class found it to be harder than they first thought.

That being said, I LOVED astronomy. It was really fun and all the stuff I learned was really interesting. There was quite a bit of memorization though, in general, very "science-y". But overall, if you're interested in astronomy, I say, take the course.

[amydien]

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE INSIGHTS! They were really helpful!

@ namola: I already took Pop Culture for the first semester. It was really fun and easy. Im trying to avoid taking sociology courses for my liberals because I think my program has a limit of only 2 sociology course. I only have one left now. And I was thinking of saving it for later. haha.

@ 'Noche.: I took grade 11 math, 11 & 12 Bio and 11 & 12 chem. I chickened out in Physics class...lol. But is my background knowledge enough? Yes, I love learning about stars, planets since I was a kid. Im VERY interested in taking Astronomy, but I dont also want to end up failing the course just because of the math part.

...plus I have a heavy workload since Im in the nursing program. >_<

[akira53]

I'm taking an intro astronomy class at the University of Hawaii now and I really like it! Out professor tries to make it easy for us...although there is a lot of chemistry (more chemistry than physics IMO but a lot of physics too lol). It's a fun class so far and I'm learning a lot! I reccomend it. A lot of people tell me it's harder than you'd think...in fact in our school newspaper it was listed as one of the top 40 most failed courses (but my professor says thats BS considering his class has a B+ average) but it's really not too bad. I like it a lot.

['Noche.]

I think your background is more than enough! It really depends on whether or not you're interested in it. And since you said that you really enjoy learning about stars (we also covered the Big Bang Theory & other theories, and the composition of planets, the creation of stars... galaxies, the idea of the universe), I think that you should take it! We had labs where the TAs help students with the calculations and everything, which makes it really easy to learn.

I didn't find it to be too heavy in terms of work load. But there is a bit of studying since it is pretty much all facts and concepts.

PS. my exam was all multiple choice! Haha, so all the calculations on it were quite simple and can be done quickly. My labs were worth 20%, but like I said, the TAs were there to walk people through it. Yours is probably different, but since it's Intro, it shouldn't be THAT much more difficult..

[amydien]

Yay what a relief. Now my courses are all set for next year!

Thank you sooooo much for the help! They were all VERY helpful!