Murphy is a great guy. He is passionate about the subject and attempts to be very engaging. The textbook is pretty good but make sure you do the homework because it gives you a good sense about what will be on tests.

Murphy is a great professor who really enjoys the subject. This class has lots of easy points if you go to lecture, do both labs before deadlines, and try on homework. However, the quizzes are actually pretty hard so be really prepared on quiz day. I would recommend this class to anyone who likes astronomy.

I had always wanted to take astronomy during high school, but was never able to so I signed up for this class during college instead. It has been one of the best decisions I have made. Professor Murphy is an incredible professor and I am so glad that I had him. Not only is he engaging in lecture, he is very helpful during his office hours and will explain the concepts until you understand him. He really knows his materials and tries to make the class interesting by doing demonstrations, showing videos, and discussing current events about Astronomy. However, this class is not an easy A. There is one homework set due every Sunday night which can take between 30 minutes to 2 hours depending on the difficulty. Also, his tests are tricky because some of the questions are pretty easy and come from his lectures, but the other parts of the exam are specific questions from the textbook. Just study a few days before and read the textbook. It will have all the information you need. Again, I highly recommend this class and Professor Murphy. He will really teach you about the solar system and phenomenons on earth. He is the best!

Probably one of the easiest ways to satisfy your science credit at UVA. This was the easiest class of my semester and took hardly any of my time other than homework once a week and studying the night before his exams. His exam questions are easy considering the majority of them come straight from the homework (word for word) or in-class clicker questions. I would say attending lectures isn't even necessary to do well, but he gives you a participation grade based on how many clicker questions you answer over the semester. They aren't based on correct/incorrect basis though. Basically, just show up to the lectures and do your homework and you should be able to manage at least an A-. The fact that Murphy is a really nice guy and shows epic astronomy videos through out the semester is just a plus. I'd never major in astronomy, but his class definitely made me look at the night sky on my walks home a little more often.

Murphy is a great professor, is really passionate about the material and makes it easy to learn. easy problem sets due weekly. good gpa booster and really interesting material. great class if youre into physics/space/science

Murphy was the worst professor. He wasted about the first 30 minutes of every class talking about what was happening around us in the astronomy field. In addition to this, he didn't go over what was on his quizzes/tests. I studied the textbook, his powerpoints, and his homework yet rarely did questions from these sources show up like he said. He presents the material in a very boring manner. If you are looking for an easy way to get your math/science requirement out of the way, this is not the class. This has been my least favorite class at UVA

To do well on the quizzes (except for just the first quiz) and the final, go to the "Study Area" on masteringastronomy and just practice problems directly from there (Reading Quiz, Concept Quiz, etc.). The majority of the seemingly tricky problems that he puts on his examinations come from there! I got a C+ and then a C- on the first two quizzes, before turning it around and getting As on the last quiz and the final. Definitely use masteringastronomy as a resource to study for tests!

GREAT CLASS! loved murphy! he made me want to major in astronomy. his lectures are incredibly interesting, and the material is not difficult. fairly basic concepts. three quizzes, a final, and two labs. the labs are basically a completion grade, but they have to be done early. weekly homeworks are easy and tested on concepts from the book. you are graded on attendance based off of whether you answer a certain number of clicker questions, but after that you are not required to come. quizzes are fairly self explanatory, but you do have to study to do well. highly recommend this class, especially with murphy.

Murphy is a pretty solid professor. The material in the class is very interesting and the textbook wasn't bad at all. The tests always have a couple tricky questions, so if you don't want a B you're going to definitely have to study a decent amount. Murphy makes the lectures pretty interesting and he's the type of guy who can be funny without even trying, which is always good. I liked this course.

If you do not have initial interest in astronomy - DO NOT TAKE this class. I foolishly took this class thinking it was an easy A/GPA booster... The readings/lectures are straight forward and at first it seems easy and simple, however on the quizzes, it is much harder. The questions are difficult and tricky - you'll have to rigorously study for the quiz in order to get a A/B... Although Prof. Murphy was entertaining at times, the class was boring and dry. He does however put his powerpoint on collab and those attending can answer clicker like questions for class participation. Your grade is based on a 1000 point system, so there is a lot of work that goes into the course.