I took this course last year with Dr. Howarth.
Breakdown
Midterm- 20%
Pre-lab quizzes- 10%
Lab reports- 30%
Final exam- 40%
Although the content was interesting, I found it to be a heavy course. I also studied really hard for it but just ended up with a semi-decent grade. I'm surprised they switched it to a 3rd year course this year. Its tough enough to be a 4th year one.
Oh! and the lab reports...SO so tedious. I'm just glad that I got that over with; spent a lot of time on them since it's worth 30%. There's 5 in total & all are done individually.
Overall, I wouldn't recommend this course if you have other heavy courses. The labs and stuff takes up too much time. Don't get me wrong. Howarth is a great prof & I love her lectures. Just that this course was tougher than usual. Take her Aging one instead. It's lighter in comparison yet still interesting