Ex-files: Life in the Earth's Extreme Environment
Examines microbial life in modern and ancient geological environments, focusing on extreme settings of geological origin and unusual aspects in everyday contexts.
Summary
Recent recorded grades — Fall 2023: 3.74 GPA, 83.8% A/AB (n=37 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.72 GPA, 89.5% A/AB (n=38 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.70 GPA, 92.6% A/AB (n=27 letter grades).
What you’ll be able to do
Describe the potential for microbial life in extreme environments on Earth and other worlds.
Apply fundamental concepts of biology and the chemistry of life to interpret the history of life of Earth in a geological context, and to evaluate possible modes of life in extraterrestrial environments.
Utilize ribosomal RNA gene sequence information to determine the identity of unknown microorganisms and place them on the overall "Tree of Life".
Read science news and other programs dealing with the history of life on Earth, as well as the potential metabolic basis for life on other worlds.
Use on-line databases to obtain scientific information, summarize and document sources.
Use hypothesis-driven inquiry to collect, analyze, and interpret simple experimental data obtained hands-on in the classroom.
Use standard methods of scientific writing to produce laboratory reports and white papers.
Source: UW Guide
Grade history
↗All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors
Prerequisites
Course mapNone
- None
This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.
Prerequisite text tree
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Professors
Spring 2027No instructors recorded for this selection.
Historical instructors & teaching patterns
Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
Calendar & sections
Spring 2027Schedule loads here as you scroll.
| Section | Mode | Enrolled / capacity | Waitlist |
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Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections.
Meeting source records
Student experience
the class
Recent recorded grades — Fall 2023: 3.74 GPA, 83.8% A/AB (n=37 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.72 GPA, 89.5% A/AB (n=38 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.70 GPA, 92.6% A/AB (n=27 letter grades).
difficulty & workload
No workload feedback recorded.
Topics
- Microbial life in modern and ancient geological environments
- Extreme environments of geological origin or relevance
- Unusual aspects of microbial life in everyday settings
- Potential for microbial life on Earth and other worlds
- History of life on Earth in a geological context
- Extraterrestrial environments and possible modes of life
Skills
- Determine microorganism identity using ribosomal RNA gene sequences
- Obtain and document scientific information from online databases
- Collect, analyze, and interpret experimental data via hypothesis-driven inquiry
- Produce laboratory reports and white papers using scientific writing methods
Grades
Latest available · Fall 2025— not enough history to project Spring 2027.
Grade distribution · % of letter grades
Grades over time
Through Fall 2025
More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data
Not enough comparable courses for Spring 2027 in UW–Madison.
Sources & history
Catalog & offerings
Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.
Catalog observation history
Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.
Selected offering source records
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Raw records
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Student reviews
Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.
Read original reviews
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Grade history
Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.
Explore recorded gradesRecorded 2026-10-14
Model outputs & technical records
LLM outputs across runs
Full model traces
Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.
Model & dataset provenance
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"output_id": "7a4a3175b8d228eef381b06644e8014b2ac912c77a35fcc99828edc2925058ad",
"requirements_status": "valid",
"dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
"observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}