Selling PDF version for "What is Life? A Guide to Biology 4th Edition" for $5, contact me @ (714)951-5468

As someone who hated biology all through middle school and high school, I really really enjoyed this class. Professor Phelan's lectures are extremely clear and engaging, and he offers extra credit opportunities as well. I'd recommend thoroughly reading rather than skimming all the relevant material from the WIL textbook. Though it was long and tedious this really helped me understand the material. I also took notes on the textbook, which was very helpful.

Jay and his class are both AMAZING and this is coming from someone who used to hate biology (that was until I took his class). His lectures are engaging, he makes the content interesting, and teaches the course from a non bio student perspective which is nice.

Lectures: Because I took this class during COVID-19, lectures were prerecorded videos and overall were very engaging. He kept them organized, used examples, and his slides were useful (although he doesn't post them). He also kept the videos short which is nice.

Discussions: Discussions consisted of a weekly quiz (one of the problem set questions), review lectures, a group problem set presentation, and a group debate. These projects did require some prep time out of class but it wasn't unmanageable.

Homework/Reading: This class did have a fair amount of work, especially for a GE. There were weekly problem sets that were assigned, but weren't graded (except for one of the questions was chosen for the weekly quiz). We also had to write discussion board posts and create a music video (which was a lot of work but surprisingly helpful for studying). His books are optional but they are well written and help explain concepts further.

Exams: Exams in this class overall were fair, consisting of both M/C and short answer. The midterm was a bit time constrained and some of the short answers required more explanation to get full points, but the final was more manageable. Open notes due to COVID but could be different if taken in person. He doesn't post review materials which makes it tough, but as long as you understand the concepts and examples, you should be good.

Overall: TAKE THIS CLASS! Prof Phelan is a gem and you won't be disappointed! This class really changes your whole view on science and biology and you find out it is actually cool.

I AM SELLING THE PDF VERSION OF "WHAT IS LIFE? 4TH EDITION WITH PHYSIOLOGY" FOR $5. TEXT ME AT (916) 895-4806 IF INTERESTED WITH YOUR VENMO AND EMAIL.

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You only need "What is Life? 4th Edition with Physiology" for this class. Mean Genes is fun to read, but is not really "required" to do well in this class, so unless you're interested in reading more about it then you don't really need to get it. The actual textbook is pretty expensive, so I highly suggest buying the pdf version of the book. I'm selling it for only $5!

Absolutely loved this class. I am not a stem person at all and took this as a GE and I learned to literally love bio which is huge for someone like me. I forced all my friends to take this w Phelan after I took it lol

Prof Phelan is one of the best lecturers here. He is so passionate about the subject and that is contagious. Honestly I used to hate biology but I loved every minute of this class. By far my favorite class at UCLA. Prof Phelan is so enthusiastic, sweet, funny and relatable that you love listening to him.
The class basically explains certain human characteristics and why things happen in certain ways by using evolutionary biology. For eg why are humans more drawn to foods that are loaded with fats and calories, why is it that we are more likely to help relatives than non-relatives, why are people more willing to donate when they get badges etc all explained using genetics and evolution.
Please take notes of the examples the professor discusses in lectures as several questions in exams are about specific examples or require you to write short answer responses explaining the answer by using certain examples. When prof Phelan talks about some animal as an example in lecture, pls instantly note it down and highlight it.
This class was easy for me because I took it in Winter 2022 when things were online and exams were open-book however my notes were very extensive and I needed to turn to them to answer pretty much most questions.
The class requires some work and time but you will enjoy it and love what you learn.
This is one of those classes where I used to talk with my mom every week about something cool I learned in lecture though the content taught in the first 3 weeks is not that interesting however the content in the second half of the class and quarter is very fun and interesting.

Never read the textbook or studied and ended with a B (def a me problem!) LOVED Jay he's an awesome guy who cares a lot about his students. We got "problem sets" each week with 7 questions on average and one question would be chosen at random for our weekly quiz. There were also two group assignments within the discussion. Tons of extra credit opportunities. The class was formatted to where we watched the (very entertaining) lecture videos on our own time and we would meet once a week for 10 min to discuss what we need to do for "the week ahead" (attendance for this was optional.) I would recommend this class and professor to anyone but don't tell yourself getting an A will be a piece of cake! reading the textbook is apparently necessary to get an A lol

WE STAN JAY PHELAN IN THIS HOUSEHOLD. He was truly a fantastic professor who clearly put a lot of effort into this class even though the lectures were online. He really cared about making it interesting and provided fun opportunities for if you went to the weekly "week to come" short lecture (I won a dozen Diddy Riese cookies from him). The midterm and final are long but they are not hard and almost all the information comes from his lectures (a few came from the textbook which wasn't a hard read anyway). The projects in the lab section were good if you had a solid group. And he provided a really fun extra credit opportunity at the end of the quarter where you could make some kind of video about one of the topics in class. Overall, if you want a good life science GE or this class is a prerequisite, I strongly recommend this class.

I honestly was going to P/NP this class, but I ended up taking the letter grade and passing. (Keep in mind, the whole course was online due to COVID. I'm not sure how it will be when we get back to in person.) The quizzes for discussion was always a single question that was taken from the previous week's Problem Set so as long as you do those, you'll probably do well on the quiz. Both the midterm and exam were open notes and Professor Phelan allowed a flexible schedule for them. I did really well on the Midterm, and I would suggest that you do the short answers first before doing the MC part. The SAs took a lot longer, and I ended up using the full time for both the midterm and final. For the Final, it was a bit harder than the midterm and I ended up getting an 89% on it, but Phelan does offer a lot of EC points. Mean Genes isn't really needed, but the textbook was helpful in providing more info and also study material for the exams.

Learned valuable lessons from this class! However, I would not take it because the stress it caused. I looked for an easy GE and although I read reviews saying it wasn't, everyone around me recommended it. If you're looking to dedicate and put work in, then definitely take this class. His lectures are fun but the reading was unbearable. A lot of people didn't end up reading the textbooks and did well, but to me it was crucial for the PSet and exams. I received an A: 90% on midterm and 86% on final. Phelan was super accommodating and allowed all lectures, discussions, quizzes, and exams to be held online. Also, Phelan's lecture/video productions are on another level! He's a professor who truly cares about teaching, learning, and his students!