Overall, this was a good class to take, and Dr. Esdin is definitely a great professor to take. He is pretty funny, explains things well. The information is extremely useful as well.

The class isn't as easy as it's made out to be, simply because his tests are quite difficult, and it takes some time and work. He dumbs things down in lecture, so, you really have to read the course reader to know the stuff... and the course reader is rather challenging because he just throws everything in there. The TA said, "If you want an A in the class, you should know everything from lecture... and if you know everything from the course reader, and in between the lines, you should be good." It's kind of true.
If you want to do well on the midterm and final, you really need to make your own notes, study all the nitpicky things, and study with other people in the class!

Also, GO TO LECTURE. He likes to give out free exam questions on random days for people who attend lecture, so GO.

The project is a pain in the butt, and you only have time to go over so much in discussion. And I did not like the TA - he was difficult to communicate with, and he is always late.

TAKE THIS CLASS IF YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR HEALTH/WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE IMPLICATIONS OF YOUR LIFESTYLE. Dr. Esdin does a great job trying to make the material as interesting as possible- lectures are fun, (and also attendance monitored so make sure to go)!
This class is definitely doable, but you do need to keep up with readings in the course reader, which is about 20 pages a week. If you put in the work, it's an easy A. He wants his students to do well! The class ends up being curved at the B+/C- mark. I would definitely recommend this class to those who want a fun, interesting, and relevant GE!

Professor Esdin is one of the best professors I've had at UCLA. His lectures are interesting, his workbook is very helpful in studying for the midterm and final exam, and he is always open to assisting students with concerns over the material. The complex topics of this course are put in comprehensible terms for the student to easily digest.

Attendance in lecture is very important. He often explains the more difficult concepts in greater depth in his lectures to solidify the ideas of the course reader. He will even give out some test questions during his lectures. Attend lectures and do all the work and you will easily manage. I highly recommend this class!

Dr. Esdin is one of the best professors I’ve had at UCLA. His teaching style is very straightforward and comprehensible. He really wants students to learn and to do well. He takes even the most complex topics and explains them with analogies so that they are easy to understand. The class material itself is so applicable and so important to know about. The class mainly consists of 2 exams, 2 short quizzes, a workbook, and a lifestyle assessment project. The exams cover material from lecture, lab section, and the course reader. They are definitely manageable, but you need to go to class!

ATTENDANCE IS IMPORTANT!!! I cannot stress this enough! The lectures will help you fully understand and solidify the concepts of the course reader. There are also sign-in sheets: he’s basically giving you points for showing up (you do not want to miss out on those points)! But definitely take advantage during lecture and learn as much as you can from Dr. Esdin. The class itself is very interesting and engaging, so there’s no reason not to go. Also, go to office hours! Dr. Esdin genuinely cares about student learning: he will take the time to not only answer your questions, but also discuss the material with you to make sure you fully grasp the concepts.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this class! You will not regret it. It will empower you and have a positive impact on you: you will carry what you learned far beyond your time at UCLA!

This is the sort of class every undergrad should be mandated to take prior to graduation. It introduces/situates life science in the context of our lives and our health. It's evident throughout the course that the purpose is to educate us in the hopes of motivating us to make diet and exercise a priority. This class explains the "whys" of nutrition (why whole grains, low fat or low carb diets) especially how to see through marketing and actually understand what the food labels mean for our bodies.

Dr. Esdin is easy to comprehend, he simplifies complex topics through everyday analogies and holds ample office hours (which no one seems to go to) to go over any confusing concepts. Just make sure to read the course reader well ahead of quizzes/exams, as there are some details in there which are not discussed in lecture at length but are fair game nonetheless! 2 exams, 2 short online quizzes (all multiple choice), a workbook (good study prep - start early) and a life assessment project (basically document your diet/exercise for 1 week and analyze it).

DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS IF YOU CAN'T ATTEND THE LECTURE! It's highly important, both the lecture and discussion sections (which only meet biweekly) have sign-in sheets, it's meant to be free easy points, and he gives rewards in the form of test questions and maybe even an automatic 100% on a quiz if lots of people show up. It's impossible to do well if you can't commit to the attendance requirements!

Overall a very useful class for North campus and South campus alike, and Dr. Esdin is a very fair professor. Just don't expect an easy A. But if you complete all the assignments and study smart without cramming, the material is certainly digestible (no pun intended) and exceptionally relevant compared to many other classes at UCLA.

Professor Esdin is super awesome!! I needed a life science GE to take and I've had many friends recommend this class.

The class consists of a midterm, final, project (tracking diet and exercise, it's really not bad, just don't procrastinate!), workbook (just checked for completion), and two quizzes. Really doable!

As for attendance, definitely GO TO CLASS!!!!! Not only will he have sign-in sheets, but he also talks about many things not in the course reader and they definitely appear on the tests. He explains the main topics clearly so that when you read the course reader it becomes a lot easier to understand.

All in all, a highly recommended life science GE that is totally doable as long as you put in the work.

I took LS2 with Dr. Esdin.

Dr. Esdin is a very good professor in every aspect except his written communication skills. He is a good lecturer; he makes concepts easy to understand, gives interesting examples, and he's funny. He tries to be fair by normalizing section scores and being clear about what he won't test on, but his exams are problematic. He writes badly worded questions that are ambiguous and often times misleading. This is common in the LS department, unfortunately, but he didn't allow us to ask questions, which made it a pretty serious problem. Lots of people missed questions because he was unclear and didn't allow us to clarify. That being said, he lectures well, is very organized, and does try to be open to student concerns.

I took Phi Sci 5 in Spring 2014 and got an A+.

Professor: Professor Esdin is great. He's very passionate about this subject, and it shows. He doesn't come across as preachy at all, either. One caveat - he doesn't email back promptly, but that shouldn't be a deal breaker because he makes many things quite clear in the first place.

Lecture: It's pretty interesting and Professor Esdin is a relatively entertaining lecturer. But you'd want to go to lecture even if he wasn't, because Esdin gives out attendance points, free exam questions, and sometimes 100% on a quiz. Seriously, do everything that you can to attend every lecture even if it means crawling out of your bed and going there in your fluffy PJs.

Even though I go to lecture, I generally don't pay attention to it because it's a super dumbed down version of the course reader, which is what you really need to memorise if you want an A.

Grading: There's 1 midterm, 1 workbook, 2 quizzes, 1 lifestyle report, 1 final and a lot of attendance points in section and discussion. All of the tests are multiple choice. If you memorise the course reader (easier said than done, so get started early!), you should be fine for all of the tests. By the way, by memorise, I really mean down to the little details and not just the broad concepts. There was a question on the midterm that expected me to know the average lifespan of a person who lived 100 years ago or whatever; it was literally one or two sentences in the course reader.

Get started on the workbook and lifestyle report early and finish it as soon as you can. Don't procrastinate on either of them because even though they're easy, it's tedious. When you think you're done with the lifestyle report, print it out and match it against the Esdin or the TA's specifications/requirements.

Overall: You should definitely take this class before you graduate because it contains important knowledge for how you should live your day-to-day life and avoid health scams like X or Y diet. I'm not kidding when I say this class can change your life and your family's life, for the better.

In terms of grading, as long as you're able to memorise A LOT of detailed stuff and willing to not procrastinate (haha) and go to lecture, you'll ace the class.

Professor Esdin is one of the best professors I have had at UCLA, and PhySci 5 is such an awesome class. It's really one of the few classes where I feel like what you learn about nutrition, exercise and just how your body works is super applicable to real life.

The class has a midterm and a final that is noncumulative, as well as a workbook (but he just grades it for completion at the end of the quarter), a project that is pretty manageable and two quizzes that are online that you are assigned to do over a weekend.

Tips:

1) YOU NEED TO GO TO CLASS!!! Professor Esdin is a super entertaining and engaging professor, and he has a sign-in sheet and attendance actually ends up being a significant portion of your grade. Besides that, he sometimes hands out midterm questions and extra points. Also, his lectures will really guide you to what you should be focusing on in the course reader, since some parts of the course reader can be way more detailed than what he actually wants you to know for the exams. Definitely attend every lecture, you will not be disappointed by the time you took to do so.

2) Study the course reader; focus on what he says during lecture and make sure you know those sections of the course reader very well.

Useful class.
Selling my course reader, workbook and i-profile with good price. (Free course notes, review materials, and ideas about how to prepare for the examinations) If u r interested, please msg me at 424-201-1002 :)

I recommend you guys to take the class not only for a GE but also for your life. I learn a lot about diet and exercise and some of my misunderstandings of nutrition and health were broken up.

About the Class
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1. Attendance. there are sign-in sheets for each lecture. What is important for your success in the class is, Dr. Esdin will sometimes release one question that will be shown on midterm/final. There are four labs that need your participation. Each of them helps you to measure how your body functions. Very interesting.

2. Required materials. 1 course reader, 1 workbook, 1 i-profile. I recommend you buy second-hand since if you buy these things in the bookstore, it will charge you more than $100.The edition of course reader doesn't matter from my perspective. But you need to buy the workbook. I-profile is an online software on which you record you daily diet and exercise(Which is needed for the assignment).

3. Prepare for the exams. That's a tricky part. One of my friend even said: "To prepare for the class, just write down every thing he said...“ To some extend, that's true. The exams can ask really detailed questions. It seems like every sentence in the course reader can show on your exams. I didn't do well in my midterm but before finals, I fortunately got the idea about how to prepare for the exams. ①Attend the lecture. Dr.Esdin will emphasize the important things. ② attend the review session, go back to the pages that include the important things that he mentions. ③do not miss the free questions that he gives during lectures.

4. Dr. Esdin has accent but he is easy to comprehend. The class doesn't have bruin cast or slides.

Highly recommend:)