LIFESCI 15L
Life: Concepts and Issues Laboratory
Description: Laboratory, two hours. Enforced corequisite: course 15. Broad introduction to biology, with focus on scientific literacy and thinking. Topics include scientific thinking and decision making to interpret and analyze data, evolution and genetics, physiology (chemistry, nutrition, reproduction, endocrinology, and neurobiology), and human behavioral biology. Letter grading.
Units: 1.0
Units: 1.0
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2022 - Out of all the classes I've taken at UCLA so far, this was the only one I genuinely enjoyed going to. The professor is extremely engaging, and the material is actually interesting. The midterm and final are HARD--but the reviews that he holds the week of MTs/finals are very helpful. Basically he gives around 30 questions at the review sections that we should know the answers to, something like: "What are the effects of reciprocal altruism" and if you can answer and explain all the questions, you'll do fine on the final and midterm. I would call my mom and talk to her about all the questions and explain the answers to her and we'd have a discussion about them. She doesn't know the subject material, so it was like I was teaching the material to her, which really helped me piece it all together in my head, so I would recommend that strategy. Weekly quizzes were challenging at times, but only because the TA's are nit-picky. You do get a set of like six questions in lecture beforehand (optional, but one of them will be on the quiz so you should definitely do them), so it is not hard to prepare, just takes effort. Also, discussion sections are LONG but not a lot of work. You will have to do a presentation and a debate at some point during section, but as long as you meet together with your group beforehand and have a plan they're not that bad. The workload is doable, but it is kind of heavy. I didn't really read the textbook and I ended up with a B+, but like any other class, the grade you get will reflect how much effort you put in throughout the quarter. I went to/watched and took good notes on all the lectures, and studied a lot before tests, but still had plenty of time for my other classes. The slides are posted, but you'll need to either go to lecture or watch the BruinCast because he's not the type to write down all the information that you need on slides, usually it's just a diagram or picture and he'll explain it--which is nice, it's not like those classes where you take up 7 notebook pages copying notes from a board (boring). All in all, I would take this class again, and Dr. Phelan is my favorite professor of all time! He's really funny and passionate about what he's teaching, and he's and definitely in the top 5 favorite teachers I've had in my life.
Fall 2022 - Out of all the classes I've taken at UCLA so far, this was the only one I genuinely enjoyed going to. The professor is extremely engaging, and the material is actually interesting. The midterm and final are HARD--but the reviews that he holds the week of MTs/finals are very helpful. Basically he gives around 30 questions at the review sections that we should know the answers to, something like: "What are the effects of reciprocal altruism" and if you can answer and explain all the questions, you'll do fine on the final and midterm. I would call my mom and talk to her about all the questions and explain the answers to her and we'd have a discussion about them. She doesn't know the subject material, so it was like I was teaching the material to her, which really helped me piece it all together in my head, so I would recommend that strategy. Weekly quizzes were challenging at times, but only because the TA's are nit-picky. You do get a set of like six questions in lecture beforehand (optional, but one of them will be on the quiz so you should definitely do them), so it is not hard to prepare, just takes effort. Also, discussion sections are LONG but not a lot of work. You will have to do a presentation and a debate at some point during section, but as long as you meet together with your group beforehand and have a plan they're not that bad. The workload is doable, but it is kind of heavy. I didn't really read the textbook and I ended up with a B+, but like any other class, the grade you get will reflect how much effort you put in throughout the quarter. I went to/watched and took good notes on all the lectures, and studied a lot before tests, but still had plenty of time for my other classes. The slides are posted, but you'll need to either go to lecture or watch the BruinCast because he's not the type to write down all the information that you need on slides, usually it's just a diagram or picture and he'll explain it--which is nice, it's not like those classes where you take up 7 notebook pages copying notes from a board (boring). All in all, I would take this class again, and Dr. Phelan is my favorite professor of all time! He's really funny and passionate about what he's teaching, and he's and definitely in the top 5 favorite teachers I've had in my life.
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