Esdin is a great lecturer and makes this class definitely worth taking. If you put effort in it's easy to get an A. Make sure you go to class though, especially on Fridays. He has "Hint Fridays" in which he'll tell you a code that you will have to answer on the midterm and final. I recommend actually reading the recommended reading, it provided an excellent base for much of the class.

Esdin is a really really great professor. Physci 5 is a fun GE and an interesting course. The class starts out with the digestive system, then goes on to the digestion of proteins, carbs and lipids, then to diabetes, cancer, a healthy heart and exercise. It taught me a lot about what things are happening to my body according to what I eat. My grandfather has diabetes type 2 so it was very informative knowing what caused the disease and what he can do and what he should eat so the disease does not worsen.

The class has lectures every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. They are 50 minute lectures. Then, you also have discussion which meets every other week.

TIPS:
1. Attend lectures, especially the friday ones. Esdin is a great professor because he explains concepts in detail and makes analogies to everyday things so all his students can understand. On fridays, he gives out questions that will be on the midterm or the final.
2. Do not procrastinate on the project. For me personally, the project really really helped boost my grade. It's easy. Just do a little a day and you'll be finished before you know it.
3. Go to the lecture before your second quiz! At the end of that friday lecture, instead of giving out a quiz or final question, he tells you to write down your name and ID number and you'll get a perfect on the quiz. The other people that didn't attend lecture will have to take it.

Point breakdown:
-2 quizzes that are 12 pts each
-dicussion attendance 20 pts
-a project that is 100 pts
-midterm that is 150 pts
-final that is 150 pts
=total of 444 pts.

The project is very easy, but it is tedious and takes a while to do. The first part consists of listing all the foods you've eaten for 7 days and all your activities for 7 days and entering it into iprofile. The second part consists of you performing different types of exercises to determine your fitness level. You then take the information you gathered from those two parts and write out what the information you have tells you and how you can change your lifestyle so you can avoid lifestyle diseases. I split up the work and did the project in the span of a week, just doing half a page a day. My discussion portion came out to be six pages.

To be honest, this class was a bit of a struggle for me. I have not taken a course similar to this at all during high school and the closest is bio, which I took freshman year of hs, so I basically came into this class with little to almost no knowledge about the body and diseases while a lot of other people had taken anatomy in hs. I am also a north campus major and this was just a GE that I picked out because it sounded interesting and had pretty good reviews. I failed the midterm with a 87.8/150 (yep), got perfect on attendance and the quizzes and the project and got a 125.5/150 on the final. The midterm and final is curved, so I ended the class with a B+. I studied really hard the last week before my final.

I am selling the course reader along with the iprofile. Text to ********** if you are interested. I can also give you my project so you can use it as a guide.

Well organized lectures and nice slow pace. He'll get you with the details though because everyone in LS 2 is premed (exaggerating, but still true) and studies everything. Put in the time and you'll make the curve.

LS2

Great professor! He is really engaging in his lectures and teaches a subject which I found extremely interesting. His lecture was at 9AM when I took him and I have to say, I only dozed off about 2-3 times in the entire span of his lectures for the quarter. That has something to be said. Keep in mind I doze off quite a bit in lectures but almost never in his early 3 times a day lecture.

LS 2:
I had Esdin for the second half of the quarter and I really like his teaching style. His exams are based off of lecture and notes alone, and he doesn't use the book, which is really nice because thats just less you have to study. That being said, be prepared to take very good notes. He's a great lecturer and goes over everything in detail so you really understand. I recommend recording his lectures because this class is not podcasted. Esdin is really helpful in office hours so really take advantage of that. He also holds review sessions before the midterm/final. The exams test you on your understanding of the material, not just pure memorization. However, it is not too difficult and I think his exams are really fair. He has multiple choice and short answer

I had Dr. Esdin for LS2, Fall 2009. Professor Esdin IS the best professor I had of the LS series. His lectures are interesting; he cares about his students; he doesn't go on random tangents, etc. etc. He is perhaps the best professor you can have for LS2. (My TA taught LS2 for 6 quarters and he can confirm this.) Just go to lecture and study the lectures notes (no textbook needed) and you'll be good. He likes to focus on small details to help create a curve and such - so make sure that you get the big picture first, then focus on the details. LS2 is an interesting subject, and Esdin makes it even more interesting - I think a lot of people switched to Physiological Science after taking this course.

Course Taken: LS 1
Professor Esdin is a brilliant man. He is very knowledgeable in his field and knows how to give engaging lectures. I was never bored once in his lectures. LS 1 is a very broad subject, but Esdin condensed the materials very well. Don't get your hopes up, this is still a lot of materials. Esdin is not one of those professors who simply reads off lecture slides. His lecture slides are well-condensed and straight forward, and he elaborates the materials further during lectures. Also, he sometimes have small movie clips in between, which are always interesting. His exam are somewhat challenging. He tests on his lecture slides, so that's all you really have to study from. But because of this, he can ask you ANYTHING on the slides, from a broad topic to one simple word that only appears once. This class is definitely doable if anyone is willing to put in the effort to memorize all the info.
Overall, Esdin makes LS 1 a much more interesting class than it appears to be. Definitely recommend him.

I took Dr. Esdin for LS2.

He is a great professor, the best I think in the LS department. While taking LS3, all I can think about is how much I miss his class. His class is straightforward and Dr. Esdin is very clear and understandable. He is super super super nice during Office Hours too. There is a lot of material and despite the fact he tries to condense it, there is still a lot of material. He only tests on his lectures slides and what he says in class so you don't need to buy the book which is super expensive. If you need to use the book, which you rarely do, you can go look at it in Powell library. Anyways, I recommend him to anyone taking LS1 or LS2. I'm actually waiting for him to teach LS1 so I can take it.

Selling physci 5 Winter 2014 edition course reader with required nutrition program disk for 60 dollars for both or 20 for disk and 40 for course reader.

Courses Taken: LS 1 and LS2
Professor Esdin is the best!!! I had him for both LS1 and LS2 and I wish I could take all my life sciences classes with this professor. He is very straightforward with what he expects you to know on the test. His tests only include material from lecture = no book needed. He posts all his lecture notes online and there are no surprises on his tests. I would definitely recommend taking him for any class!