I actually liked the class. Didn't know what to expect since its about plants, but I felt that Sack explained everything really well and drove home the important things to take from the slides. There are 'pink slides' in his lectures. If you just study those slides, you will get a passing grade in this class. The final is not cumulative which is helpful. It is not required to go to class (since everything is recorded), but it is nice to be able to talk to people around you about the topic and ask questions in person. I would say it is not heavy on memorization; it is better to understand concepts (how to apply it), and understand the general processes occurring within the plant. Stay on top of the pink slides (since it is easy to procrastinate), and I would say it is one of the easier upper divisions I've taken as an EE BIOL major.

Sack was not bad at all he was overall pretty chill but did ramble at times. I took this class when the Palestine protests and TA strike were going on which prompted our midterm and final move to online which was open note and collaboration with people was allowed as long as you used your own words. You have to buy the course reader to get access to his lecture notes and handouts. Discussion was mandatory but lecture was not. Your grade is mainly based off of the midterm (30% of ur grade) and final (40% of ur grade), he does offer an extra credit assignment at the end of the quarter which adds 5% to your overall grade. Overall, this class wasn't bad but does require memorization

I took this class during the strike of Palestine and the TA strike. Initially midterms and finals were in person but because of all the disruption he made it online as a free response. However, this will most likely not happen again since this only happened because of the strike. So expect your midterm and final to be in person. you have to buy a course reader the digital version I think was around 20 to 30 dollars. You need that reader since it gives you lecture slides and the questions you will need for midterm and final. Both tests will be non cumulative so thats nice. I would say that the content for the midterm was easier to study. you need to study ahead because there is a lot of content. For the final I think the content was a little harder but if you took biochem already it should be easy ( I didnt so I found it to be more difficult) there will also be more questions for the final than the midterm. lectures are recorded so no need to worry about going, but discussions were mandatory but it was mostly based on attendance there were never any worksheets due. you did have to do a weekly 100 word assignment and he also provided one extra credit assignment that was worth 5%. Overall, this class is based on a lot of memorization so be prepared for that and study early. Good luck bruins !

Before the start of this course, I had little interest in plants or their inner workings. I came to really enjoy this class and the subject matter. This class filled a requirement for my biology major and was a great alternative to taking chemistry courses that were offered in the same space. Dr. Sack really drilled home the importance of plants, their impacts on the ecosystem, how ecosystems impact them, and how plants relate to the energy systems of animals. The diversity of students' starting knowledge of plants is accepted and accommodated by Dr. Sack and his course. His exams were very fair and tested our knowledge of course materials rather than forcing too many theoretical analyses. Dr. Sack's passion for plants and teaching people about them is readily apparent in his lectures and enthusiasm throughout the class. He's thorough in his lectures, uses practice questions throughout them, and always invites people to attend his office hours for help or to discuss other topics related to course material. Course materials are all available via inclusive access. Discussions are mandatory but help clarify course content and go over practice questions. I highly recommend taking this class rather than a Chemistry course for the Biology upper-division energy systems class.

selling course reader for $30, text at ********** if interested

DO NOT TAKE HIM!!
This class was a complete waste of my time and Sack is a terrible professor. Not only does he base the ENTIRE course off only TWO big in-person exams, he apparently made his exams "harder" by now including information, not on the promoted "pink slide questions". I studied my butt off for the final exam only to receive a grade I was not expecting. I spent almost a week studying for this class and even prioritized the content of this course over my own major course content. The final included questions outside of the "pink slides" even though he tells his class that the only information found on the exam would be from those slides. Not only is he adding information on the exams that were not from the pink slides, but he added questions about things we didn't even cover during class time. Also, the course reader (which was $70 and the only way you could get a hold of his slides) was incredibly vague on some topics or it had way too much detail on other topics (to the point where the information began to confuse me). If this is your only STEM class for the quarter, then by all means take it. If you take a good week or two to memorize the entire course reader front to back, then you'll definitely get an A in the class. But if you have a life and don't have superhuman memory then you're doomed :)

Not to mention the professor himself is so incredibly condescending and thinks that the material in this class is common sense. I'm sorry babes but it's not.

Selling the course reader from spring of 2022 for $25. If interested contact me at *************.

I will have to disagree with the other reviews. I made a quizlet for both of the midterms and studied for 1 week before and earned high As on both exams. It is absolutely brute memorization, so if you are not good with memorization this is not the class for you. There are 2-3 questions per exam that are not directly from the pink slides and the answers are often given in the question if you read carefully. I think a lot of people expected to study the night before or 2 days before and earn an A. There is a lot of content in each unit exam, with a lot of terms to memorize, so you have to start early. Discussion is useless but you have to attend. The class content is very dry at times, so it is hard to stay interested. Overall this was one of the easier classes I have taken, and I would take this class again.

The exams weren't too difficult but required studying the course reader extensively. The final was pretty easy as it mainly contained questions from the "pink slides." Lecture material was pretty boring.

Get the course reader and study the front of it! I strongly relied on those for the tests and I did well in the class. Just focus on staying on track with the material and you will be fine. Tests were multiple-choice, one with about 40 questions and the other is 50. Course reader is a must!

The average for the midterm was an A minus. The exams are entirely multiple choice and the majority of questions he will ask are provided to you beforehand. However, because the tests are so straightforward, there is very little room for error given. Advice for lectures: skim the course reader before attending/watching recordings so you know when to pay attention. You only need to know what is precisely listed in the course reader, and a lot of what is said during lecture is fluff. If you can understand everything in the reader by yourself there is no need to watch lecture. The format of this class is not for everyone but I personally enjoyed it - no group projects, recorded lectures, no participation so I would just do other work during discussion, do flashcards for the coursereader info like a week before each exam.