this guy has some interesting stories about experiment and stuff

yes, yes. Very hard tests. With 40% of the 350 students getting Cs, better study hard.

He's a bit zany, but gets the point across. The tests are ridiculously difficult.

Very hard, but an A can still be obtained. Great teacher!

I love this guy, for the first time I am actually interested in the lectures. He has the best examples and makes everything so clear. A brilliant class.

You are competing against each other not the test, so make sure and dominate your friends!

Very hard, but not impossible. The final is unreal. Only doing good on Midterm and Lab will save you. Class is meant to break you, but its up to you if you want to become a doctor or not.

Excellent teacher! Chappell really makes you think...he does not want you just to memorize stuff but understand how stuff works...relate what you are learning to the everday environment...also his lec notes are key...understand and then memorize..A+ easy

MEMORIZE THE LECTURE NOTES....DO NOT READ THE BOOK....HE WORTES HIS OWN LECTURE NOTES FOR A REASON SO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT....IF U DO THAT U CAN GET AN A OR B IN THE CLASS.

I was one of the kids that received an A. His class is very, very tough--I got by studying only the lecture notes and past tests. The book provides too much information. The key is recognizing patterns in a huge amount of data and applying them elsewhere. Chappell's tests are very hard but fair.

Extremely knowledgeable and obscenely clear about his expectations, which are challenging but fair. If you listen to his lectures, take good notes, and ask *intelligent* questions, you will learn A LOT- the good grade is a side-effect.

He definitely isn't the nicest guy or the most approachable but his Animal Behavior class is THE best class I have ever taken. A year on and I still remember his examples. They are interesting, a bit different and totally relevant. Take the class and take it seriously and it will be awesome for you!

Pray for 60% on 1st midterm, and get an A in lab or forget about it. Final is impossible

This has got to be the most intense lower division class out there. Very very hard course, but couldn't have been taught any better than Chapell did. I survived with a B studying old tests, lecture notes, and reading! Lemme reiterate on the fact that this is a very hard test, but dood, Chapell wrote the damn book---he knows whats good for us.

First off I was able to get an a- in this class, but it was challenging. Being interested in evolution and animal physiology is helpful. Dr. Chappell is very clear, and articulate; and if you open up your book, you'll notice that he is a contributor to the book if you read the title page, so there's no doubt that he's qualified to teach.

I'm a second-timer veteran. He taught better this quarter, though his exams were truly extremely difficult even after taking the class a second time. Study notes and you will do fine.

He is an okay professor. Be sure to understand every thing on his lecture slides. what I mean by that is to treat his lec notes as ur bible. as for the book...only read it to fill in some of the gaps. His midterm was hard, but he curves so no worries there. u can still get an A in his class if u study really hard.

His class is pretty hard. Likes to read off of the slides and in some lectures he adds some slides so you end up missing some stuff. Midterms were hard, so study hard for those. Overall, good teacher, just hard.

study for the tests. discussion is easy points, but u gotta participate. lots of articles to read.

all of his questions are fair game, but they are extremely hard! make sure you know every word from his lectures, even his wild examples! the book isnt really needed, just memorize the slides!! GOOD LUCK!!

Excellent professor. Engaging lectures with great examples. Tests are difficult, but fair. I think I ended up getting a B in this class.

5B w/Chappell is probably the super hardest class. Average on the final was 32/80; midterms around 50%. Make sure to read, memorize and understand this notes by heart, and also know things that may look stupid to you. He looks mean but he is very knowledgeble. Even though he's super tough, i did learn something valuable from him.

Dr. Chappell does not ask too much of his students. He wants you to know the material and be able to think using it. His notes are excellent and he's quite helpful during office hours. His tests are fair and they test your ability to read, learn, and think just like the MCAT so many of you hope to be taking. Walked out with an A+.

It is true his tests are challenging, as he himself stated it, but it is also true he grades accordingly. Lectures were extremely entertaining. This is a class you should take if you are in love with the subject. Discussion is important and it can really bump up your grade.

The whiners here probably just encountered their first college-level class. Things only get tougher, people. His tests are difficult, but very little that the lecture notes don't prepare you for. Know those notes. The book will round out lecture info, but is not necessary.

I do not think that he is as hard as people say. Just go to lecture and study his notes. I did not use the textbook at all. People are exaggerating, for those who say that they bombed the final, well most of the questions on the final were from the second professor, and not from chappell

Tough class that requires both a ton of time and dedication. The tests are very hard, but are fair. He does however, give you all the information you need to answer each and every question during lecture. It is a very challenging course overall.

Freaking hard! You need to devote a lot of time to truly understanding the subject instead of just pure memorization. I would have done a lot better if I didn't have to devote my time to Chem1C and Phys2C as well as Chappell's class. Textbook is not needed, his lecture slides are thorough enough for the course.

EASY CLASS!!! take this guy...his tests are the hardest you'll ever take, which is to your advantage. The average will be VERY low, so it'll make your score look GREAT hahahaha. but seriously, you shouldn't have a problem if you usually get A's in the rest of your classes. I got an A no problem...

This has to be the hardest class I ever took. You could study the hardest you ever have and still get and everage in the class. Yet, the subject was fun to learn. Do good on the clicker questions, and ull do fine in the tests.

his notes are great and you don't even need your book at all, except maybe for the labs. his exams are sort of straightforward as long as you can memorize the details in his notes. this class in general covers the most material of all 3 biol5 quarters. class avg is low, which is good.

I already retook bio 5a, so the stakes were high. I COULDN'T mess up again. Many of these reviews are Negative but I came in as an Underdog having Retaken bio 5a. But, I attended SI, studied my butt off a week before the final, went to class regularly & got a B+. so don't let ppl make it seem impossible cuz its not! Good Luck! Aim for an A!

Honestly u get what u put in to this class. If u KEEP up with the lectures and reread them, the whole quarter ull be just fine. plus lab helps your grade. I got an A in this class while taking ochem 112a and phys 2c. hard but not impossible..

Definitely made class harder than it had to be. Exams were more annoying than difficult. Every single question was in the slides; don't bother with the book. Get every lab and clicker point, and you're set.

One of the worst classes I've taken at UCR. You really do get to know the material... but the tests were not reasonable or fair. Definitely was a class where they try and wean people out of science and medicine in particular. Study, study, study!

After reading all the bad reviews on this professor's page I had the guts to enroll and took my chances. I studied, but I don't think I studied quite enough because I came out with a C+ (about 50% on both midterms and final and a B in the lab), which I can't complain about. But be warned, HARD AS HELL. The people posting here aren't joking.

Be warned, this guy is really difficult. Questions are really long and often wordy. Chappell is a really good professor but he makes his exams really difficult. I got average on both midterms, did well in lab, and failed the final but passed with a C. Make sure you do well in lab because it will save you in the end!

Easy. Don't even bother going to lecture. Read the book and walked out with an A+.

Do read over his lecture notes twice before class and more than ten times after class for I'm sure you will get a decent grade in exchange. Labs are very important and please by all means pay attention to the TA's and try not to leave until the lab session is over. Ask questions in both lecture and lab. I received an A and so can you!

Insanely hard tests. Really emphasizes critical thinking and applying what you learned. Not your high school bio class.

Midterms are insanely hard, but the class as a whole is not as impossible as everyone makes it out to be. There is lots of studying involved but just memorize slides and you will be fine.

You may as well get used to it because most of your upper division classes will be as hard as his bio 5b. For upper division classes this man is a god! He is really smart and wants you to think, but he DOES account for the fact that his tests are difficult. Also, he's not the jerk everyone makes him out to be. Try talking to him and he's just fine.

Word of mouth is that his class is insanely hard and to avoid it at all costs. Although I agree with the part about it being extremely difficult, I maintain much respect for Dr. Chappell. He loves what he teaches and wants you to as well. He tests for comprehension, not memorization. Be prepared to study study study, but he's a great teacher.

Dr. Chappel is a professor that does not mess around. His exams are not only difficult, but tricky as well. You don't need to read the book so focus on the slides he presents in class. He is a great lecturer, and very helpful when you ask questions. Keep in mind, getting an A in 5B rare, not just in Chappel's class.

Dr. Chappell is hard but its a fair hard. He expects you to think outside of the box instead of just memorizing everything. Read all his lecture notes, go to the lectures, and read the lecture notes some more. Also try to use his clicker questions to see how he could ask test questions.

The other comments about this course really freaked me out but I still decided to take the course and I don't regret it. Chappell is tough but you will learn so much from him. His lectures are so interesting. Go to lecture, take good notes and go over his outlines.

He responds promptly to e-mails--every time I e-mailed him, he responded in less than 5 minutes. He is very good at lecturing, but his tests are very tough. He expects you to know very intricate details that distinguish certain classes of invertebrates from others.

I honestly had no idea what I was doing but still ended up with an A.

He's a very good lecturer and explains things pretty well, but he really expects you to have understood the intricate details that he teaches. Half the battle when it comes to the midterm is just to finish, considering every question is reading-intensive. His clicker questions suck, and seriously. STUDY.

Exudes apathy when faced w student issues affecting performance. Believes enough leeway is "built-in" like clicker question requirement. Never missed class & I still got 70% (69%) Q's on 2 midterms and final are cryptic and take more time to comprehend than whole test itself. Curve saves at end. Exam "review" waste of time. Study pwrpts & read.

Tests aren't based off memorization but understanding of the concepts and material, put in the work and you'll do good, its weeder class but he's a good teacher. definitely knows his stuff.

Nature Photography Professional. He does not mess around when taking photos of animals. His nature photography game is strong... 10/10

Greatest biology professor ever! Exams are easy and his lectures are the greatest as they are high energy. You have to take his class because he's going to make biology GREAT again! You can't stump the Chappell. Praise the Q10 effect!!!!!

Honestly, he's a good teacher but his tests are hard so SELF STUDY. Pay attention in class & record his lectures, this helps alot. Study material before the lecture & work hard from the beginning. It's definitely possible to do well. I could have gotten an A but I was so scared at first that I screwed up the 1st midterm. Did well later on.

Chappel has a BAD reputation for Bio 5B. But he really gets into teaching Animal Beh 160. He is straightforward, clear, and keeps you interested. You can definitely skip lecture and learn everything from his slides. Participation matters in section: you present a research paper, do an ethogram assignment (it's OK but few instructions given on it)

respect respect

Just study the lecture slides and go to office hours

He is an extremely tough teacher in terms of content however if you can master his content you will do well in his class. Make sure to write down and memorize all his lecture notes and know the phylogenetic tree like your life depends on it. I liked how he had interesting facts at the end of his lectures. Put in the work to get the grade you want.

He is very good at lecturing. The only reason people think he is bad is because his tests take alot of critial thinking. There is alot of empasis on the phylogenetic tree. If you don't know it you will fail.