AMATH 361Continuum Mechanics
- Units
- 0.50
- Faculty
- Mathematics
- Subject
- Applied Mathematics
When it runs
- F24
- W25
- S25
- F25
- W26
- S26
- F26
- W27
- S27
Ran in 2 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: scheduled, 2 lecture sections. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.
This course presents the derivation of the equations that govern the macroscopic description of solids, liquids, and gases. The necessary mathematical tools for the description are also introduced. Topics in this course include the continuum hypothesis, forces unique to a continuum and their mathematical description, solid materials versus flowing continua, the Lagrangian and Eulerian descriptions of flow, the Reynolds transport theorem and its use in deriving conservation laws, the Euler and Navier-Stokes Equations, and various applications.
Prerequisites
- Complete all of the following
Antirequisites
None listed.
Leads to
No course lists it as a requisite.
Winter 2027 sections
| Section | Class | Enrolled | Meets |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC 001 | 5577 | 0 / 48 | TTh 11:30–12:50 |
| LEC 701 | 2265 | 28 / 9999 | Online or by arrangement |
Resources
Around the web
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Reviewed on UW Flow
100% liked it38% easy91% useful
From 10 ratings and 4 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.
A robust introduction to fluid & solid mechanics. Did some MHD at the end, but it felt pretty rushed. This course is extremely similar to fluid mechanics (AMATH 463). You cover less content, but are more rigorous with mathematical derivations. I took fluids before this course which definitely helped, but I could see this course being quite difficult without this background. Make sure you understand assignments & prepare for a hard final.
Apr 2026 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
I was really bad at this course but it was very interesting and I would recommend taking it.
Sep 2021 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
This was a very interesting course! I didn't really know what this course would be about, but I had fun in it and I'm glad I took it. Note that for the first half of the course, the assignments focus on understanding the math and in the second half, the assignments focus on understanding the physics. The final was hard.
May 2017 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
Interesting course, but I wasn't a big fan of how everything was presented. The content was great, but a lack of proper course notes/text for reference made this course difficult. Would like a different approach/more resources available.
May 2017 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
Discussed on r/uwaterloo
20 posts and comments in 17 threads mention AMATH 361, January 2012 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.
Fall 2024
What course teaches fluid dynamics for the MCAT? 2 points, 2 comments
“I'll just preface this by saying this is a purely hypothetical question (I am not a pre-med, otherwise why would I be in MathPhys to tank my GPA & have no electives?). …”
u/sheep_herder102: “I’m in MathPhys too, I think it’s very strange we get taught practically nothing about fluids. We have to wait till AMATH 361 and 463 to take these as electives.”
Spring 2024
Fun PHYS & AMATH Courses 5 points, 1 comment
u/eranand04: “seems like u have AMATH 250, MATH 237, PHYS 121. If u like lin alg: PHYS 234, 334 ,434, AMATH 373, 473, 474. If u like DE: PHYS 363, AMATH 361. If u like vector calc: PHYS 242, 342, 442”
Spring 2023
What's a course that you think everyone should take? 50 points, 41 comments
“Just curious about people's experiences, and why they think everyone should take it. also i'm looking for first year electives and open to any ideas lol”
u/Pitiful_Following_68: “… (These include, math 137P (Calc 1), amath 271 (Advanced Theoretical Mechanics), amath 353 (PDEs 1), amath 361 (Continuum Mechanics), and sometimes a reading course (amath 495). …”
Fall 2020
Anyone taken CO 487 (applied cryptography) before? 5 points, 8 comments
u/descuit: “… I have the following course (amath 353, phys 359, amath 361, phys 334). Would it be doable to take co 487 with these courses? Is it a course that you spent a lot of time studying for? …”
Is PMATH 370 Chaos and Fractals useful for a physicist/applied mathematician? 2 points, 8 comments
“I would like to take a course on non-linear dynamics due to research interests but the course description says it mostly focuses on discrete systems. Is there any point to take it for my purposes? …”
u/BubonicPython: “I'd say the course (at least when I took it in the Winter) was more of an interest-based course than a really tough, rigorous math course. …”
u/jenphys: “Not sure if this is relevant but Amath 361 continuum mechanics is a good course. Also a stepping stone to fluid dynamics of that's your thing.”
Spring 2020
is it possible to take a mechanical engineering while a science student 0 points, 7 comments
“i want to learn about fluid dynamics but i'm in mns and i don't think there's a science version of any fluid dynamics classes”
u/smellsliketrouts: “There's AMATH 361 Continuum Mechanics. Marek Stastna from the Water Institute teaches it, he's super cool. Edit: also check out AMATH 463”
Winter 2020
How hard is it to override into physics related AMATH courses? (for a Hon physics student) 6 points, 4 comments
u/neutrinorunner: “Specifically the ones which are physics related, like Continuum Mechanics (AMATH 361), Fluids (463), and Calculus of Variations (456). I'm on Honours physics instead of Math phys so I don't get to take MATH 237 and AMATH 231 but instead I only finished MATH 227. …”
Fall 2019
Taking AMATH 361 without taking AMATH 351? 5 points, 1 comment
u/vandewhatering: “So it's been awhile since I made my spreadsheet of courses to take, but as I have it written down, AMATH 351 is a prereq for AMATH 361. I'm trying to take them out of order and figure I'll just get a course override or something. …”
u/c_aaaaaaaa_m: “I took AMATH 361 with Marek last winter, and don't recall anything from 351 really coming up, other than things like Laplace transforms which were in 250 as well. …”
Winter 2019
How are the physics professors here? 2 points, 34 comments
“I'm in first year and haven't come across any great professor apart from Richard Epp. Are the upper year professors also bad?”
u/cabbagemeister: “Out of the professors I've had some sort of interactions with: Top Tier: Avery Broderick (Stars, Planets), Richard Epp (121/124/263), Eduardo Martin-Martinez (GR) Good Tier: Rajibul Islam (optics, …”
u/cabbagemeister: “… Equations 2 (also in SCI) AMATH 353 Partial Differential Equations 1 (also in SCI) AMATH 361 Continuum Mechanics (replaces PHYS363 and can be taken as an elective) AMATH 373 Quantum Theory 1 (also in SCI) You should be taking PHYS434 and PHYS442 even if you're in the math …”
u/cabbagemeister: “AMATH271 might have a better prof than PHYS263 (most of the time), but you could just take AMATH271 in your 2a like my friend did then take AMATH361 instead of PHYS363. …”
Fall 2018
Advice Needed on AMATH 361 & STAT 230 1 point, 4 comments
u/962rep: “So I'm planning my courses for next term, and it looks like this as of right now: &x200B; PHYS 242 PHYS 234 AMATH 332 AMATH 231 STAT 230 &x200B; And I want to take AMATH 361 Contiuum Mechanics (AMATH 231 is a prereq and Partial DEs and ODEs 2 are coreqs but I have no problem …”
Winter 2018
AMATH/PHYS/PMATH courses with no final exam, or that are project/assignment oriented? 2 points, 4 comments
u/maractite: “… has a fairly low-weighted final exam (my offering was 30%) in addition to a final project, AMATH 361 tends to have a project component now, PMATH 370, although again, most of these courses are in the winter You could also probably look into the special topics/readings courses …”
Interesting 300/400 level math courses to take for degree requirement? 1 point, 3 comments
“I enjoyed the stats and calculus courses I have taken thus far the most (i.e. STAT231, M237, AMATH231, AMATH250, STAT371/372). …”
u/Kakateo: “I took AMATH 351 with Edward Vrscay, which is ODEs 2 (continuation of AMATH 250/251) and I really enjoyed it. There's also AMATH 361 which is Continuum Mechanics, and I've heard good things about it taught by Michael Waite.”
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