uwloo

CHEM 265LOrganic Chemistry Laboratory 1

Units
0.25
Faculty
Science
Subject
Chemistry

When it runs

  1. F24
  2. W25
  3. S25
  4. F25
  5. W26
  6. S26
  7. F26
  8. W27
  9. S27

Ran in 4 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: scheduled. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.

Selected experiments for students taking CHEM 265.

Prerequisites

Corequisites

  • Completed or concurrently enrolled in:
    • CHEM265 - Organic Chemistry 2 (0.50)

Antirequisites

None listed.

Leads to

Winter 2027 sections

Enrolment from UW Open Data, which can trail Quest by up to two days. Instructors and rooms: Schedule of Classes.
SectionClassEnrolledMeets
LAB 00166600 / 42T 14:30–17:20
LAB 701250732 / 9999Online or by arrangement

Reviewed on UW Flow

83% liked it57% easy97% useful

From 46 ratings and 9 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

  • tricky

    Dec 2025 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Since it's ran by Julie, it's automatically a great course. Although the experiments are pretty easy and straightforward, this lab is a lot of work but it truly is rewarding if you put in the effort. I did really well on the pre-labs, but post-labs brought down my mark quite a bit even when I felt like I answered really well (grading is quite harsh so put in the extra time to review your answers and that you've mentioned all the key points). Lab notebook grading is inconsistent between TAs so also beware of that, but it's only 5% of your grade so not a big deal. Pretty enjoyable lab!

    Aug 2025 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • The orgo lab 1 is definitely a lot of work, the post lab did take a lot of time to complete. The toughest lab in second year for sure. Do not do the lab reports last moment else you’ll definitely be in hot water.

    Apr 2024 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Prelabs and reports are lowkey brutal. Do not skimp on these, the grading is harsh. Definitely doable though. The lab itself was always very easy and fun, taught basic organic chemistry techniques.

    Apr 2023 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • There was an experiment every week with a pre-lab that took ~3 hours depending on the difficulty, and a post-lab that took no more than 5 hours. The hardest part was the spectroscopy questions (i.e. labelling the HNMR and identifying the peak values) on the post-lab. There are numerous marks related to formatting your answer for these questions so read over those rules thoroughly and ahead of time before doing the report! Lab books were marked easy, just make sure to read over the prelab notebook requirements ahead of time since these are easy marks you don't want to lose! The practical lab exam was fair and totally doable.

    Aug 2022 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

11 posts and comments in 10 threads mention CHEM 265L, 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.

Winter 2022

How much harder do these courses get? 7 points, 7 comments

u/p7171help: “… Biol 331 Chem 212 Chem 357 Chem 265L Chem 233L Chem 224L”

u/timetodeathh: “chem 212 is an absolute nightmare, ur guaranteed a fail or low grade when u take it unless u literally sell ur soul to the 212 gods chem 265L is stressful cuz u have to really understand the material and make up your own lab procedures, but the prof & TA are always there and …”

View on RedditRemove this

Winter 2021

Plan your degree! 562 points, 127 comments

“Hey UW, hope you all had an amazing break!!! We are extremely proud to announce the launch of UWPath today! …”

u/ferretsangle: “… 2) Chem 265L shows "prereq not met" despite having selected the correct courses. …”

View on RedditRemove this

Fall 2020

CHEM 494 2 points, 3 comments

“Can anybody speak about their experience doing a CHEM 494 project in either analytical or organic chem? …”

u/3point14luong: “… I do recommend taking the orgo labs (CHEM 265L and 360L, maybe 382L if you're in med chem or if you hate yourself) if you plan on doing your project in orgo. They cover very useful skills and concepts. …”

View on RedditRemove this

Science course selection 5 points, 16 comments

“Is: Chem 212, Chem 233, Chem 265, Chem 254 and Biol 241 doable in a term? &x200B; No lab components, just the lecture components. …”

u/homosexual_abit: “This is not doable and I wouldn’t recommend. You should consider 212 during a spring term because it’s offered many times throughout the year”

u/DragRace2020: “lol what? unless they changed course schedules this was literally the standard term for biochem when I took it except it also had the lab components. 2B term was: CHEM 212, CHEM 224L (6 hr lab), CHEM 233, CHEM 254, CHEM 265, CHEM 265L, and 1 0.5 unit elective.”

View on RedditRemove this

Winter 2020

Spring 2019

SPRING 2019 RESUME CRITIQUE MEGATHREAD 41 points, 160 comments

“As requested by the community, we will also have a separate thread for resume critiques. Post your resumes here and have someone look over/give advice! …”

u/vusonluong: “Hey friends, a 2B Biochem needs help here. Thanks to anyone giving advice on my resume. https://imgur.com/W9mlLDr”

u/vusonluong: “… I also didn't take CHEM 265L and 224L yet due to late enrollment. I also want to target more on Biology lab so will chemistry laboratory skills be that important? Again, thank you so much for helping me. …”

View on RedditRemove this

Winter 2019

Fall 2015

Winter 2012

Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026

Calendar versions

Undergraduate Calendar