CIVE 123Electrical Circuits and Instrumentation
- Units
- 0.50
- Faculty
- Engineering
- Subject
- Civil Engineering
When it runs
- F24
- W25
- S25
- F25
- W26
- S26
- F26
- W27
- S27
Ran in 4 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: scheduled, 2 lecture sections. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.
Charge, current, and voltage. Voltage and current sources, resistors, capacitors, and inductors. Ohm's Law, Kirchhoff's Laws, nodal analysis, instrumentation amplifier circuits, impedance. Function and characteristics of basic electrical transducers. Resolution, precision, and accuracy. Basics of data acquisition.
Prerequisites
- Complete all of the following
- Students must be in level 1B or higher
- Enrolled in H-Civil Engineering
Antirequisites
Leads to
No course lists it as a requisite.
Winter 2027 sections
| Section | Class | Enrolled | Meets |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC 001 | 4908 | 0 / 150 | MW 10:00–11:20 MW 10:00–11:20 Jan 25 13:30–14:20 Feb 1 13:30–14:20 Mar 8 13:30–14:20 Feb 24 14:30–16:20 |
| LEC 701 | 1982 | 0 / 9999 | Online or by arrangement |
| LAB 101 | 4909 | 0 / 75 | Th 08:30–11:20 Th 08:30–11:20 |
| LAB 102 | 4910 | 0 / 75 | T 08:30–11:20 T 08:30–11:20 |
| TUT 201 | 4911 | 0 / 150 | F 13:30–14:20 F 13:30–14:20 |
Reviewed on UW Flow
61% liked it70% easy52% useful
From 33 ratings and 7 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.
Ayman El- Hag might be the best professor you will have here. No joke he steals the show and even if you do not care about circuits, he will teach in a very engaging and clear way. He also has an amazing youtube channel with all the lectures and practice problems so you have no reason not to do great in this class. He also tied it into civil engineering a bit in the end which was cool. The course itself is split into 2 parts the labs (40%) and the midterm and final (25% and 35%). Midterm and final are very fair if you do practice problems you have absolutely nothing to worry about there wont be any curveballs and you can except a good grade. Labs are long and a bit tricky to figure out, but…
May 2026 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
Pretty fun learning about circuits
Apr 2025 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
W2024, John Saad taught the civils this term and he was delightful, passionate, and caring for his students' success. Course feels useless to civils until you begin the labs, then you realize that a fundemental understanding of circuits is a must, especially if you are going into structurral.
"Zis should be clear" - John SaadApr 2024 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
Is basic electrical engineering useful to someone in CIVE? No. Did I enjoy the content? No.
The prof [John Saad] was great and I can only see this course getting more interesting if he stays.Dec 2023 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this
Not terrible, exams very straight forward
Mar 2023 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
Discussed on r/uwaterloo
5 posts and comments in 4 threads mention CIVE 123, August 2019 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 2021
GENE 123 vs MTE 120 0 points, 3 comments
“Hey, I'm a CS student Which one would be easier GENE 123 or MTE 120 for DH specialization and what is the workload/ difficulty compared to Math 135 or CS 135”
u/1000Ditto: “gene 123 is just standard circuits1, me123 = gene 123 = cive 123 = ece140 mte120 is tron circuits the midterm for tron circuits is almost all of the circuits1 content”
Is anyone taking GENE 123 next term? (General Engineering course) 1 point, 4 comments
“Hey I was wondering if anyone one if you is taking this course next term . I heard that having friends is a perquisite.”
u/1000Ditto: “gene 123 is not a general engineering course gene 123 = me 123 = cive 123 = ece140”
Spring 2021
A Retrospective on Online First Year Civil Engineering 51 points, 29 comments
u/Intense_Stare: “… CIVE 123 Electrical Circuits and Instrumentation (Ayman El-Hag) Summary: “The labs may be tedious on super long, but you will thank us later” Evaluation Breakdown: \- 7 labs (super tedious and painful, but can be fun) \- lab project (no one tries because its end of term and you …”
Spring 2019
Switching programs 1 point, 8 comments
“I really want to switch from civil to mechanical engineering. But of course the program is full and I will have to wait for the end of 1A. …”
u/crono760: “… As a CIVE student you will need to re-take linear algebra, since your version will not be the same, also your circuits course (CIVE123) will be different from the mech circuits course (ME123), and your programming course is drastically different as well. …”
u/crono760: “… There are such vast differences that someone taking CIVE123 would not be able to understand what's going on in upper year mech courses (specifically ME269, the follow-on circuits course). Linear algebra as well is not similar. …”
Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026
- Undergraduate Calendar, 2026–27The official entry
- Requirements for Fall 2026Waterloo’s requisite checker
- Schedule of Classes, Fall 2026Instructors, rooms, live seats
- Quest Class SearchWhere you enrol
- Course outlinesSyllabi from past terms (UW login)
- UW FlowStudent ratings and reviews
- WClassesPast sections back to 2004, and who taught them