uwloo

EARTH 121Introductory Earth Sciences

Units
0.50
Faculty
Science
Subject
Earth Sciences

When it runs

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

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

This course will provide students with the foundational knowledge to become earth science literate, understanding Earth's influence on humans and human influence on the Earth. Students will learn to think like a geoscientist by adopting four ways of thinking that take into account a systems approach, a variety of spatial and temporal scales, and field thinking. Systematically learning about rocks, geological time, natural resources, natural hazards, and water in this course will prepare students to address many challenges currently facing society and to identify future potential opportunities.

Prerequisites

None listed.

Antirequisites

  • Not completed nor concurrently enrolled in any of the following:

Leads to

Fall 2026 sections

Enrolment from UW Open Data, which can trail Quest by up to two days. Instructors and rooms: Schedule of Classes.
SectionClassEnrolledMeets
LEC 001737969 / 73Online or by arrangement
LEC 0817287393 / 400Online or by arrangement
TUT 101738021 / 50F 08:30–09:20
TUT 102740148 / 55T 13:30–14:20

Reviewed on UW Flow

49% liked it75% easy31% useful

From 261 ratings and 72 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

  • This course is like if you poured 100 gallons of gasoline on a landfill and then lit it a flame. The discussion posts make you feel less than human and you throw all of your dignity away when replying to others. The field note journals are so incredibly tedious that you just give up halfway doing them. Why in the world do I have to write 2 1000 word essays about a damn rock. I am so lucky my TA would give me a hundred even if I handed in a picture made by my 3 year old blind cousin. Good luck trying to learn anything with this one

    Dec 2024 · didn’t like it · 5 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • w course, ez grading

    Aug 2026 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Extremely fake course when taken online. Despite not spending more than about 30 minutes a week on this, I still think it was a massive waste of time.
    Completely worthless class when 121L has similar content but you actually learn in-person with a real prof (Keith Delaney). Don't take this unless you need it to graduate.

    Oct 2024 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • For 1st years only: For what is meant to be a bird course, EARTH121 is tedious. TAs are really harsh for no reason. Lots of students I took this course with were really frustrated.

    Jan 2024 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Feedback on assignments was unclear, while the marking scheme itself was also very obscure; grading was harsh considering it’s a first-year course. Overall, easy to pass but hard to do well in. I feel like I learned more from E121L than I did in this course.

    Dec 2023 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

170 posts and comments in 142 threads mention EARTH 121, December 2011 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

Winter 2025 Bird courses - ARTS 2 points, 1 comment

“So I'm in 3B doing a double major, and last term while I was on coop trying to plan out my last 3 study terms, I noticed I had about half the required courses for a PSCI minor, so I thought why not …”

u/Horiphic: “… EARTH 123 and 223 are a great duo if you're interested in hands-on hydrology labs, and EARTH 122/121 are easy bird courses as well. …”

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Winter 2024

for upperyears 9 points, 10 comments

“hi! im currently in 1B and i guess i am struggling a bit. i understand it gets harder from here and i am actively trying to break bad habits and challenge myself more. …”

u/sarapkm: “… My petitions went through and I ended up transferring into environmental sciences out of desperation (and I really liked EARTH 121) Learning how to manage time for assignments is really important and has been key for me. …”

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Fall 2023

EARTH 121 TEXTBOOK 1 point, 1 comment

u/chomnks7: “Does anyone have a link or pdf for this textbook? I would really appreciate it. I'm lowkey going broke spending $$ on textbooks for other classes :( Tarbuck, Lutgens, Tsujita, and Hicock, (2019) Earth: An Introduction to Physical Geology, (Updated 4th Canadian Edition). Pearson. …”

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Spring 2023

Grad School GPA 1 point, 8 comments

“Hello, i am a 2b cs student who is potentially looking to go to grad school in either cs or mba. i am taking earth 121 as an elective and is actually doing so terrible in the course although i am …”

u/JodoYodo: “If it makes you feel better, EARTH 121 was the hardest course I took at UWaterloo through both my Bachelor's and Master's degrees in C&O. In my 4B term I studied more for the EARTH 121 exam than the rest of my exams combined.”

u/No_Marsupial_8574: “When I took EARTH121, it was a bird course with no assignments. That was a awhile ago. Now it's anything but that. I have to take the lab still, so I'm hoping the Lab is still okay. If anyone knows about the Lab, I would love to hear about it!”

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Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026

Calendar versions

Undergraduate Calendar