uwloo

ECE 240Electronic Circuits 1

Units
0.50
Faculty
Engineering
Subject
Electrical and Computer Engineering

When it runs

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

Ran in 5 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: scheduled, 3 lecture sections. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.

Introduction to electronic signal processing; second-order circuits; operational amplifier circuits; diode device and circuits; metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) biasing networks; load-line analysis; diode and MOS small-signal equivalent circuits; single-stage small-signal MOS amplifiers; complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) logic circuits.

Prerequisites

Corequisites

  • Completed or concurrently enrolled in at least 1 of the following:
    • ECE205 - Advanced Calculus 1 for Electrical and Computer Engineers (0.50)
    • MATH211 - Advanced Calculus 1 for Electrical and Computer Engineers (0.50)
    • MATH213 - Signals, Systems, and Differential Equations (0.50)

Antirequisites

None listed.

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 0014752127 / 155TTh 10:30–11:20
F 09:30–10:20
Sep 11 10:30–11:20
Sep 25 10:30–11:20
Oct 9 10:30–11:20
Oct 30 10:30–11:20
Nov 13 10:30–11:20
Nov 27 10:30–11:20
LAB 201475434 / 44Sep 22 13:30–16:20
Oct 6 13:30–16:20
Nov 3 13:30–16:20
Nov 17 13:30–16:20
Dec 1 13:30–16:20
LAB 202475540 / 44Sep 23 13:30–16:20
Oct 7 13:30–16:20
Nov 4 13:30–16:20
Nov 18 13:30–16:20
Dec 2 13:30–16:20
LAB 203475641 / 44Sep 24 13:30–16:20
Oct 8 13:30–16:20
Nov 5 13:30–16:20
Nov 19 13:30–16:20
Dec 3 13:30–16:20
LAB 204508612 / 32Sep 25 13:30–16:20
Oct 9 13:30–16:20
Nov 6 13:30–16:20
Nov 20 13:30–16:20
Dec 4 13:30–16:20
TUT 1014753127 / 155M 15:30–16:20

Winter 2027 sections

Enrolment from UW Open Data, which can trail Quest by up to two days. Instructors and rooms: Schedule of Classes.
SectionClassEnrolledMeets
LEC 0014581140 / 155MThF 10:30–11:20
Jan 19 10:30–11:20
Feb 2 10:30–11:20
Feb 23 10:30–11:20
Mar 9 10:30–11:20
Mar 23 10:30–11:20
Apr 6 10:30–11:20
LEC 0024586114 / 145MThF 13:30–14:20
Jan 20 15:30–16:20
Feb 3 15:30–16:20
Feb 24 15:30–16:20
Mar 10 15:30–16:20
Mar 24 15:30–16:20
Apr 7 15:30–16:20
LEC 70119512 / 9999Online or by arrangement
LAB 201458338 / 40Jan 25 13:30–16:20
Feb 8 13:30–16:20
Mar 8 13:30–16:20
Mar 22 13:30–16:20
Apr 5 13:30–16:20
LAB 202458438 / 40Jan 26 13:30–16:20
Feb 9 13:30–16:20
Mar 9 13:30–16:20
Mar 23 13:30–16:20
Apr 6 13:30–16:20
LAB 203458537 / 40Jan 27 13:30–16:20
Feb 10 13:30–16:20
Mar 10 13:30–16:20
Mar 24 13:30–16:20
Apr 7 13:30–16:20
LAB 204513627 / 35Jan 28 13:30–16:20
Th 13:30–16:20
Mar 11 13:30–16:20
Mar 25 13:30–16:20
Apr 8 13:30–16:20
LAB 205458832 / 40Jan 25 08:30–11:20
Feb 8 08:30–11:20
Mar 8 08:30–11:20
Mar 22 08:30–11:20
Apr 5 08:30–11:20
LAB 206458930 / 40Jan 26 08:30–11:20
Feb 9 08:30–11:20
Mar 9 08:30–11:20
Mar 23 08:30–11:20
Apr 6 08:30–11:20
LAB 207501630 / 40Jan 27 08:30–11:20
Feb 10 08:30–11:20
Mar 10 08:30–11:20
Mar 24 08:30–11:20
Apr 7 08:30–11:20
LAB 208510822 / 25Jan 28 08:30–11:20
Feb 11 08:30–11:20
Mar 11 08:30–11:20
Mar 25 08:30–11:20
Apr 8 08:30–11:20
TUT 1014582140 / 155F 14:30–15:20
TUT 1024587114 / 145F 09:30–10:20

Reviewed on UW Flow

56% liked it21% easy82% useful

From 223 ratings and 45 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

  • Useless for computer engineers. First half is 140 again, so just get as much as you can on the midterm because you def won't know whats going on in the final.

    Jan 2023 · didn’t like it · 2 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • professor doesn't post solutions to the problem sets. you're better off learning by putting the questions through chat or claude to get some idea of a solution and filling in the gaps yourself.
    the best way to keep up with this course is by doing each pset the day it's posted. going to class is a hit or miss because for the first half of the term he just showed you useless derivations of formulas you need to solve the questions, but didn't show you how to use them. second half, getting into mosfets and amplifiers, his lectures became a little more useful.
    this is not a course you can cram for the night before. really spend the time throughout the term doing pset questions.
    midterm was…

    Dec 2024 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • I was spared from levine. Prof did not get pset answers, so you could not tell if you were right or wrong and course was somewhat poorly organized. Your course experience will be very prof dependent.

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

  • I had Lan Wei. GRIND PSET. GRIND PSET. GRIND PSET. Some of the exam questions were either the same or super similar to psets. Ask upper year friends for previous midterm exam (she does not release final) and grind those. When you do the pset, try your hardest to not look at the solution, even when you're stuck. Write what you know, any equations you might want to use, talk aloud about ways you would attempt solving. Then, if you get stuck, refer to lecture material, look stuff up online, watch a youtube video. Go back to the question, and try to solve. If you're still not able to get it, then partially look at the solution to give you an idea for what to do next. This is how I did every…

    Apr 2023 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Still can't believe I passed this course

    Aug 2022 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

367 posts and comments in 294 threads mention ECE 240, August 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

Where are all the cute MOSFET 35 points, 2 comments

“Please I just want a cute, smart, hardworking, and loving MOSFET that can calculate his own voltage gain by himself😭All the MOSFET in Uwaterloo are either ugly, smelly, emotionally unavailable, or …”

u/VeryGood-667: “Just suffering from ECE 240 a few days ago ![gif](emote|freeemotespack|sob)”

View on RedditRemove this

Spring 2024

2A vs 1B ECE difficulty 1 point, 3 comments

“Is 2A harder to perform well in compared to 1B? I struggled a lot this term but right now, I think I'm passing with a decent average. …”

u/Saen_OG: “2A really depends on the professors. If you have Levine for ECE 240, then be prepared. Personally, it was one of the hardest courses in my undergrad.”

View on RedditRemove this

Winter 2024

Incoming CE Student Advice 6 points, 7 comments

“Hi everyone, I am an incoming CE student and I wanted to clarify something. I think in the long run I want to settle for a SWE position because I’ve been coding for a few years now and I like it but …”

u/ulkerfuckingcookies: “… some pretty famous weeder courses in each semester of the younger years (ece105, ece106, ece240) i would say the workload between 1A to 3A is amongst the highest of all engineering programs at waterloo. …”

View on RedditRemove this

RIP 353 points, 64 comments

u/dasreaper22: “… As much of a piece of shit Levine is for what he does to CEs in ECE 240, at least Levine can back up his smugness with a PhD from Columbia, this guy is something else entirely. …”

View on RedditRemove this

ECE 207 without ECE 240 2 points, 3 comments

u/just-for-fun-lol: “… I realized ECE 140 and ECE 240 are prerequisites for this course but I didn't take ECE 240. I have heard that ECE 240 is not really needed for ECE 207 and my advisor also suggested I could take it without having the ECE 240 credit. …”

u/Sarikai_: “207 as in signals and systems? You don't need ECE 240 at all from what I can remember.”

View on RedditRemove this

Fall 2023

Do People from other countries already know the content? 36 points, 16 comments

“I saw a Uwaterloo meme a few days ago (made years ago) about some stereotypes for foreign exchange students who start struggling after 2nd year because they weren't taught it back in mainland China. …”

u/torido314159: “ECE 140 is physics 11-12 in my country. ECE 240 could be in grade 12 if you happen to specialize in physics at a cracked magnet highschool in my country.”

View on RedditRemove this

Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026

Calendar versions

Undergraduate Calendar