ME 351Fluid Mechanics 1
- Units
- 0.50
- Faculty
- Engineering
- Subject
- Mechanical Engineering
When it runs
- F24
- W25
- S25
- F25
- W26
- S26
- F26
- W27
- S27
Ran in 6 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: scheduled, 2 lecture sections. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.
Physical properties of fluids and fundamental concepts in fluid mechanics. Hydrostatics. Conservation laws for mass, momentum and energy. Flow similarity and dimensional analysis as applied to engineering problems in fluid mechanics. Laminar and turbulent flow. Engineering applications such as flow measurement, flow in pipes, and fluid forces on moving bodies.
Prerequisites
- Complete all of the following
- Complete 1 of the following
- Must have completed the following:
- ME250 - Thermodynamics 1 (0.50)
- See corequisites
- Must have completed the following:
- Students must be in level 3A or higher
- Enrolled in H-Mechanical Engineering, or H-Mechatronics Engineering
- Complete 1 of the following
Corequisites
- Completed or concurrently enrolled in:
- MTE309 - Introduction to Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer (0.50)
Antirequisites
Leads to
Winter 2027 sections
| Section | Class | Enrolled | Meets |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC 001 | 4419 | 0 / 120 | MW 13:00–14:20 |
| LEC 701 | 1806 | 90 / 9999 | Online or by arrangement |
| TUT 101 | 4420 | 0 / 120 | F 09:30–10:20 |
Reviewed on UW Flow
64% liked it28% easy77% useful
From 116 ratings and 25 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.
Fluids 1 is by far the hardest course in 3A. The course covers the empirical and practical elements of fluid mechanics, as opposed to the theoretical side from Fluids 2. Therefore, the lecture concepts themselves are not too hard to grasp and it is pretty interesting to learn. However, this lulls you into a false sense of security, making you think you will do fine on the midterm and final. Instead you get grilled by long and harshly-marked exams which are much harder then content from lectures and tutorials. Lecture notes are also non-existent and you have to attend class if you have David Johnson. Additionally, the lab for this course is too long and tedious, but at least it is a mark…
Apr 2025 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
The course is organized. The lab is fine but very tedious. The midterm was not as bad as expected.
Apr 2025 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
Good introduction to fluid dynamics. Pretty interesting course, covered a lot of different topics that show up in your every day life! Not too difficult course topics, although the exams are definitely tricky.
Aug 2017 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
Hard course. Not too useful for most trons
Mar 2017 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
Really enjoyed this class, though it is one of the hardest courses in 3A. Exams really made you stretch your thinking and was a few levels harder than problem sets.
Apr 2025 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
Discussed on r/uwaterloo
9 posts and comments in 8 threads mention ME 351, September 2015 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
UWFlow - Thoughts on Rating Distribution View? 56 points, 10 comments
u/Range_Early: “Are you able to also add a feature to add profs that taught classes after the database block? So we can have info on new profs or profs that taught x class this year for the first time?”
u/Range_Early: “… For example Ryley McConkey has quite a few reviews for ME 351 (https://uwflow.com/course/me351), but since he only started teaching after UW took their information private you can't see the reviews about the professor (you only know its about him as they mention him by name). …”
Spring 2021
Mechanical engineering undergrad retrospective 201 points, 42 comments
u/doAbr00talroll: “… • ME351: I thought this was an extremely poorly taught course. The TAs were almost hostile to us and the prof severely overestimated his ability to teach us the content. …”
Winter 2020
[Serious] What should I expect from TRON? 36 points, 34 comments
u/tron_or_ece_hmm: “… ME: 119, 219, SYDE-182, 309, ME-321, ME-351, 322 ECE: 120, 262, 220, SYDE-252, 320, 325, ECE-484 I've read rants about many MTE courses, so I'm starting to question the quality of the content. Are they waste? A mess? Superficial? Boring? Fun? Well-structured? Theoretical? …”
Fall 2019
How is 3B Tron going? 11 points, 9 comments
u/3btron: “Is it fun? Is Mechatronics a mistake? How is it? ME 351 Fluid Mechanics MTE 322 Electromechanical Machine Design MTE 360 Automatic Control Systems MTE 380 Mechatronics Engineering Design Workshop MSCI 261 Engineering Economics: Financial Management for Engineers”
u/RabadonsTopHat: “This week is hell for 3B Trons, but otherwise the term seems not too bad”
u/doAbr00talroll: “Who's teaching you ME351?”
Fall 2017
Any way to disable UWCourseLinker from posting? 16 points, 26 comments
“posting a reply to my comment I find the bot annoying.”
u/Jackhofmann: “PSYCH 483 PSYCH 484 PSYCH 485 PSYCH 486 PSYCH 490R PSYCH 499A PSYCH 499B PSYCH 499C PSYCH 621 PSYCH 630 PSYCH 677A PSYCH 704A PSYCH 704B PSYCH 707 PSYCH 710 PSYCH 714 PSYCH 717 PSYCH 720A PSYCH 721A …”
u/Jackhofmann: “… ME 201 ME 202 ME 203 ME 212 ME 219 ME 220 ME 230 ME 235 ME 250 ME 262 ME 269 ME 300B ME 322 ME 351 ME 353 ME 360 ME 362 ME 380 ME 400A ME 401 ME 423 ME 435 ME 436 ME 456 ME 459 ME 481 ME 482 ME 548 ME 559 ME 561 ME 566 ME 599 ME 620 ME 627 ME 632 ME 651 ME 659 ME 662 ME 673 ME …”
Spring 2017
What courses are you taking this fall? 28 points, 129 comments
“With course selection and add/drop happening this week I figured this would be a cool discussion post. …”
u/SometimesICryAtNight: “3B Tron MTE322 - Electromechanical machine design MTE360 - Control Systems MTE380 - Project Course ME351 - Fluid Dynamics MSCI261 - Engineering Economics MUSIC140 - pop music it's gonna be a fun term! …”
Fall 2016
Share Your Exam Redemption Stories! 12 points, 19 comments
“With finals approaching, we should have a motivating thread where people share their stories of times they had poor(ish) grades going into finals but then completely turned it around. …”
u/Python9000: “In 3A, ME 351 Fluid Mechanics I, got 33 on MT ended course with 80. Thats the american dream”
Fall 2015
Transferring from Mechatronics to Systems (1A) 6 points, 10 comments
“Contemplating transferring from mechatronics to systems design. Love the electrical and programming components of mechatronics, but the mechanical design portion (especially mte100) is something I …”
u/annihilatron: “they're not that mechanically based. About 1/4 of your courses will be grounded in mechanics/kinematics only, 1/4 will be pure electrical/controlsystems, 1/4 will be motors and the mix of …”
u/annihilatron: “everyone has to take a thermodynamics course. Trons get this condensed version which is two courses in one. actually a programming course for hardware. …”
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