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MTE 309Introduction to Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer

Units
0.50
Faculty
Engineering
Subject
Mechatronics Engineering

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, 2 lecture sections. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.

Macroscopic approach to energy analysis. Energy transfer as work and heat, and the First Law of thermodynamics. Properties and states of simple substances. Control-mass and control-volume analysis. The essence of entropy, and the Second Law of thermodynamics. The Carnot cycle and its implications for practical cyclic devices. Introduction to heat transfer by conduction, convection, and radiation. Basic formulation and solution of steady and transient problems. Issues relevant to the cooling of electrical devices.

Prerequisites

  • Complete all of the following
    • Must have completed the following:
      • MTE202 - Ordinary Differential Equations (0.50)
      • MTE203 - Advanced Calculus (0.50)
    • Students must be in level 3A or higher
    • Enrolled in H-Mechatronics Engineering

Antirequisites

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

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
LEC 00149850 / 130TTh 09:30–10:50
LEC 7012011114 / 9999Online or by arrangement
TUT 10149860 / 130F 10:30–11:20

Reviewed on UW Flow

60% liked it61% easy45% useful

From 40 ratings and 3 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

  • This course is hard. Definitely spend the time to do the problem sets because you will need it even to just pass.

    Jul 2026 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Had Dongqing Li, exams were completely open book weighted 50/50. Exam questions were ripped straight from his lecture examples so go to class.

    Dec 2023 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • I could like the problems taught in this course and the methods used to solve them if they were taught in an interesting way. Beware Fraser, he uses the same slides he did in 1996, no joke in fact there may have even been an earlier date on a few documents.

    May 2022 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

2 posts and comments in 2 threads mention MTE 309, May 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.

Winter 2020

[Serious] What should I expect from TRON? 36 points, 34 comments

“Hi all, I recently accepted my offer for Mechatronics Engineering at Waterloo (yay). However, as I keep reading about people's experiences with the program on this subreddit, I'm not really sure what …”

u/ApatheticPost: “… - MTE 309 - Thermodynamics: All engineering programs take thermo. I liked it and thought it was interesting. ECE: - MTE 120 - Circuits: Everyone takes this. It was fine but a pretty typical 1st year intro course. - MTE 262 - Digital Logic: Easy course. …”

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Spring 2019

Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026

Calendar versions

Undergraduate Calendar