PHYS 175Introduction to the Universe
- Units
- 0.50
- Faculty
- Science
- Subject
- Physics
When it runs
- F24
- W25
- S25
- F25
- W26
- S26
- F26
- W27
- S27
Ran in 2 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: scheduled, 2 lecture sections. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.
A survey course in astrophysics intended for Physics and Astronomy students. Astrophysical processes, the sky, the Sun, stars, black holes, the Milky Way and other galaxies, Big Bang cosmology.
Prerequisites
- Complete all of the following
- Must have completed at least 1 of the following:
- Must have completed at least 1 of the following:
Antirequisites
- Not completed nor concurrently enrolled in any of the following:
- SCI238 - Introductory Astronomy (0.50)
Leads to
Winter 2027 sections
| Section | Class | Enrolled | Meets |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC 001 | 6799 | 0 / 150 | TTh 13:00–14:20 |
| LEC 701 | 2551 | 96 / 9999 | Online or by arrangement |
Reviewed on UW Flow
88% liked it71% easy81% useful
From 104 ratings and 27 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.
I'm an engineering student who took this course to fill an elective slot. Don't take this course for those reasons. Workload, while manageable, is high and hard to fit into an engineering schedule. The subject material is interesting but as a result, will take time and effort to understand. This doesn't feel like an intro course, there is a lot of computation. The final and midterm are fair since they're a rehash of the assignments, but it's still a lot to cram. This course made me hate Newton more than I already do and my biggest takeaway is that we should all smoke tobacco like Einstein because there is no way he wasn't high when he came up with the stuff we learn about.
May 2024 · liked it · 2 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
WARNING! not an easy course at all for those of you who choose this as an bird/easy elective course.
Nov 2017 · didn’t like it · 2 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
This course is a very interesting course that uses high-school physics (like Newton's law of gravity and basic relativity/quantum mechanics) to teach you really interesting stuff about the universe! You will approximate many things, and simplify expressions to give you the bigger picture about important physical concepts. The textbook was barely used for this class; only for the simple weekly assignments. The problem sets will make you think and require some good algebra skills, but the questions will generally guide you towards results you need to prove, or ask you to plug in numbers that will probably amaze you.
Apr 2017 · liked it · 2 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS!!! The other people's reviews made me take it, and i regret it so much. THIS IS NOT AN EASY CLASS. The problem sets are VERY hard and the lectures will make you leave not knowing anything. AVOID!!!
Jan 2017 · didn’t like it · 2 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
Ah, one of the most fun classes you'll be in. The course load is overall pretty light, although the bi-weekly problem sets can take a while. Overall, I am fascinated by how interesting our universe is; if you like Space and Cosmology, I'd definitely recommend this course.
Apr 2017 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
Discussed on r/uwaterloo
59 posts and comments in 50 threads mention PHYS 175, June 2014 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
How cooked am I next term 33 points, 27 comments
“https://preview.redd.it/sja2uyioa4ae1.png?width=652&format=png&auto=webp&s=da6f9cb5427cd275561128caa48f6851333be88b I am probably going to regret this. Is this too big of a course load?”
u/Surprised-Egg: “I had almost the same course load in 1B except I didn't have phys175, and I had the standard math courses (136/138), not advanced. …”
u/swaggyrabbit145: “I took a similar schedule to you last year, but with STAT230 and ECON102 instead of PHYS122 and PHYS175. Difficulty wise I think that if you find MATH145 and MATH147 okay then the 1B advanced classes should be doable. Time-wise for me was rough. …”
u/MapleKerman: “I know a guy who's doing this next term except CS 146 instead of 136 and ENGL 101B instead of PHYS 175. He had a 95 this term. You'll be fine.”
Fall 2023
SCI 207 vs SCI 238 1 point, 2 comments
“I liked Interstellar.”
u/Big_Steak7381: “take phys175 no balls (given youve taken physics 1 of some sort, if not take sci207 since Richard Epp teaches it)”
Spring 2023
How to get into different physics fields? 1 point, 1 comment
“I'm going into second year as a new Knowledge Integration student. I was originally a Physics and Astronomy student during fall 2022, but it was way too much and I couldn't handle it. …”
u/Big_Steak7381: “… You will also need PHYS 122 and PHYS 175 which are offered in the winter. PHYS175 requires just 121 is probably the most interesting and popular among the phys department and 122 is just kinda ass but I personally liked the content better than 121 (missed epps teaching). …”
Winter 2023
PHYS 175 1 point, 0 comments
Stat 230 grades are bimodal 9 points, 6 comments
u/chonglibloodsport: “I’m in PHYS 175 (but in 4th year) and we have a bimodal distribution as well. I think it’s just the pre-Covid and post-Covid cohorts.”
How can I drop a science course (PHYS 175) without dropping the accompanying lab (PHYS 175L)? 3 points, 1 comment
What’s been your easiest and hardest year so far? 10 points, 16 comments
u/TheRealArjun: “EZ: 1B - CHEM 123, MATH 138, PHYS 122/122L, PHYS 124, PHYS 175/175L Not EZ (tied in difficulty tbh): 3B - AMATH 353, AMATH 373, CS 436, CS 467, ECE 459, PMATH 332 4A - ECE 222, ECE 351, PHYS 434, PHYS 442, PHYS 454, PHYS 475 WT5 - ECE 350, ECE 454, Coop 5 4B is looking bad and …”
Fall 2022
how bad is this cs course load? 2 points, 4 comments
u/_IamAla_: “CS 466 Alogirthms Design and Analysis CS 350 Operating Systems CS 348 Introduction to Database Management CS 480 Introduction to Machine Learning PHYS 175 Introduction to the Universe I know PHYS 175 is birdy, and I have heard that all CS 466 350 and 480 are hard and consumes a …”
Winter 2022
Is anyone in physics and astronomy? 3 points, 7 comments
“Hi, I'm a 11'th grader planning on pursuing a degree in physics and astronomy. Yes I know that it's hard and that I'd have to do a PHD but I'm ok with that. …”
u/kalashnikovgobrrrr: “… PHYS175 - Astronomy, also quite interesting and basically a broad intro course to concepts such as history, our solar system, exoplanets, the universe, etc. Labs - Labs are quite fun, except if you have to do them online. …”
Anyone here in PHYS 122 or PHYS 175? 2 points, 2 comments
u/Technology_Evening: “Was anything posted yet? My learn page is completely empty, not even an announcement”
Fall 2021
Overloading in CS 1B (and is STAT 230 better in-person or online?) 0 points, 8 comments
u/Psychological_Fig399: “um i did math 136, math 138 cs 136 phys 175 stat 230 and an communications required course in 1b + work term search and i found it pretty draining. sometimes i had to sacrifice grades on a stat 230 quiz or fall behind on lectures but it is what is. …”
Spring 2021
How hard would you say this courseload is for 2A? 2 points, 6 comments
“Math 237 Math 245 AMath 250 CS 234 Phys 275 Been thinking about whether or not I should swap Math 245 with something easier.”
u/TheRealArjun: “… Phys 275 isn't really useful if you already took Phys 175 unless you're really interested in the content or are planning to do an astrophysics minor, might be more worthwhile to swap it for CS 246 or something.”
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