uwloo

PHYS 234Quantum Physics 1

Units
0.50
Faculty
Science
Subject
Physics

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

Background of quantum physics. Introduction to formalism of quantum physics. Introduction to operators. Quantization, waves, and particles. Spins and Dirac notation. The uncertainty principle. The Schroedinger equation for one-dimensional problems: bound states in square wells, harmonic oscillator, transmission through barriers.

Prerequisites

  • Complete all of the following
    • Complete 1 of the following
      • Must have completed the following:
      • Must have completed the following:
    • Must have completed at least 1 of the following:
      • MATH114 - Linear Algebra for Science (0.50)
      • MATH115 - Linear Algebra for Engineering (0.50)
      • MATH136 - Linear Algebra 1 for Honours Mathematics (0.50)
      • MATH146 - Linear Algebra 1 (Advanced Level) (0.50)
      • PHYS249 - Linear Algebra for Physics and Astronomy (0.50)
    • Must have completed at least 1 of the following:
      • MATH128 - Calculus 2 for the Sciences (0.50)
      • MATH138 - Calculus 2 for Honours Mathematics (0.50)
      • MATH148 - Calculus 2 (Advanced Level) (0.50)

Corequisites

  • Completed or concurrently enrolled in at least 1 of the following:
    • AMATH250 - Introduction to Differential Equations (0.50)
    • AMATH251 - Introduction to Differential Equations (Advanced Level) (0.50)
    • MATH228 - Differential Equations for Physics and Chemistry (0.50)

Antirequisites

  • Complete all of the following
    • Not completed nor concurrently enrolled in any of the following:
      • CHEM356 - Introductory Quantum Mechanics (0.50)
      • ECE305 - Introduction to Quantum Mechanics (0.50)
      • PHYS233 - Introduction to Quantum Mechanics (0.50)
    • Not completed 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 00168000 / 120MW 11:30–12:50
LEC 701254760 / 9999Online or by arrangement

Reviewed on UW Flow

80% liked it40% easy81% useful

From 137 ratings and 33 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

  • Tutorials are useless and too short to do the questions yourself, there is a quiz at the end that is not based on any content covered in the tutorial. The lectures are spent deriving equations without explaining their use or the context for when you need them. Assessments are only midterms and a final, the midterms were fair but the final covered content barely mentioned in class/practices.

    Apr 2026 · didn’t like it · 3 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • the prof goes way too fast and spends the entire lecture deriving an equation without telling you what you're doing. tutorials were useless, the worksheets are barely solvable in the short amount of time youre given and the ta just copies the solution onto the whiteboard. they expect you to have done every practice question in the textbook and understand the material forwards and backwards. half of the class doesnt even have the prerequisite math knowledge to do well, the only people that understand whats going on are the math physics majors

    Mar 2026 · didn’t like it · 3 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • The course content itself was probably the most interesting of any class I've taken so far. Quantum Mechanics is easily some of the most interesting and fun content in the physics degree so far. However, the way the course was taught negatively impacted this experience. The lectures were spent deriving theory without bridging into applications, it was difficult to see the "why" behind the math. It is a rewarding class because of the concepts, but the class's poor organization and a lack of context made it hard to enjoy. for the syllabus, it was never explained how a massive 25% of our grade (the tutorials) was actually being distributed or calculated. It was a huge oversight and very poor…

    Apr 2026 · liked it · 2 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Very fun course and very fun prof. If you're worried about the LinAlg requirements - as long as you just understand what an eigenvector and eigenvalue is (which should be taught at least in MATH228 anyway), you'll be fine. The course is not as hard as I thought it'd be.

    Aug 2023 · liked it · 2 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • I am a free particle

    Aug 2023 · liked it · 2 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

167 posts and comments in 120 threads mention PHYS 234, November 2010 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.

Spring 2024

CO481 5 points, 1 comment

u/EcstaticPepper37: “How is CO481 for someone who has taken PHYS 234? I know no prior quantum knowledge is required for the course but does it help if you have taken a quantum physics course before?”

u/batson2002: “i took the course without phys234 but did lots of linear algebra and found the first half of the course to be relatively easy, but the second half of the course after the midterm was very very hard because it turned into quantum algorithms and the prof was not helpful at all. …”

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Rule change? 11 points, 7 comments

“Hey, this is a stupid question but I noticed that I don't have to wait until August 18 to get my final exam grades back. My friend also got his grades back right away. …”

u/Impressive-Damage108: “wat class is this?”

u/Mundane-Crow-3572: “I got my final exam grades back for phys 234 and phys 242 on learn, not quest though. My friend is in some 400 level geography course and he got his back too. I've never gotten my final exam grades back before the date the university sets to release grades. …”

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Winter 2024

After phys 122 for depth (math faculty) 1 point, 5 comments

u/primary_sloth: “… I was inclined to take phys234 but it requires an AMATH coreq (which I am not very keen on taking lol). Andddd I haven't heard great things about optics. I am interested in physics in general and I loved phys 121 and 122. …”

u/SU__2__: “PHYS 234 (in my offering) was a pretty great course. Most profs will be willing to let you override into without the AMATH 250/251 course pre-req if you email or ask them to sign an override form after one of their lectures.”

u/DarkerJava: “I'm taking PHYS 234 this term to complete my depth (using an override), and I think that MATH 235 knowledge might be helpful, though I'm not sure yet if it is absolutely necessary. …”

u/primary_sloth: “I am not planning to take CS467, tho I'm still taking math235 next term cuz I wanna take cs484 later. I might take phys234 with/after math235. Thanks for sharing!”

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Spring 2023

Quantum Physics 2 (PHYS 334) Recorded Lectures? 0 points, 2 comments

“Hey guys, a Mac student here looking to take PHYS 334 during the winter 2024 term. Are the lectures recorded by any chance? …”

u/__scoper__: “… A good portion of the course was just review of PHYS 234 and for the portion that wasn't, you don't really get involved with the nitty-gritty derivations (for instance solving PDEs). That might be a good thing or a bad thing depending you. …”

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[Recommendation] Take PHYS 468 110 points, 37 comments

“Hey, I'm teaching PHYS 468 this Fall, a course which introduces the inner workings of four types of quantum computers. I wanted to encourage people to take it. …”

u/goataguero9: “Hi Professor, will you be teaching this course again this upcoming fall term?”

u/goataguero9: “… do you think i could manage in this course with just phys 234? …”

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phys 234 1 point, 1 comment

u/goataguero9: “hey had to miss lectures today just had a few questions - will the prof be posting notes & readings for lectures? also what was covered td :)) thanks a ton !!”

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Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026

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