PHYS 256Geometrical and Physical Optics
- Units
- 0.50
- Faculty
- Science
- Subject
- Physics
When it runs
- F24
- W25
- S25
- F25
- W26
- S26
- F26
- W27
- S27
Ran in 5 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: scheduled, 1 lecture section. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.
Geometrical optics: image formation, ray tracing through multiple optical components, dispersion by prisms, optical fibers, optical instruments - eyes, telescopes, microscopes, and cameras, introduction to aberrations; physical optics: interference and interferometers, diffraction, imaging resolution, diffraction gratings and their use in spectroscopy; wave-particle duality; introduction to the electromagnetic nature of light and polarization.
Prerequisites
- Complete all of the following
- Must have completed at least 1 of the following:
- Complete 1 of the following
Antirequisites
- Not completed nor concurrently enrolled in any of the following:
- ECE404 - Geometrical and Physical Optics (0.50)
Leads to
Fall 2026 sections
| Section | Class | Enrolled | Meets |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC 001 | 7179 | 67 / 150 | TTh 16:00–17:20 |
| LEC 002 | 8398 | 147 / 150 | TTh 11:30–12:50 |
Winter 2027 sections
| Section | Class | Enrolled | Meets |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC 001 | 6929 | 0 / 60 | Online or by arrangement |
Reviewed on UW Flow
44% liked it40% easy54% useful
From 98 ratings and 31 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.
I had dropped this course last year, when Melanie Campbell was teaching it, due to the sheer level of disorganization within the course. I retook it this year and I had very high hopes with regards to how it was going to be facilitated. Unfortunately, with Dr Islam the course became needlessly difficult and painful to get through. Dr Islam had an unfair grading policy where only one-two questions were randomly selected for marking. As a result, in many of the assignments I received a decreased mark. My overall assignment average could have been significantly higher if this policy had not been adopted. Dr Islam also made the course much more difficult than it usually is. Please beware of…
Oct 2022 · didn’t like it · 5 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
This course was the most useful course I've taken so far as a physics major (in 2A) taken with Rajibul. Take the complaints against this course with a grain of salt. This course was designed so if you pay attention, you'll actually learn how to 'do physics' instead of using formulae. It also had an upper-yearish structure, with only 2/3 questions being marked, which honestly I have no problem with, but a lot of people took that to heart and loved complaining about it (although it was clearly mentioned in the syllabus). We learn really cool stuff, and office hours were a blessing to talk about more physics/understand the course better. Rajibul went out of his way to make our learning…
Nov 2022 · liked it · 2 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
DO NOT TAKE THIS COURSE UNLESS YOU HAVE TO
Dec 2021 · didn’t like it · 2 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
Maybe 1/3 of the recorded lectures actually play without some sort of error message because the prof doesn't know how to technology. There is absolutely no organization to the class whatsoever, I have no idea what to study, and there are like 4 copies of the same quiz because the prof doesn't understand how to use mobius. Half the lecture notes seem to just write an equation halfway and then just give up. Completely disorganized course. It is going to be a long semester. The first like 15-20 minutes of every lecture seems to just be the prof explaining which videos to watch because of the lack of organization on Learn, whether it be if lectures are not divided up into the right…
Sep 2021 · didn’t like it · 2 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
This course was very unorganized. I would not recommend taking it. It's gonna be a pain.
Sep 2021 · didn’t like it · 2 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
Discussed on r/uwaterloo
67 posts and comments in 52 threads mention PHYS 256, August 2012 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
PHYS 256 grades 1 point, 0 comments
Fall 2023
PHYS256 core 1 point, 0 comments
UWaterloo is a mental asylum 141 points, 25 comments
“DC1351”
u/Secret-Kangaroo-51: “TF is going on here”
u/eranand04: “PHYS 256??💀”
Spring 2023
Failing PHYS 122 (Scholz) 1 point, 3 comments
“I just got my grade back and it is just below 50%. Seriously, this course is so hard. I tried my best to get good grade on midterm and final, but it was just ridiculously hard. …”
u/neutrinorunner: “As suggested, discuss this with an academic advisor. But also consider once the term starts ask the professor teaching the course for an override. The exact same scenario occurred in my year and the professor teaching PHYS 256 gave overrides.”
u/Willroki301: “Did u have to retake PHYS122 after taking PHYS256?”
Winter 2023
Do I have to pass the lecture component of a course in order to get the credit for the lab component? 1 point, 2 comments
[deleted]: “For example if I was in PHYS 256 and PHYS 256L would I need to pass PHYS256 to get the credit for 256L”
Fall 2022
Your dose of Piazza Drama: PHYS256 assignment gets random questions dropped before grading, students are NOT happy (see comment for more info) 10 points, 24 comments
u/kalashnikovgobrrrr: “… PHYS256 is a course taught about optics by Professor Kazi Rajibul Islam. In the course outline, he made it clear that he and the TAs are only going to grade random questions in the assignments. …”
u/ReplEH: “Do most of your assignments not take hours to finish? It’s hard to know the exact difficulty of the assignments/course, but honestly I don’t think any of this is unfair from the professor.”
u/Illustrious_Sea39: “… PHYS 256 gets the worst of it because it’s the first course that does it. To be honest PHyS 256 has the easiest material delivered in the worst possible way. An easy course that I ended up with a 56. The average of the course was lower than my final mark. …”
Spring 2022
Advice for PHYS 256 0 points, 0 comments
u/Remarkable_Leg9657: “How is PHYS 256 overall? Is it a tough course? Is 80+ possible? Could someone please share their experiences about this course? I hear Dr Rajibul Islam is teaching it this year.”
Fall 2021
Phys 256 death 2 points, 1 comment
u/sin_cos_tan_: “Anyone else borderline sorta failing? Please tell me I’m not alone. Can we all cry together?”
Is there an emotional support group for PHYS 256 16 points, 3 comments
u/Tea_and_cookiess: “This course is killer”
doing well in phys 256 2 points, 2 comments
u/macmac101: “So from what I heard from others and experiencing the first tutorial of this course, it's pretty evident that prof campbell is a disorganized prof and relying on her notes only will be a recipe for disaster. …”
Spring 2021
Phys 225 or Phys 256? 0 points, 4 comments
u/ToTheMoon782: “… I heard Phys256 and Phys225 are both pretty easy to get high marks, but during the two days I was in Phys256 in fall 2020 the course taught by Melanie Campbell was very unorganized. Who is teaching Phys256 in the fall? …”
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