uwloo

SYDE 111Calculus 1

Units
0.50
Faculty
Engineering
Subject
Systems Design Engineering

Not in the current Undergraduate Calendar. Shown as it appeared in 2025–26.

When it runs

  1. F24
  2. W25
  3. S25
  4. F25
  5. W26
  6. S26
  7. F26
  8. W27
  9. S27

Ran in 2 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: not on the schedule. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.

Differential calculus: limits, continuity, derivatives, differentials, applications. Sequences and series: convergence, power series, Taylor expansions. Simple numerical methods. Introduction to integration, indefinite and definite integral, techniques of integration.

Prerequisites

Antirequisites

  • Not completed nor concurrently enrolled in any of the following:
    • MATH116 - Calculus 1 for Engineering (0.50)
    • MATH117 - Calculus 1 for Engineering (0.50)
    • MATH127 - Calculus 1 for the Sciences (0.50)
    • MATH137 - Calculus 1 for Honours Mathematics (0.50)
    • MATH147 - Calculus 1 (Advanced Level) (0.50)

Leads to

Reviewed on UW Flow

78% liked it42% easy90% useful

From 148 ratings and 27 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

  • Exams were fair, but quizzes were very difficult. A bit of a disconnect between the TA's and the prof. Assignments and quizzes were marked hard and the tutorials were absolutely USELESS.

    Dec 2015 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Prof Allison Cheeseman was very good at explaining and the course is set up to keep you on top of the content. The quizzes and exams were fair

    May 2026 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • The course was alright. The midterm and final were good but the making is super strict for some reason, so just make sure to double check your work incase anything is missing. Practise and study using previous years work since sometimes the questions also repeat. Cheeseman was pretty fair in my opinion.

    Dec 2025 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Pretty straightforward. The weekly problem sets were manageable and prepared you well for the quizzes.

    Dec 2025 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • The weekly quizzes are appropriately weighted and match the problem sets well. They prepare you for the midterm and final. My only problem is that marking on exams is very strict(you can’t answer the question a different way even if you get the right answer) but so be it.

    Nov 2025 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

11 posts and comments in 11 threads mention SYDE 111, August 2017 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

Winter 2024

Fall 2023

Engineering classes 1 point, 5 comments

“Hey guys i am in life sciences but my parents really want me to become an engineer (or a doctor) but i wanna check out maybe a lecture of engineering just to see what u guys have to go through. …”

u/Big_Steak7381: “Weird, but first year eng kids take a mixture of calculus (math116,117, syde111), linear algebra (math115), mechanics (ece105/phys115), chemistry (che102), and some computation/programming course like mte121 or ece150. …”

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Spring 2023

Fall 2022

Winter 2022

Fall 2020

Engineering ranked by Math Difficulty? 9 points, 18 comments

“In your opinion, how would you rank the difficulty/depth of math that each engineering student has to go through? (By major)”

u/1000Ditto: “mildly fcked: civil enviro geo mgmt eggplant level fcked: bme syde pineapple level fcked: mech tron se raccoon level fcked: che nano goose level fcked: ece”

u/emananoo_10_9: “Be ready for the FY Lin Alg course from hell in Nano, they tryna prep you for Quantum Mechanics. It is also worth noting that in FY for Calc: SYDE 111/ SYDE 112: BME, SYDE MATH: 117/MATH 119: Nano, ECE, Software MATH 116/MATH 118: Everyone Else”

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Admissions / High School Megathread (Fall 2020) 316 points, 7,386 comments

“I think we lost track of the old one somewhere, and this is to also help reset the expiry date (these threads archive after six months) Engineering Admissions Blog: https://theroadtoengineering.com/ …”

u/st_toronto: “Help me choose between management and syde!!! Management vs SYDE Y’all let me cut right to the deal. I’m a mid 90s student with decent extra curriculars along with shsm trying for management or syde …”

u/Xetrov821: “… In SYDE 111 (my first year math course), we have very similar content to the math courses of CS, j with less proofs.”

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Winter 2018

Admissions Megathread (Fall 2018 Incoming Students) 57 points, 466 comments

“Hello UW applicants, This thread is specifically for those who are applying/applied to UW to discuss different admission issues and ask current UW students for help and advice. …”

u/An0n-Ym0U5: “Is math in syde/BME really easy compared to other engineerings or the math courses offered by math faculty?”

u/MKYDG: “… For example, in SYDE/BME calculus (SYDE 111), we learned Taylor Series before Integrals whereas most other engineers learn Integrals before Taylor Series. …”

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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: “… 442A SWREN 442B SWREN 442R SWREN 443A SWREN 443B SWREN 443R SWREN 470R SYDE 101 SYDE 101L SYDE 111 SYDE 113 SYDE 121 SYDE 161 SYDE 181 SYDE 182 SYDE 202 SYDE 212 SYDE 252 SYDE 262 SYDE 283 SYDE 286 SYDE 292 SYDE 292L SYDE 401 SYDE 411 SYDE 461 SYDE 533 SYDE 543 SYDE 553 SYDE 575 …”

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Spring 2017

Incoming Students Megathread 67 points, 909 comments

“Hi all, If you are an incoming student, feel free to utilise this thread to ask for advice or information regarding classes and university life. …”

u/vicky_il_re: “Can someone give me a detailed list of all math chapters covered in the first term of Systems Design Engineering? …”

u/watson-and-crick: “The calendar descriptions for SYDE 111 and 113 are fairly comprehensive and accurate. Just go through them and use that as a stepping off point if you really want to use these next couple weeks”

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Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026

Calendar versions

Undergraduate Calendar