Soil Mechanics Introduction

This is an introductory course in a series of courses intended to to give the civil engineering technician and the technology student a sound basis in the field of soil mechanics. The course deals with soil as an engineering material and how properties of soils can be defined to predict their behaviour under various circumstances. The study includes origin and characteristics of soil deposits, soil types and structures, common terminology and formulas, site investigation, soil stresses and shallow foundations. Routine lab tasks such as weighing materials, reading scales and handling equipment are used to follow established procedures so that specific information can be collected.