Book excerpt: This book, in its third edition, continues to focus on the basics of civil engineering and engineering mechanics to provide students with a balanced and cohesive study of the two areas (as needed by them in the beginning of their engineering education). A basic undergraduate textbook for the first-year students of all branches of engineering, this book is specifically designed to conform to the syllabus of Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU). Imparting the basic knowledge in various facets of civil engineering and the related engineering structures and infrastructure such as buildings, roads, highways, dams and bridges, the third edition covers the engineering mechanics portion in eleven chapters. Each chapter introduces the concepts to the reader, stepwise. Providing a wealth of practice examples, the book emphasizes the importance of building strong analytical skills. Practice problems, at the end of each chapter, give students an opportunity to absorb concepts and hone their problem-solving skills. The book comes with a companion CD containing the software developed using MS-Excel, to work out the problems on Forces, Centroid, Friction and Moment of Inertia. The use of this software will enable the students to understand the concepts in a relatively better way. NEW TO THIS EDITION • Introduces a chapter on Kinematics as per the revised Civil Engineering syllabus of VTU • Updates with the latest examination Question Papers, including the one held in the month of December 2013