Geotechnical engineering deals with the behaviour of soils under the influence of loading from structures. It is one of the most important branches of civil engineering. It uses the concepts of soil and rock mechanics to model real world engineering problems, aided by empirical observations and a systematic classification of soil materials which seeks to correlate classification and physical properties with engineering behaviour. This course serves as an introduction to geotechnical engineering and covers basic concepts and terminology. It is a prerequisite course for the subsequent Geotechnical Engineering 2 (CIVE1108) and Geotechnical Engineering 3 (CIVE1159).