Recapitulation of the basic equations of linear theory of elasticity and solving methods. Basic variation principles in the deformable body mechanics. Approximate methods for solving problems of continuum mechanics: Galerkin's method of weighted residual and Rayleigh-Ritz method. Finite elements and interpolation functions. Finite element formulations: direct method, weighted residual method and variational formulation. Accuracy and solution convergence by the Finite Element Method. One-dimensional (line) finite elements: rods (axial stress and torsion) and beam finite elements (Euler-Bernoulli and Timoshenko beam theory). Plane and spatial structures composed of line elements. Boundary conditions, governing equations of the finite element systems and solving methods. Overview and application of software tools based on finite element method.