The Finite Element Method is a powerful mathematical tool that has significantly improved both the standard of engineering designs and the methodology of the design process in many industrial applications. This book is an introduction to the practice of the Finite Element Method and a comparison of solutions via its various methods. It also contains many 1-D and 2-D problems solved by FEM using both hand calculations and then by using commercial FEM software such as ANSYS and MATLAB. It includes a comparison of solutions to the problems obtained by the analytical method, FEM hand calculations, and the software method. It includes 35 solved problems using software applications such as MATLAB and ANSYS. It is accompanied by a DVD with projects, applications, and software.