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LECTURES 17 TO 21, FEBRUARY 18, MARCH 3, 4 AND 10 2004

ERRORS AND ADJUSTMENTS
TYPES OF ERRORS
Mistakes: Must be checked and eliminated.
Systematic Error: Repeatable and is governed by physical laws. Factors
contributing to systematic error and the size of their influence must be understood.
The magnitude of systematic is estimated and eliminated at the stage of data
reduction and
Random Error: Represents the precision of a measurement technique and is
generally considered to be normally distributed with zero mean. In other words,
random errors of smaller magnitude are more frequent than those of larger magnitude
and positive and negative random errors of equal magnitude occur with equal
frequency.
DEFINITIONS
Measurements can be independent or conditioned. For instance, if two angles of a
plane triangle are considered independent, the third is conditioned. An observation could
be direct if the quantity of interest is directly measured or indirect (e.g., coordinates
calculated using a GPS receiver). An observed value is obtained after eliminating all
known errors. True value is one that is free from all errors and is usually not known.
True error is the difference between true value and observed value. Most probable
value is one for which the probability of its being the true value is the maximum. Most
probable error is the quantity that gives the band about the most probable value within
which the true value would lie. The most probable error of weighted average of n
different observations is given by:
) 1 (
6745 . 0
2

=

n w
e w
E
i
i
i
ri i
R
(1)
where, e
ri
, is the deviation of a single measurement from the mean. The most probable
error of a sum of uncorrelated quantities,

i
i
, is Square Root of the Sum of Squares
(SRSS) of the most probable errors of each individual quantity. The average error in a
series of measurements of equal weight is defined as the arithmetic mean of absolute
values of individual errors. The mean square error, on the other hand, is the square root
of the arithmetic mean of squares of individual errors.
Residual error is the difference between the observed value and the most probable value.
Observation equation is one that relates several observed quantities. A condition
equation or a constraint equation is a fundamental relationship that connects several
dependent quantities, e.g., the sum of four angles of a plane quadrilateral is 360
o
.

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THE LAWS OF WEIGHTS
The Weight of an observation quantifies the precision and reliability of the measurement.
For instance an observation with a weight of 4 is four times as reliable as another with a
weight of 1. Weight of an observation is inversely proportional to the variance of the
observation. In surveying weight is typically assigned as follows:
The weight of an angle varies directly with the number of observations
The weight of a level line varies inversely as the length of the route
If an angle is measured a large number of times, its weight is inversely proportional to
the square of the most probable error
The corrections to be applied to various observed quantities are inversely proportional
to their weights.
Since weight of an observation is proportional to
2
1 , where
2
is the variance and
since variance of sum of pA and qB,
2
qB pA+
, is given by
2 2 2 2 2
B A qB pA
p p + =
+
,
where A and B are uncorrelated normally-distributed random variables and p and q are
constants, the following laws governing weights can be derived:
The weight of an arithmetic mean of a number of observations is equal to number of
observations
The weight of the sum of quantities is the reciprocal of the sum of reciprocals of
individual weights
The weight of the product of any quantity multiplied by a constant is the weight of the
quantity divided by the square of the constant
The weight of an equation remains unchanged if all the signs of the equation are
changed
The weight of an equation remains unchanged if it is added or subtracted from a
constant
If an equation is multiplied by its weight the weight of the resulting equation is the
reciprocal of the weight of the original equation.
THE LEAST SQUARES PRINCIPLE
A good survey is designed with in-built redundancy, i.e., the number of constraint
equations for solving the quantities of interest is more than necessary. Such a system is
referred to as over-determined. Consider a system of n unknowns and n
o
independent
equations (n < n
o
). Several sub-sets of size n can be chosen from the set of n
o
and solved
for the set of unknowns. Each of these solutions is likely to return different solution set
because of the presence of random error in the data. If it can be assumed that all the
observations are uncorrelated, one approach of obtaining the most probable solution in
such a situation estimated from all these solutions by minimizing the squares of
residuals.

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Uncorrelated Observations of Equal Precision
For instance, if a quantity is measured n times (n > 1) with equal precision, an individual
observation, d
i
, relates to the most probable value according to: d
i
+ e
ri
= d

. The
least-squares principle calls for minimization of ( d

- d
i
)
2
, i.e., ( d

- d
i
) d

= 0 (recall
LHospitals rule). Hence, d

= d
i
/n.
That is, the least-squares estimate of the most probable value from repeated uncorrelated
measurements is identical to the arithmetic mean of the measurements.
Now, consider that all the three angles of a plane triangle were measured in a
triangulation survey. They were
i
. Let us assume
i
= 180
o
+ . Our objective is to
distribute the closure error and obtain the most probable values of the angles using the
least squares approach. The objective function, , to be minimized here is:
2
2 1
2
2
2
1
) (
r r r r
e e e e + + = (2)
Equating
1 r
e and
2 r
e to zero, one gets e
r1
= e
r2
= e
r3
= /3. This means if the
angles of a plane triangle are of equal weight the angles are equally corrected for the
closure error. This is in agreement with the recommendation that the closure error be
equally distributed between backsight and foresight.

Uncorrelated Observations of Unequal Precision
For adjusting the uncorrelated observations unequal precision the objective function to be
minimized is:

=
i
ri i
e w
2
(3)
Differentiating partially with respect to the most probable value, d

= =
i
i i
d d w d 0 )

( 2

, from which

=
i
i
i
i i
w l w d / ) (

= weighted mean of the

observations.
For the three angles of a plane triangle measured with unequal precision, it can be shown
that the closure error must be distributed in the inverse proportion of the weights of the
three angles (see method of correlates).
Indirect Observations
In matrix notation the least-squares solution for observation equations b Ax = can be
expressed as:
( ) Pb A PA A x
T T
1
= (4)
where A is the coefficient matrix, x is the solution vector and b is the measurement
vector, and P is the diagonal matrix populated with the weights (reciprocal of the
variances) of the observation equations.
Example 1. The following readings were obtained at the upper, middle and lower stadia
wires to determine the tachemetric constants:

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Readings
Distance (m)
Upper Stadia Wire Middle Stadia Wire Lower Stadia Wire
30.000 1.433 1.283 1.133
55.000 1.710 1.435 1.160
90.000 2.352 1.902 1.452
Solution. For 30.000 m distance the difference between upper and lower stadia readings
is 0.300 and that for 90.000 m distance is 0.900. It is clear from these measurements that
the multiplicative constant for the tachemeter is 100 and additive constant is zero. This is
an over-determined problem and least squares method could be used to verify this.
Here
(
(
(

=
1 90 . 0
1 55 . 0
1 30 . 0
A ,

=
90.000
55.000
30.000
b and
(
(
(

=
1 0 0
0 1 0
0 0 1
P . The corresponding
solution vector is ( )
)
`

0
100 1
Pb A PA A
T T
.
Example 2. Equation (11) is used in the following example involving measurement of
three angles measured as follows: = 39-14-15.3, = 31-15-26.4, = 42-18-18.4, +
=70-29-45.2, + =73-33-48.3. The objective is to find the Most Probable Values of ,
and . The matrices are formed first adopting the so called method of differences, in
which the simultaneous equations are formulated in terms of the most probable errors and
not the quantities themselves:
(
(
(
(
(
(

=
1 1 0
0 1 1
1 0 0
0 1 0
0 0 1
A ,
(
(
(
(
(
(

=
1 0 0 0 0
0 1 0 0 0
0 0 1 0 0
0 0 0 1 0
0 0 0 0 1
P ,

=
5 . 3
5 . 3
0
0
0
b ( )

= =

875 . 0
75 . 1
875 . 0
1
Pb A PA A x
T T
.
where x is a vector here comprised of the most probable errors of the three angles. Now
we get the most probable values of the angles by adding the most probable errors to the
observations as follows: 18 . 16 14 39 875 . 0 0 0 3 . 15 14 39
1
= + = + =
r
e etc.
The above problem can also be solved by first forming the Normal Equation for one
unknown quantity by multiplying each observation equation by the product of the
algebraic coefficient of that unknown quantity in that equation and the weight of
observation and adding the results. For instance, the normal equation for is formed by:
5 . 3 2
5 . 3
0
2 1
2 1
1
= +
)
`

= +
=
r r
r r
r
e e
e e
e
. Similarly for e
r2
and e
r3
, the normal equations are:
0 . 7 3
3 2 1
= + +
r r r
e e e and 5 . 3 2
3 2
= +
r r
e e , respectively. Solve the three normal
equations simultaneously to obtain the least-squares estimates of the most probable errors
and hence the most probable values, ,

and .

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Assignment: Five stations, A, B, C, D and E were established (Figure 5) consecutively
in that order on a straight line. In a four-station calibration exercise, the observed
distances, AB, BC, CD, AC, BD and AD were 50.000 m, 50.070 m, 50.050 m, 100.090 m,
100.010 m and 150.080 m, respectively. All measurements are of equal weight. Find the
zero error.

Figure 5. Four-Station EDM Calibration
Hint: Considering (a) AB, AC, AD, BC, BD and CD in sequence and (b) the coordinates
of B, C and D and the zero errors as unknowns, the coefficient matrix becomes
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(

=
1 1 1 0
1 1 0 1
1 0 1 1
1 1 0 0
1 0 1 0
1 0 0 1
A
Observation Equations Accompanied by Condition Equations
One approach is to eliminate one or more unknowns using the condition (or constraint)
equations. An alternative approach, called the method of correlates, is illustrated in the
following.
Consider four angles,
i
, were measured to close a horizon, i.e.,
= =

i
ri
i
i
e 360 , where is the angle of closure. The objective function
2
ri
i
i
e w

= is minimized by 0 0 = =
ri ri
i
i
e e w . To enforce the condition
equation, the differential form of the condition equation, 0 =
ri
i
e , is multiplied by
correlative, , and added to the equation above giving
i ri
w e / = . Back-substitution of
this result into the condition equation and solving for the correlative:

=
i
i
w / 1 / .

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Example 3. Following are the observations from a differential leveling survey:
Segment Elevation
Difference (m)
Distance (m)
AB 8.272 187
BC 7.654 274
CD 4.267 54
DA 11.750 98
Here a positive difference of elevation indicates the second station on a segment is higher
than the first. Find the most probable elevations of B, C and D if the elevation of A is
67.432 m a.m.s.l. using the method of correlates.
Solution. Misclosure = 8.272+7.6544.26711.750 = 0.091 m. Denoting the most
probable errors in AB, BC, CD and DA by e
rAB
, e
rBC
, e
rCD
and e
rDA
, respectively, we can
write the following constraint equation:
m 091 . 0 = + + +
rDA rCD rBC rAB
e e e e (A)
Differentiating:
0 = + + +
rDA rCD rBC rAB
e e e e (B)
Since the weights of the four observations are inversely proportional to the segment
length, the objective function can be expressed as
98 54 274 187
2 2 2 2
rDA rCD rBC rAB
e e e e + + + =
Hence
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) 0 98 54 2 274 2 187 2 d = + + + =
rDA rDA rCD rCD rBC rBC rAB rAB
e e e e e e e e (C)
Multiplying (B) by and subtracting the result from (C)
( ) ( )
( ) ( ) 0 98 2 54 2
274 2 187 2
= + +
+
rDA rDA rCD rCD
rBC rBC rAB rAB
e e e e
e e e e


(D)
Hence,
0 98 2 and 0 54 2
, 0 274 2 , 0 187 2
= =
= =


rDA rCD
rBC rAB
e e
e e
(E)
Substituting these results into (A), ( ) 091 . 0 2 98 2 54 2 274 2 187 = + + + , from which
m. 10 969 . 2
4
= Substituting into (E), m, 028 . 0 =
rAB
e m, 041 . 0 =
rBC
e
m. 008 . 0 =
rCD
e The most probable elevation difference between A and B is thus 8.300 m.
Hence, the most probable elevation of B is 75.732 m. Similarly the most probable
elevations of C and D are 83.427 m and 79.168 m, respectively.