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Areas and Volumes: Don Hunter, PLS California Department of Transportation
Areas and Volumes: Don Hunter, PLS California Department of Transportation
8
AREAS AND VOLUMES
Don Hunter, PLS
California Department of Transportation
Introduction
Area is the surface within a set of lines, expressed in square units, as in
“square feet.” The area within a triangle is the surface within three sides. The
area of a circle is the surface within the circumference. One of the objectives
of land surveys is to determine the area of a parcel of land. There are a
number of methods used for calculating areas, including the use of double
meridian distances and coordinates.
Volume is defined as the amount of material occupying a certain space,
expressed in cubic units, as in “cubic yards.” Data obtained from engineering
design surveys are used to calculate earthwork quantities. The standard
method for calculating earthwork quantities is the average end area method.
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Key Terms
Sector Segment
Polygon Regular polygon
Quadrilateral Parallelogram
Trapezoid Trapezium
Trapezoidal rule Simpson’s 1/3 rule
Latitudes Departures
Northings Eastings
DMD Prism
End area
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Areas and Volumes
= 90°
L = 188.50'
R = 120.00'
225.00' Parcel A
= 90°
L = 251.33'
R = 160.00'
125.00'
23
0.8
70.00' 7'
220.00' 280.00'
5 +94
Lake
0 + 00
5 + 43
5 + 04
4 +54
2 + 97
2 + 18
0 + 88
Traverse Line
Station Offset
0+88 78.5 ft
2+18 49.0 ft
2+97 81.0 ft
4+54 25.5 ft
5+04 68.0 ft
5+43 70.5 ft
8-3
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5 +94
Lake
0 + 00
5 + 05
4 + 55
4 + 05
3 + 55
3 + 05
2 + 55
2 + 05
1 + 55
1 + 05
0 + 55
5 + 43
4 + 80
4 + 30
3 + 80
3 + 30
2 + 80
2 + 30
1 + 80
1 + 30
0 + 80
• Trapezoidal rule
O1 O
A=S ( + O2 + O3 + . . . + n)
2 2
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Areas and Volumes
N 1,710
E 2,040
N 1,680
C E 2,150
N 1,670
E 1,945 B D
N 1,600 A N 1,620
E 1,910 E E 2,260
F
G N 1,530
N 1,500 E 2,110
E 2,000
8-5
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Volumes
• Parrallelopipeds
• Prisms
• Volume by average end area
Volume in cu yd
L (A1 + A2
)
2V =
27
Where:
L = Distance between end areas, A1 and A2, in ft
A1 A2 = end areas
A1
A2
C
L
L
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Areas and Volumes
C R = 50.00'
R = 104° 59' 00"
PARCEL 1
305.27'
5.
A highway, R/W 100 ft wide, is to be acquired from the owner of Lot 15 as
shown on the sketch. Point “A” is the centerline B. C. of a curve with a
radius of 1000 ft. Point “A” is also the SE corner of Lot 15. What is the area
of that portion of Lot 15 south of the R/W?
LOT 15
N
60
°W
50
N 89° W
50
8-7
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appropriate?
G S 87° 45' E
90°
6'
522. ' E
0
5° 3
N 6
30'
Ease
men
N
t
7. Use the following road template and cross section notes to calculate the
earth work quantity for the roadway between station 35 + 50 and 36 + 00.
Centerline grade at 35 + 50 is 887.0 and at 36 + 00 is 888.5.
2% 2%
2:1
-1.0
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Areas and Volumes
Answer Key
1. Divide the grid area by the combination factor squared.
6806 sq ft
5. Angle BAR = Difference in bearings between the south line of Lot 15 and
the radial to A = 61°.
LOT 15
A
N
60
N 89° W °W
50
B
50
8-9
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5. (Cont.)
360 2
= .938 acres
8-10
Areas and Volumes
G S 87° 45' E
C
A
90°
6' B
F 522. ' E
0
6 5° 3
N
30'
E D
Ease
men
N
t
CF = 522.6 - AB - DE
= 522.6 - 15.12 - 59.52
= 447.96 ft
8-11
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CL
92.1 91.6
93 . -36 -25 90.4
. 0 90.0
. 15 89.5
. 32
90 .
88 88
-25 25
87 88.5
0
87
27
87
-27
36 + 00
CL
93 91.2
. -38 90.0
-20 89.5 90.0
90 . 0. 20 89.1
. 34 .
86.5 86.5
87 -25 25
87
0
87
27
85.5
-27
35 + 50
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Areas and Volumes
7. (Cont.)
First, place the road template at the correct elevation on each cross
section. Generate the intersection of the 2:1 side slopes with the ground
line.
The two end areas can be calculated using the coordinate method for
determining the area of a polygon. Coordinate pairs are composed of
elevation (N) and distance left (-) or right (+) of the centerline of the
template (E).
90 (-38 - 0) = -3420.0
90 (0 - 34) = -3060.0
∑ = -405.90
405.90
Area =
2
= 203 sq ft
8-13
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References
_________________, California Department of Transportation Survey Manual,
Appendix.
Davis, Raymond E., Francis S. Foote, et. al., Surveying Theory and Practice,
Sixth Edition, McGraw Hill, New York, 1981.
Moffitt, Francis H. and Harry Bouchard, Surveying, Eighth Ed.,
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