NAME : ENGR.

ALDRIN DELA CUESTA

COURSE : BLDG. & ROOM NO.:
YEAR & SECTION : SCHEDULE (DAY&TIME):
SUBJECT : WEATHER CONDITION:
DESIGNATION:

LAB EXERCISE NO. 8

GROUP NO. ______
`

PROBLEM: PROFILE LEVELING

OBJECTIVE: : a) To determine the elevations of ground points along the center line of a proposed
Roadway.
b) To plot the profile along the center line of a proposed roadway.

LAB EXERCISE OUTLINE

A. INTRUMENTS & ACCESSORIES : Engineer’s Level or Automatic Level, Hubs or Pegs, Range Poles,
Leveling Rod, Chalk, Paint or Marking Crayons, Steel Tape, Chaining Pins, Profile Paper,
Triangles.
B. PROCEDURE :

1. Profile Leveling
a) Establish stakes at every full station along the center line of a 500-m long proposed roadway
at intervals of 100 meters.
b) Set-up and level the instrument in some convenient location on one side of the proposed
roadway.
c) Take and record a backsight on a rod held on a nearby bench mark to determine the height
of instrument.
d) Take and record intermediate foresights from as many enter line points to within practical
limits of sighting.
e) When the rod has been advanced to a point beyond which further readings to the ground
points cannot be observed, establish a turning point, and take a foresight on it to determine
its elevation.
f) Transfer and set up the instrument in another farther position and take a backsight on the
turning point just established. Then continue taking rod readings on ground points as before
until the end of the roadway is reached.
g) Tabulate observed and computed values accordingly. Refer to the accompanying sample
format for the tabulation of field data.
2. Plotting the Profile
a) Plot the observed and computed data (stationing and elevations of full and plus stations) on
a special paper having horizontal and vertical lines printed on it to represent distances both
horizontally and vertically.
b) Use a scale of 1:1000 for plotting the horizontal distances and 1:100 for the vertical
distances.
c) Connect the plotted elevations for the profile by a smooth curved line drawn freehand.
 d) Label the plot of the profile accordingly. The stationing, elevations, and horizontal and
vertical scales must be indicate.

STA BS HI FS IFS ELEV REMARKS

C. COMPUTATIONS :

1. Computing Height of Instrument and elevation.

The theory involved in profile leveling is exactly the same as in differential leveling. A
backsight is taken on a benchmark or point of known elevation to determine the height of
instrument, and the elevation of ground points are calculated by subtracting the corresponding
rod readings from the height of instrument.
2.Determining Differences in Elevation
a) The difference between the sum of all backsights and the sum of all foresights is equal
to the error of closure, or equal to the difference in elevation between the initial
benchmark and final point.
b) The intermediate foresight reading subtracted from the height of instrument gives the
ground elevation of a plus station.
c) The difference between the elevation of any two points that are obtained at the same
set up of the instrument is equal to the difference between the foresights taken on
these points.

D. REMARKS, HINTS & PRECAUTIONS :

1. Ordinarily, the interval between stakes is 100 ft, 50 ft, or 25 ft with intervals of 100 m, 50 m, 30 m,
20 m, and 10 m being utilized in the metric system. Distances are measured by pacing or with a tape or
the rod according to the precision required.

2. The 100-ft points or 100-m points, reckoned from the beginning of the line, are called full
stations, and all other points are called plus stations.
 3. Distances from the starting point are indicated by the stationing. Each stake is marked with
with its station and plus. Thus, the beginning point of the survey is numbered as 0+00. A stake at 1200 ft
from the point of beginning at 12+00, and one set from the point of beginning at 1265. Similarly, a point
350 m from the origin is station 3+50 and a point set 1525 meters from the origin is station 15+25.

4.The level is usually set up off the center line so that sights of more uniform can be produced. It
is usually an advantage to have the level from 15 to 20 m away from the center line particularly when
readings must be taken on intermediate points.

5. A series of intermediate foresight readings are taken at regular intervals of 10-30 m along the
centerline of the roadway, and at points where sudden changes in elevations occur, such as at the tops
and bottoms of the riverbanks, edges and center lines of roads ditches. These are taken in order to give
a true picture of the groun surface along the route.

6. For a ground profile the backsight and foresight readings are usually read to hundredths of ft
(mm) and no particular attention is paid to balancing backsight and foresight to ground points are read
to tenths of ft (cm) only.

7.During profile leveling it is usually good practice to set a series of benchmarks because they
can be very useful at a later date, for example, when grades are being established for construction.
These points should be set a sufficient distance from the proposed project center line so that they will
not be disturbed or obliterated during construction. These benchmarks maybe from 10-20 station apart
when the difference of elevation are moderate, but the vertical intervals between these benchmarks
should be about 10 meters where the difference in elevation are considerable.

8.When the profile is completed it is necessary to check the work by running a line of differential
levels back to the beginning point or by tying into another benchmark.

9. The plotted profile is generally drawn so that the vertical scale is much larger than the
horizontal scale in order to accentuate the differences in elevation. This is called vertical exaggeration.

10. The profile is drawn freehand since the is a better representation of the actual ground
shape than would be the case if the points were connected by straight lines.