Practical-1 FR-515

Determination of Distance by
Pacing
Dr. Fiaz Hussain
Introduction
Distance: It is the length of space between two points. OR
It is a numerical measurement of how far one object to other.

d = distance
(x1, x2) = coordinates of first point
(x2, y2) = coordinates of second point
Introduction
In surveying the distance can be measured by following method

1. Pacing
2. Taping
3. Chaining
4. Ranging
What is pacing?
Pacing is the natural step that you take between two points in order to
measure the distance.
For example: By figuring out how far your distance is in feet using
pacing, you can then determine distances between points using pacing
Theory:
The idea of pacing is counting how many paces you take between two
points. Using the number of paces that you have taken, you can then
calculate the difference between those two points. Pace could vary
according to every step you take. It could be every two steps you take.
Pace should be at he natural steps that you take when you walk.
Objectives

(a) Distance measurement by pacing

(b) Determination of pace factor and accuracy of pacing

Instruments

1. Tape to set a distance may be 100 ft.

2. Chaining pin or pole to fix the points

Step by Step Procedure
There are three simple steps that you must take in order to have an accurate pacing
measurement.
1. Calibrate the paces: By having a set distance, usually this is 100-200 ft and then
you are able to figure out how many paces are in this given distance. It should
be repeated 2 to 3 times. If your steps are varying from more than two paces
for the same distance, you might repeat this and make sure your speed is same
and that your difference between each pace are the same.
2. Pace between set points: These set points should have a distance measured
with some other instrument so that you can compare your paces to them. By
doing the pace around these points, you are able to calculate how accurate
your pace is.
3. Calculation and error finding: Take all the collected data and calculate distance
using your paced measurements. We will find the error in relation to the
difference between the actual difference between these points to find the
accuracy of pacing.
• First mark one point in the field and fix pole or chaining pole.
• Start measuring the 100 ft straight distance with tape and fix the
other point with chaining pin or pole.
• After setting a measured distance than calibrate the pace. Stand near
one point and start with zero on that point and then start natural
walk way down to 100 ft with continuous counting of steps. Let there
are 40 steps in 100 ft during forward walk, this is one sample. For
multiple sample start backward walk and again count steps, let it be
41 steps in 100 ft. Do the same for another round.
Pace Distance Paced (ft)
calibration 100
Attempts Paces
1 40
2 41
3 42
4 41
• Calculate the average pace for 100 ft distance, let it be 41 paces for
100 ft distance. Calculate your pace length by dividing 1 pace = 100
ft /41 =
• After calibration, now fix three point may be in triangle shape using
pole at random distance and start measuring distance.
• Measure the distance between these point with tape (actual distance)
for finding the error in our pacing.
• Start your pacing and counting (may be clockwise in forward direction
and return in backward direction). Keep recording your data and
pictures for the lab book.
• After collecting data, calculate distance between these points and
error in your pacing using following formulas.
Pace calibration and pace factor Calculations
Average paces: 41 paces per 100 ft
Scale factor/ pace factor = 100/41 = 2.43 ft
Calculation of distance between points
Point No. of Paces Calculated True/Actual Difference Accuracy
Distance (avg pace distance (Cal – Tru) Tru
x pace factor) dis/diff
Forward Backward Average (ft) (ft) (ft) 1 part in
…(ft)
1-2 39 40 39.5 95.985 94.5 1.48 63
2-3 33 33 33 80.19 79 1.19 66
3-1 19 20 19.5 47.385 46.5 0.88 53

For a good accuracy we should be above 1 part in 50 ft.

 56 m

17 m
52 m
d