CIE 112: Fundamentals of Surveying 

Module #4 Student Activity Sheet

Name: _________________________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________________________________ Date: ________________

Lesson title: Earth’s Curvature and Refraction Materials:

Lesson Objectives: Calculator, Pen, Paper
At the end of this module, you will be able to: References:
1. Apply the earth’s curvature and refraction correction. Roy, S.K. (1999). Fundamentals of
2. Determine whether it is an obstruction or a clearance at a Surveying. New Delhi: Prentice Hall of
certain point according to the line of sight. India Private Limited
Schofield, W. & Breach, M. (2007).
Engineering Surveying. Burlington,
Canada: Elvesier Ltd}

Research using different means of resources. Learning the same

topic using different methods at the same time will help you to
acquire more detailed ideas and widen your understanding.

A. LESSON PREVIEW/REVIEW
1) Introduction (2 mins)
Have you ever tried mountain climbing or experienced to be on the top of a tall building? If you
already did, you could say that as you go higher your line of sight will extend to the horizon. It is due
to the earth’s curvature that conceals the view but already seen as you go to a higher altitude. On
the other hand, refraction of light is the bending of light downwards as it passes through different
layers of air with varying densities. When measuring short distances, these effects can be neglected
but working with surveys in long sights requires these two to be considered. Because errors yielded
from these phenomena increases with distance. For precise work these errors need to be calculated
and corrections will be applied for accurate data.
Due to the curvature of the earth, the points of measurement appear to be lower than they
actually are. In refraction of light, the points appear to be higher than the actually are. The effect of
curvature is always greater than that of refraction. Thus, the combined effect of these two causes
the points of measurement to be lower than its true quantity.
2) Activity 1: What I Know Chart, Part 1 (3 mins)

What I Know Questions: What I Learned (Activity 4)

1. Horizontal line departs from
a level surface because of __?

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 CIE 112: Fundamentals of Surveying 
Module #4 Student Activity Sheet

Name: _________________________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________________________________ Date: ________________

2. How to eliminate the effect

of earth’s curvature and
refraction?
3. In long sights, the horizontal
line of sight doesn’t remain
straight but it slightly bends
downwards having concavity
towards earth due to __?

B.MAIN LESSON
1) Activity 2: Content Notes (13 mins)

A Vertical Angle

Vertical Datum
Geoid

Vertical Line – is a line that follows the local direction of gravity as indicated by a plumb line.
Level Surface – a curved surface that at every point is perpendicular to the local plumb line (the
direction in which gravity acts). Level surfaces are approximately spheroidal in shape. A body of still
water is closest example of a level surface. Level surfaces are also known as equipotential surface
since, for particular surface, the potential gravity is equal at every point on the surface.
Level Line – a line in a level surface – therefore, a curve line.

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 CIE 112: Fundamentals of Surveying 
Module #4 Student Activity Sheet

Name: _________________________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________________________________ Date: ________________

Horizontal Plane – a plane perpendicular to the local direction of gravity. In plane surveying, it is a
line perpendicular to the local vertical.
Vertical Datum – Any level surface to which elevations are referenced. This is the surface that is
arbitrarily assigned an elevation zero. This level surface is also known as a reference datum since
points using this datum have heights relative to this surface.
Elevation – The distance measured along a vertical line from a vertical datum to a point or object. If
the elevation of point A is 102.46 meters, A is 102.46 meters above the datum.
Geoid – A particular level surface that serves as a datum for all elevations and astronomical
observations.
Mean Sea Level – The average height for the surface of the seas for all stages of tide over a 19-year
period as defined by the National Geodetic Vertical Datum. It was derived from readings, usually
taken at hourly intervals, at 26 gauging stations of the along the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and the
Gulf of Mexico.
Benchmark (BM) – A relatively permanent object, natural or artificial, having a marked point whose
elevation above or below a reference datum is known or assumed.
Vertical Control – A series of benchmarks or other points of known elevation established throughout
an area, also termed as basic control or level control.

Earth’s Curvature and Refraction

From the figure shown below, an object actually at C would appear to be at B, due to
atmospheric refraction wherein the rays of light transmitted along the surface of the earth is bent
downward slightly.

Horizontal Line Line of Sight

A 𝐾 B
𝐾 C ℎ

Level Line ℎ
ℎ
𝑅
𝑅

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 CIE 112: Fundamentals of Surveying 
Module #4 Student Activity Sheet

Name: _________________________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________________________________ Date: ________________

ℎ 0.067𝐾

ℎ refraction correction
ℎ curvature correction
ℎ the effect of both the curvature and refraction
𝐾 the horizontal distance/level surface distance
𝑅 mean radius of the Earth, approx.. 6,400 km

Note: ℎ is in meters
𝐾 is in thousand of meters

Determination of Intervisibility of Stations

C B

ℎ
ℎ
𝑠𝑒𝑎 𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑙
𝐷 𝐷
0.067𝐷 0.067𝐷
𝐷 𝐷

𝐷
ℎ ℎ ℎ ℎ 0.067𝐷 𝐷
𝐷 𝐷

where,
ℎ height in meters of the line of sight , at the intervening hill C, above sea level
ℎ height in meters of the station occupied at A, above sea level
ℎ height in meters of the station observed at B, above sea level
𝐷 distance in kilometers of the intervening hill C from A
𝐷 distance in kilometers of the intervening hill from B

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 CIE 112: Fundamentals of Surveying 
Module #4 Student Activity Sheet

Name: _________________________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________________________________ Date: ________________

2) Activity 3: Skill-building Activities (with answer key) (18 mins + 2 mins checking)
Solve the following problems then box your final answer. If the space provided is not sufficient, you
may provide a clean sheet of bond paper. Check your answers against the Key to Corrections found
at the end of this SAS. Write your score on your paper.
Problem 1.
A man’s eyes 1.75 m above sea level can barely see the top of the lighthouse which is at a certain
distance away from a man.
a) What is the elevation of the top of the lighthouse above sea level if the lighthouse is 20 km away
from the man?
b) How far is the lighthouse from the man in meters if the top of the lighthouse is 14.86 m above
sea level?
c) What is the height of the tower at a distance 20 km away from the man in meters that will just
be visible without the line of sight approaching nearer than 1.75m to the water?

Problem 2.
Two hills A and C have elevations of 600 m and 800 m respectively. In between A and C is another
hill B which has an elevation of 705 m and is located at 12 km from A and 10 km from C.
a) Determine the clearance or obstruction of the line of sight at hill B if the observer is at A so that
C will be visible from A.
b) If C is not visible from A, what height of tower must be constructed so that it could be visible
from A with the line of sight having a clearance of 2 m above hill B?
c) What height of equal towers at A and C must be constructed in order that A, B and C will be
intervisible?

3) Activity 4: What I Know Chart, part 2 (2 mins)

Now answer the “What I Learned” part in Activity 1.

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 CIE 112: Fundamentals of Surveying 
Module #4 Student Activity Sheet

Name: _________________________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________________________________ Date: ________________

4) Activity 5: Check for Understanding (5 mins)

Solve the following problems then box your final answer. If the space provided is not sufficient, you
may provide a clean sheet of bond paper. Check your answers against the Key to Corrections found
at the end of this SAS. Write your score on your paper.
Short Quiz!
Problem 1.
The elevation of station Alpha is 680 m while that of Charlie is 620 m. In between stations Alpha
and Charlie is station Bravo with an elevation of 645 m. The distance from Alpha to Bravo is 12 km
and from Bravo to Charlie is 15 km.
a) Find the elevation of the line of sight at station Bravo with the instrument placed at station Alpha
such that station Charlie would be visible from station Alpha considering the effect of earth’s
curvature and refraction.
b) Assume that station Bravo will obstruct the line of sight from station Alpha while observing
station Charlie and a 4 m tower is constructed on top of station Bravo. Find the height of equal
towers at stations Alpha and Charlie in order that the three stations as observed from station
Alpha will still be intervisible.
c) Without constructing any tower at station Bravo, what height of tower must be constructed at
station Charlie so that both stations Bravo and Charlie would be visible from station Alpha?

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 CIE 112: Fundamentals of Surveying 
Module #4 Student Activity Sheet

Name: _________________________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________________________________ Date: ________________

C. LESSON WRAP-UP
1) Activity 6: Thinking about Learning (5 mins)

Three things you learned:

1.

2.

3.

Two things that you would like to learn more about:

1.

2.

One question you still have:

1.

FAQs:
1. Would you always consider the effect of earth’s curvature and refraction?
Ans. It depends if it was stated in the problem that you will consider these effects. Also, if the
distance from point to point is too far.

2. Is the constant “0.067” present in the formula for finding the effect of curvature and refraction is
always applicable?
Ans. It will only be used if the considered radius of the earth is approximately 6400 km.

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 CIE 112: Fundamentals of Surveying 
Module #4 Student Activity Sheet

Name: _________________________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________________________________ Date: ________________

KEY TO CORRECTIONS
Activity 3: Activity 5:
1. a) 14.853 m 1. a) 641.273 m
b) 20.004 m b) 7.727 m
c) 28.55 m c) 8.385 m
2. a) 3.949 m
b) 10.907 m
c) 3.949 m

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