MODULE 01: UNIT 1: INTRODUCTION TO SURVEYING

This module will explain the basic concepts and principles of surveying, sources
of survey information, kinds of surveys and proper use and care of Instruments.

ENGAGE
Pre- assessment: Recall your knowledge on Basic Math by answering the following
questions, which is part of the Surveying Measurements topic on this Module.

How many Significant Figures are present in the following?

1. 100
2. 0.001
3. 12345
4. 32.25
5. 155.28
6. 12.3
7. 0.24
8. 3.6
9. 0.0024
10. 0.000005

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Read: Introduction to Surveying

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 EXPLAIN

DEFINITION of SURVEYING

 “Surveying is the art of determining the

positions of points on or near the earth’s
surface by means of measurements in the
three elements of space; namely, distance,
direction, and elevation.” – Rayner and
Schmidt.

 “Surveying is the art of measuring horizontal

and vertical distances between objects, of
measuring angles between lines, of
determining the direction of lines, and of
establishing points by predetermined
angular and linear measurements.” – Davis,
Foote, Anderson, and Mikhail.

 “Surveying is the art of making such measurements of the relative positions of points
on the surface of the earth that, on drawing them to scale, natural and artificial
features may be exhibited in their correct horizontal or vertical relationships.” –
Clarke.
 “Surveying is that branch of applied mathematics which teaches the art of
determining area of any portion of the earth’s surface, the length and directions of
the boundary lines, the contour of the surface, and of accurately delineating the
whole on paper.” – Webster.
 “Surveying is the science or art of making such measurements as are necessary to
determine the relative position of points above, on, or beneath the surface of the
earth, or to establish such points.” –Breed, Hosmer, and Bone.
 “Surveying is the science and art of determining relative positions of points above,
on, or beneath the surface of the earth, or establishing such points.” – Binker and
Wolf.

Surveys are divided into two general classifications, plane and geodetic.
1. Plane Surveying- is that type of surveying in which the earth is considered to be a
flat surface, and where the distances and areas involved are of limited extent
that the exact shape of the earth is disregarded.

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 2. Geodetic Surveying- are surveys of wide extent which take into account the
spheroidal shape of the earth. These surveys employ principles of geodesy, are of
high precision, and related calculations involve the solving spherical
trigonometry, calculus, and some applications of the theory of the least squares.

TYPES OF SURVEYS
1. Cadastral Surveys – are usually closed surveys which are undertaken in urban
and rural locations for the purpose of determining and defining property lines
and boundaries, corners, and areas. These surveys are also made to fix the
boundaries of municipalities, towns, and provincial jurisdictions.

2. City Surveys – are surveys of the areas in and near a city for the purpose of
planning expansions or improvements, locating property lines, fixing reference
monuments, determining the physical features and configuration of the land,
and preparing maps.

3. Construction Surveys – these are surveys which are undertaken at a construction

site to provide data regarding grades, reference lines, dimensions, ground
configuration, and the location and elevation of structures which are of concern
to engineers, architects, and builders.

4. Forestry Surveys – a type of survey executed in connection with forest

management and mensuration, and the production and conservation of forest
lands.

5. Hydrographic Surveys – refer to surveying streams, lakes, reservoirs, harbors,

oceans, and other bodies of water. These surveys are made to map shore lines,
chart the shape of areas underlying water surfaces, and measure the flow of
streams. They are general importance in connection with navigation,
development of water supply and resources, flood control, irrigation, production
of hydroelectric power, subaqueous constructions, and recreation.

6. Industrial Surveys – sometimes known as optical tooling. It refers to the use of

surveying techniques in ship building, construction and assembly of aircraft, lay-
out and installation of heavy and complex machinery, and in other industries
where very accurate dimensional layouts are required.

7. Mine Surveys – are surveys which are performed to determine the position of all
underground excavations and surface mine structures, to fix surface boundaries
of mining claims, determine geological formations, to calculate excavated
volumes, and establish lines and grades for other related mining work.

8. Photogrammetric Surveys – a type of survey which makes use of photographs

taken with specially designed cameras either from airplanes or ground stations.

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 Measurements are obtained from the photographs which are used in
conjunction with limited ground surveys.

9. Route Surveys – involves the determination of alignment, grades, earthwork

quantities, location of natural and artificial objects in connection with the
planning, design, and construction of highways, railroads, pipelines, canals,
transmission lines, and other linear projects.

10. Topographic Surveys – are those surveys made for determining the shape of the
ground, and the location and elevation of natural and artificial features upon it.
The features shown include such natural objects as hills, mountains, rivers, lakes,
relief of the ground surface, etc; and works of man, such as roads, buildings,
ports, towns, municipalities, and bridges.

SURVEYING INSTRUMENTS

1. Telescope – The invention of the telescope in 1607 is generally accredited to

Lippershey. In 1609, Galileo constructed a refracting telescope for astronomical
observations. However, it was only when cross hairs for fixing the line of sight were
introduced, that the telescope was used in early surveying instruments.

2. Transit – The invention of transit is accredited to Young and Draper who worked
independently from each other sometime in 1830.

3. Plane Table – used in field mapping. It consists of a board attached to a tripod in

such a way that it can be leveled or rotated to any desired direction.

4. Vernier – a short auxiliary scale placed alongside the graduated scale of an

instrument, by means of which refractional parts of the smallest or least division of
the main scale can be determined precisely without having to interpolate. It was

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 invented 1631 by a Frenchman name Pierre Vernier. Surveying instrument employ
either a direct or retrograde vernier.
5. Compass – The magnetic compass came into wide use during the 13th century for
determining the direction of lines and in calculating angles between lines. It was first
introduced for use in navigation. The compass consists of a magnetized steel needle
mounted on a pivot at the center of a graduated circle. The needle continues to
point toward magnetic north and gives a reading which is dependent upon the
position of the graduated circle.

SURVEYING MEASUREMENTS

ANGULAR UNITS OF MEASUREMENT

 Sexagesimal Units- units of angular measurement are the degree, minute,

and second. The unit of angle used in surveying is the degree which is
defined as 1/360th of a circle. One degree equals 60 minutes, and 1 minute
equals to 60 seconds.
 Centesimal Units- many countries in Europe and the Middle East use the
centesimal system where grad is the angular unit. The grad is divided into 100
centesimal minutes or 0.9 degrees, and the minute is subdivided into 100
centesimal seconds or 0 degree 00 minute 32.4 seconds.

THE CONCEPTS OF MISTAKES, ERRORS, ACCURACY, AND PRECISION.

MISTAKES. Are inaccuracies in measurements which occur because some
aspect of a surveying operation is performed by the surveyor with carelessness,
inattention, poor judgment, and improper execution. Mistakes are also caused

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 by misunderstanding of the problem, inexperience, or indifference of the
surveyor. A large mistake is reffered to as a blunder.

ERRORS. An error is defined as the difference between the true value and a
measured value of a quantity. It is a deviation of an observation or a calculation
from the true value and is often beyond the control of the one performing the
operation.

TYPES OF ERRORS-
1. Systematic Errors
This type of error is one which will always have the same sign and magnitude
as long as field conditions remain constant and unchanged. For changing
field conditions there is a corresponding change in magnitude of error,
however, the sign remains constant. A systematic error will repeat itself in
other measurements, still maintaining the same sign, and thus will accumulate.
It is for this reason that this type of error is also called a cumulative error.

2. Accidental Errors
These errors are purely accidental in character. The occurrence of such errors
are matters of chance as they are likely to be positive or negative, and may
tend in part to compensate or average out according to laws of probability.
There is no absolute way of determining or eliminating them since the error for
an observation of a quantity is not likely to be the same as for a second
observation.

ACCURACY. Indicates how close a given measurement is to the absolute or true

value of the quantity measured. It implies the closeness between related
measurements and their expectations. The difference between the measured value
of a quantity and its actual value represents the total error in the measurement. As
the measured value approaches the actual value, the magnitude of the error
becomes smaller and smaller; and as the magnitude of the total error is decreased,
the accuracy of the measurement increases. Therefore, a measurement is termed
less accurate if it deviates by a significant amount from its expected value, and it is
more accurate if the deviation is relatively small.

PRECISION. Precision refers to the degree of refinement and consistency with which
any physical measurement is made. It is portrayed by the closeness to one another
of a set of repeated measurements of a quantity. Thus, if a set of observations is
closely clustered together, the observation is said to have been obtained with high
precision. Since precision relates to the expertness of manipulation on the part of the
observer or to the capabilities of the instrument used, it requires the use of precise
instruments under ideal conditions employing the best techniques.

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 ELABORATE

Make an outline discussion on how to minimize or reduce errors and or mistakes in

measurement.

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 EVALUATE

Relate your course to your subject by giving a detailed application and importance of
your course to your field of specialization or to the field of architecture.

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by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise of any part of this document, without the prior written permission of SLU, is
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