I S A B E L A S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y

C ollege O f En gin eer in g

ABE 211 – SURVEYING

Introduction to
Surveying
RALPH HAJILE B. ESTRADA
CE, Instructor
FB : Hajile B ravo Estrada
Email: hajilelijah1 5 @gmail.com
Surveying
“The art and science of determining angular
and linear measurements to establish the
form, extent, and relative position of points,
lines, and areas on or near the surface of the
earth or on other extraterrestrial bodies
through applied mathematics and the use of
specialized equipment and/or techniques.”

➢ Surveys are divided into two general

classifications, plane and geodetic.
 Plane
Surveying
✓ The earth is considered to be a
flat surface.
✓ Curvature of the earth is ignored.
✓ A level line is considered as
mathematically straight
✓ The direction of the plumb line is
assumed to be the same at all
points within the limits of the
survey,
✓ All angles are considered to be
plane angles.
Geodetic
Surveying
✓ The earth is considered to be a
spherical surface.
✓ Curvature of the earth is taken
into account.
✓ Employ principles of geodesy
and are of high precision.
✓ Calculations involves spherical
trigonometry, calculus and in
some cases, the theory of least
squares.
TYPES OF SURVEYS
✓ Cadastral Surveys ✓ Industrial Surveys
✓ City Surveys ✓ Mine Surveys
✓ Construction Surveys ✓ Photogrammetric Surveys
✓ Forestry Surveys ✓ Route Surveys
✓ Hydrographic Surveys ✓ Topographic Surveys
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.
City Surveys
✓ Are surveys of the areas in
and near a city for the
purpose of planning
expansions or improvement,
locating property lines, fixing
reference monuments,
determining the physical
features and configuration of
the land, and preparing maps.
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.
Forestry Surveys
✓ a type of survey executed in
connection with forest
management and
mensuration, and the
production and conservation
of forest lands.
Hydrographic Surveys
✓ Refers 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 of general importance in
connection with navigation,
development of water supply and
resources flood control, irrigation,
production of hydro-electric power,
subaqueous constructions, and
recreation.
Industrial Surveys
✓ Sometimes known as optical
tooling. It refers to the use of
surveying techniques in ship
building, construction and
assembly of aircraft, layout and
installation of heavy and
complex machinery, and in other
industries where very accurate
dimensional layouts are required.
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
✓ Establish lines and grades for
other related mining work.
Photogrammetric Surveys
✓ A type of survey which makes
use of photographs taken
with specially designed
cameras either from airplanes
or ground stations.
✓ Measurements are obtained
from the photographs which
are used in conjunction with
limited ground surveys.
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 objects.
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
Astrolabe
✓ It was developed sometime in 140
B.C., and further improved by Ptolemy.
✓ The instrument had a metal circle with
a pointer hinged at its center and held
by a ring at the top, and a cross staff, a
wooden rod about 1.25 meters long
with an adjustable crossarm at right
angles to it.
✓ The known length of the arms of the
cross staff allows distances and angles
to be determined by proportion. It was
originally designed for determining the
altitude of stars.
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.
Transit
✓ The invention of the transit is credited to
Young and Draper who worked
independently from each other sometime
in 1830.
✓ Both men were able to put together in one
instrument the essential parts of what has
long been known as the universal
surveying instrument.
Semi circumferentor
✓ An early surveying instrument which was
used to measure and lay off angles, and
establish lines of sight by employing peep
sights.

Plane Table
✓ One of the oldest types of surveying
instruments used in f i eld 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.
Dioptra
✓ The dioptra, which was perfected by Heron of
Alexandria, was used in leveling and for
measuring horizontal and vertical angles.
✓ It consists essentially of a copper tube
supported on a standard and could be rotated
in either a horizontal or vertical plane.
✓ For measuring horizontal angles, a flat circular
disc with graduations in degrees is used. An
arm containing sighting apertures at either end
could be rotated to any desired position on the
disc.
Roman Groma
✓ The Roman surveyors used the groma
as an instrument for aligning or sighting
points.
✓ It consisted basically of cross arms fixed
at right angles and pivoted eccentrically
upon a vertical staff. Plumb lines were
suspended from the ends of the arms.
✓ By employing the groma two lines at
right angles to each other could, be
established on the ground where it is set
up.
LibelIa
✓ The Assyrians and Egyptians are believed to be the first users of the
libella. The instrument had an A-frame with a plumb line suspended
from its apex and was used to determine the horizontal.
Vernier
✓ The vernier is a short auxiliary scale placed
alongside the graduated scale of an instrument,
by means of which fractional parts of the
smallest or least division of the main scale can
be determined precisely without having to
interpolate.
✓ It was invented in 1631 by a Frenchman name
Pierre Vernier. Surveying instruments employ
either a direct or retrograde vernier.
✓ A retrograde vernier is similar to the direct
vernier, except its graduations are at a slightly
larger spacing than on the main scale.
Diopter
✓ An instrument developed by the Greeks
sometime in 130 B.C., and known to be their
most famous surveying instrument.
✓ The diopter was used for leveling, laying off
right angles, and for measuring horizontal and
vertical angles. Since the telescope was not yet
invented during the time the diopter was used,
peep sights were employed for sighting and in
aligning the device.
Surveyor’s 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.
Gunter's Chain
✓ The Gunter's chain, which was
invented by Sir Edmund Gunter
in 1620, was the forerunner of
instruments used for taping
distances.
✓ It is 66 ft long and contains 100
links, so that distances may be
recorded in chains and in
decimal parts of the chain.
Each part, called a link, is 0.66
ft or 7.92 inches long.
Chorobates
✓ This instrument was designed for
leveling work.
✓ It consisted of a horizontal straight-
edge about 6 meters long with
supporting legs, and a groove 2.5
cm deep and 1.5m long on top.
✓ Water is poured into the groove
and when the bar is leveled so that
water stood evenly in the groove
without spilling, a horizontal line is
established.
 Merchet
✓ The merchet was a device for measuring time
and meridian.
✓ It was first used by the Chaldeans in about 4,000
B.C.
✓ It consisted of a slotted palm leaf through which
to sight and a bracket from which a plumb bob
was suspended.
✓ By sighting through the slot and past the plumb
bob string, a straight line could be projected.
Theodolite
✓ It is the most precise instrument for the
measurement of horizontal and vertical
angles. It is popular in various surveying
applications.
✓ There are two types of theodolite– transit,
and non-transit. Non-transit theodolites
have become obsolete these days.
✓ Transit theodolite is such theodolite in
which the telescope can be revolved by
180° in the vertical plane.
 I S A B E L A S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y
C ollege O f En gin eer in g
ABE 211 – SURVEYING

Surveying
Measurements
RALPH HAJILE B. ESTRADA
CE, Instructor
FB : Hajile B ravo Estrada
Email: hajilelijah1 5 @gmail.com
Surveying Measurements
A measurement is the process of determining the extent, size or
dimensions of a particular quantity in comparison to a given standard.
In surveying, measurements are usually concentrated on angles,
elevations, times, lines, areas and volumes.
Direct Measurements
A direct measurement is a comparison of the measured quantity
with a standard measuring unit or units employed for measuring
a quantity of that kind.
Some common examples of direct measurements are applying a
wire or tape to a line, determining a horizontal or vertical angle with a
transit, or fitting a protractor between two intersecting lines to
determine the intersection angle.
Surveying Measurements
Indirect Measurements
When it is not possible to apply a measuring instrument directly to a quantity to
be measured an indirect measurement is made.
In this type of measurement, the observed value is determined by its
relationship to some other known values. For example, the total length of a
line would be an indirectly observed distance if it is determined by a summation
of a series of directly measured short segments.
In the stadia and subtense bar method, horizontal and vertical distances are
indirectly obtained since it makes use of optical systems for relating a short-
known length to the angle it subtends at the distance to be determined.
There are numerous indirect measurements made in surveying operations such
that it is important for surveyors and students of surveying to have a good
working knowledge of trigonometry and geometry.
Surveying Measurements
THE METER
The international unit of linear measure is the meter. Originally, the
meter was defined as 1/10,000,000 of the earth's meridional quadrant.
INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM OF UNITS (SI)
The ultimate goal is to modernize the metric system by introducing a
coherent and rational worldwide system of units.
SI units are now adopted by most countries in Europe, the Middle East,
Africa, and in Asia. The United States of America has started to adopt
the international System of Units, although with great hesitation.
Effective January 1, 1983 the English System was officially phased out
in the Philippines and only the modern metric system was allowed to
be used.
Surveying Measurements
SI UNITS FOR SURVEYING
DISTANCE: Meter (m) (for linear measure)
For longer distances the kilometer (km) may be used
AREA: Square meter (sq. m. or m2)
For larger areas the hectare (ha)
VOLUME: Cubic meter (cu. m. or m3)
ANGLE: Radian (rad) (for plane angles)
Degrees, minutes, and seconds are also acceptable for
plane angles measured in SI.
 UNITS OF MEASUREMENTS
Mega __ = 1,000,000 Centi ___ = 0.01
Kilo __ = 1,000 Milli ___ = 0.001
Hecto __ = 100 Micro ___ = 0.000001
Deca __ = 10 Nano ___ = 0.000000001
Deci __ = 0.1

When using SI units, all linear measurements are based upon the
meter. Larger and smaller units are derived from it in decimal steps,
and their names are formed by adding prefixes. In SI, a total set of 18
prefixes are used to form multiples and submultiples of different units.
1. Linear, Area, and Volume Measurements.
1 kilometer (km) = 1 000 meters
1 meter (m) = 1 000 millimeters
1 millimeter (mm) = 1 000 micrometers
1 micrometer (μm) = 1 000 millimicrometers
1 millimicrometer (mμ) = 1 000 million micrometers
1 meter (m) = 10 decimeters
1 decimeter (dm) = 10 centimeters
1 centimeter (cm) = 10 millimeters
Length
➢ The common units for length are the kilometer, meter, centimeter,
and the millimeter.
➢ Length may also refer to other linear dimensions such as width,
depth, thickness, height, or distance.
➢ The kilometer is used for long distances and in measuring the sides
of large tracts of land.
1. Linear, Area, and Volume Measurements.
Area
➢ The unit of area in SI is the square meter.
➢ Areas of small tracts of land, floor areas of buildings and structures
are measured in square meters.
➢ The hectare (ha) , although not an SI unit, is commonly used for the
measurement of large tracts of land such as cities, provinces, sugar
cane plantations, rice fields, and forests. The square kilometer is the
appropriate SI unit for this purpose.
➢ The following are the commonly used relationships: 1 hectare = 10
000 sq m or 100 ares, 1 are = 100 sq m, 1 sq km = 1 000 000 sq m
or 100 hectares.
1. Linear, Area, and Volume Measurements.
Volume
➢ The common metric units for volume are the cubic meter, liter, and
the milliliter.
➢ The cubic meter is used for larger volumes which are common in
engineering constructions and in measuring various quantities in
surveying.
2. Angular Measurements.
➢ The SI unit for plane angles is the radian.
➢ The radian is defined as an angle subtended by an arc of a circle
having a length equal to the radius of the circle.
2π rad = 360 deg
1 rad = 57 deg 17 min 44.8 sec or 57.2958 deg
0.01745 rad = 1 deg
1 deg = (π/180) rad
1 min = (π/10800) rad
1 sec = (π/648,000) rad
2. Angular Measurements.
Sexagesimal Units
➢ The sexagesimal 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.
1 degree = 60 minutes
1 minute = 60 seconds
➢ Divisions of seconds are given
in tenths, hundredths and
thousandths.
Centesimal Units
➢ Grad is the angular unit.
➢ The circumference of a circle
(360 deg) is divided into 400
grads.
1 grad = 100 centesimal
minutes or 0.9 degrees
1 minute = 100 centesimal
seconds or 0 deg 00 min
32.4 sec.
➢ Grads are usually expressed in
decimals. Ex.: 194g 45c 82cc is
expressed as 194.4582 grads.
SIGNIFICANT FIGURES (SF)
Rule 1: All non-zero digits are significant
Rule 2: Zeroes between other significant figures are significant.
Ex: 12.03, 35.06, 4009. (4 SF)
Rule 3: (Leading Zeroes) For values less than one, zeroes
immediately to the right of the decimal are not significant. They merely
show the position of the decimal. Ex: 0.00325, 0.000468. (3 SF)
Rule 4: (Trailing Zeroes) Zeroes placed at the end of decimal
numbers are significant Ex: 169.30, 366.00 and 11.000. (5 SF)
Rule 5: When a number ends in zeroes that are not to the right of a
decimal point, the zeroes are not necessarily significant. Ex: 8000, 400,
50,600
ROUNDING-OFF VALUES
➢ Digit to be dropped is less than 5. If the digit to be dropped is less than 5, the
last remaining digit is left as it is.
Ex. 24.244 rounded to the nearest hundredth is 24.24, then 24.2 if
rounded to the nearest tenths
➢ Digit to be dropped is greater than 5. If the digit to be dropped is greater than
5, the last retained digit is increased by one.
Ex. 12.6 rounded to the nearest whole number is 12
➢ Digit to be dropped is equal to 5. If the digit to be dropped is 5, and if any digit
following it is not zero, the last remaining digit is increased by one.
Ex. 12.51 is rounded to 13
➢ Digit to be dropped is equal to 5. If the digit to be dropped is exactly 5, the
nearest even number is used for the preceding digit.
Ex. 26.175 rounded to the nearest hundredth is 26.18, 156.285 rounded to
the nearest hundredth is 156.28
ROUNDING-OFF VALUES
It should be noted that using the nearest even digit
produces better balanced results in a series
computation.
The course shall give
the student a working
knowledge of surveying
instruments and their
uses.
Members of the student
field parties should from
time to time alternatively
assume the various
duties involved in the
field work.
In practice the field
notebook should be of
good quality rag
paper, with stiff board
or leather cover made
to withstand hard
usage, and of pocket
size.
Treated papers are
available which will
shed rain; some of
these can be written
on even when wet.
The field notes
become the official
record of any survey.
It is for this reason
why survey notes
should be complete,
legible, concise and
comprehensive, and
logically arranged
according to
recognized practice.
✓ Sketches
✓ Tabulations
✓ Explanatory
Notes
✓ Computations
✓ Combination
of the Above
 INFORMATION FOUND IN FIELD NOTEBOOK
1. Title of the Field Work or Name of Project.
2. Time of Day and Date
3. Weather Conditions
4. Names of Group Members and Their Designations
5. List of Equipment
6. Table of Contents
If all the above listed information is known, mistakes committed
in the field and which are not discovered until the field work is
completed could be easier determined. Often the mistake can be
traced to weather conditions or equipment which are out of
adjustment, and a correction can easily be made without having to
redo the whole field work or some portion of it.
 INFORMATION FOUND IN FIELD NOTEBOOK
Title of the Field Work or Name of Project
✓ Official name of the project or title of the field work.
✓ Location of the survey
✓ Nature or purpose
Time of Day and Date
✓ Necessary to document the notes and furnish a timetable and
correlate different surveys.
Weather Conditions
✓ Temperature, wind velocity, typhoons, storms
✓ Other weather conditions, such as fog, sunshine, and rain
 INFORMATION FOUND IN FIELD NOTEBOOK
Names of Group Members and Their Designations
✓ Chief of party, instrumentman, tapeman, and other members of the
survey party.
✓ Necessary for documentation purposes and other future reference.
✓ Duties and responsibilities can easily be pinpointed among the
survey party members.
List of Equipment
✓ All surveying equipment used including its make, brand, and serial
number.
Chief of Party,
Assistant Chief of
Party,
Instrumentman,
Technician,
Computer, Recorder,
Head Tapeman, Rear
Tapeman, Flagman,
Rodman, Pacer,
Aidman, Utilitymen
 I S A B E L A S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y
C ollege O f En gin eer in g
ABE 211 – SURVEYING

Mistakes and Errors

RALPH HAJILE B. ESTRADA
CE, Instructor
FB : Hajile B ravo Estrada
Email: hajilelijah1 5 @gmail.com
 Errors Mistakes
✓ The difference between the true ✓ Are inaccuracies in
value and the measured value of measurements due to the
a quantity. carelessness, inattention, poor
✓ A “deviation” of an observation judgement and improper
or calculation from the true execution by the surveyor.
value. ✓ Can be a fruit of
✓ It is usually beyond the control of misunderstanding of the
the survey party. problem, inexperience or
indifference.
✓ Usually are “so large” in
magnitude when compared to
errors.
MISTAKES MAY OCCUR DUE TO THE FF:
1. Reading the wrong graduation on the tape (6 or 9)
2. Omitting a whole length of tape
3. Transposition of figures (48.5 instead of 45.8)
4. Reading a scale backward
5. Misplacing a decimal point (10.5 instead of 1.05)
6. Incorrect recording of field notes
7. Adding a row or column of numbers incorrectly
Careful attention should be given in the execution of any surveying
operation to prevent mistakes. Mistakes can only be corrected “if”
discovered.
TYPES OF ERRORS
1. Systematic Errors
➢ One which will always have the same sign and magnitude as
long as field conditions remain constant and unchanged.
➢ When conditions are changed, the error also changes
correspondingly, however, the sign remains constant.
➢ Also called Cumulative Error.
➢ Conforms to mathematical and physical laws, therefore, can be
corrected.
➢ May occur due to: Instrumental factors (instrument not set up/
calibrated properly/ unclear markings on the instrument), Natural
causes (temperature, sag, etc), Human limitation by the observer.
TYPES OF ERRORS
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 way to determine or eliminate them.
➢ Are caused by factors beyond the control of the surveyor and are
present in all surveying measurements.
➢ They remain after mistakes and S.E. have been eliminated.
➢ A.E. are usually of minor importance in surveying operations
 SOURCES OF ERRORS
1. INSTRUMENTAL ERRORS
➢ Due to the imperfections in the instruments used, either from faults
in their construction, improper adjustments between the different
parts prior to their use, and also wear and tear.
➢ Examples:
✓ Measuring of steel tape with incorrect length
✓ Using a leveling rod with painted graduations not perfectly
spaced
✓ Sighting on a rod that is warped
 SOURCES OF ERRORS
2. NATURAL ERRORS
➢ Are caused by variations in the phenomena of nature such as
changes in magnetic declination, temperature, humidity, wind,
refraction, gravity and curvature of the earth.
➢ Examples are:
✓ Effect of temperature variation on the length of a steel tape.
✓ Deflection of the line of sight due to the effect of the earth’s
curvature and atmospheric refraction.
✓ Error in the measurement of a line with a tape being blown
sidewise by the wind.
✓ Error in the measurement of a horizontal distance due to slope
or uneven ground.
 SOURCES OF ERRORS
3. PERSONAL ERRORS
➢ These errors arise principally from limitations of the senses of sight,
touch and hearing of the human observer which are likely to be
erroneous or inaccurate. May be subjective.
➢ Examples:
✓ Error in determining a reading on a rod which is out of plumb
during sighting.
✓ Error in the measurement of a vertical angle when the cross
hairs of the telescope are not positioned correctly on the target.
✓ Making an erroneous estimate of the required pull to be applied
on a steel tape during measurement.
 Accuracy
✓ Accuracy indicates “how close”
a given measurement is to the
absolute or true value of the
quantity measured.
✓ Implies the closeness between
related measurements and their
expectations.
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.
 THEORY OF PROBABILITY
Probability is defined as the number of times something will probably occur
over the range of possible occurrences.
The theory of probability is based upon the following assumptions relative to
the occurrence of errors:
1. Small errors occur more often than large ones and that they are more
probable.
2. Large errors happen infrequently and are therefore, less probable; for
normally distributed errors, unusually large ones may be mistakes rather
than accidental errors.
3. Positive and negative errors of the same size happen with equal
frequency; that is, they are equally probable.
4. The mean of an infinite number of observations is the most probable
value.
 MOST PROBABLE VALUE (mpv)
From the theory of probability, a basic assumption is that the most
probable value (mpv) of a group of repeated measurements made
under similar conditions is the arithmetic mean or the average.
Since the true values of measured quantities must remain forever
unknown, it is possible to obtain by measurements only
approximations of true values.
𝜮𝒙
ഥ=
𝒎𝒑𝒗 = 𝒙
𝒏
Sample Problem
A surveying instructor sent out six groups of students to measure a
distance between two points marked on the ground. The students
came up with the following six different values: 250.25, 250.15, 249.90,
251.04, 250.50, and 251.22 meters. Assuming these values are equally
reliable and that variations result from accidental errors, determine the
most probable value of the distance measured.
Solution:
(250.25 + 250.15 + 249.90 + 251.04 + 250.50 + 251.22)
𝑚𝑝𝑣 = 𝑥ҧ =
6
𝒎𝒑𝒗 = 𝟐𝟓𝟎. 𝟓𝟏 𝒎
Sample Problem
The angles about a point Q have the following observed values.
130°15’20”, 142°37’30” and 87°07’40’. Determine the most probable
value of each angle.
Solution:
a. Determine the correction to be applied:
Σ𝜃 = 𝜃1 + 𝜃2 + 𝜃3
Σ𝜃 = 130°15’20” + 142°37’30” + 87°07’40" = 360°00’30”
Discrepancy:
𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑐. = 360°00’00” − 360°00’30” = − 00°00’30”
Correction:
− 00°00’30”
𝐶𝑜𝑟𝑟. = = −00°00’10”
3