HORIZONTAL DISTANCE

MEASUREMENT
(SURVEYING)

John Smith Arcilla, ABE

Instructor, CNSC-Labo Campus
There are several methods of determining
distance. Thechoice maydepend on the
following:
-Purpose of the measurement
-Required precision
-Cost
DISTANCE BY PACING
-moving with measured steps; distance can be determined by
multiplying the number of steps with a pace factor.
✓for checking measurements taken by other methods
✓low precision
✓Small scale mapping, reconnaissance surveys
✓ Good pacers have an RP of 1/200 and better
✓ For long distances, mechanical counters are
used: pedometer =hand carried
passometer =strapped to the leg
DISTANCE BY PACING
Pace – length of a step in walking, heel to heel or toe to toe
Stride – equivalent to two paces or a double step
DISTANCE BYPACING
Formula:
𝐿𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ
𝑃𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝐹𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 =
𝑁𝑜.𝑜𝑓 𝑃𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑠
𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟
𝑃. 𝐹. =
𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑠

Note: Just derive the formula for determining the length of

distance and for Number of paces.
DISTANCE BYPACING
SAMPLE PROBLEM NO.1

A surveyor paced 3 times with the following number of steps:

101.50, 102.75 and 100.25
What is his pace factor if the taped distance is 76 m?
DISTANCE BY PACING
SAMPLE PROBLEM NO.2

A man with a pace factor of 0.65 walked a distance of 150 m. What

is the number of steps did he make?
DISTANCE BY PACING
SAMPLE PROBLEM NO.3

A man with a pace factor of 0.65 walked a distance of 150 m. What

is the number of strides did he make?
DISTANCE BYPACING
SAMPLE PROBLEM NO.4

The head surveyor paced an unknown distance and made 3 trials.

The number of paces he made were 79, 77, and 80 paces. If his
pace factor is 0.69 m/pace, what could be the length of the
unknown distance?
DISTANCE BYPACING
SAMPLE PROBLEM NO.5

A boy with a pace factor of 0.65 m/pace counted his steps from his
house to his school gate. If he counted 476 steps, how many
strides did he make?
DISTANCE BYPACING

SAMPLE PROBLEM NO.6

What is the relative precision of the measurement if after pacing

the computed distance is 195.6 m and the taped distance is 197
m?
DISTANCE BYPACING
SAMPLE PROBLEM NO.7

What is the relative precision of the measurements of Surveyor X

after walking an average of 160.5 paces over a distance of 110.0
m? his PF is 0.68 m/pace.
DISTANCE BY TAPING
- the use of graduated tape to measure or layout horizontal
distances

RP is 1:1000 to 1:25000 or better

For precision purposes
DISTANCE BY TAPING
 DISTANCE BY TAPING
Types of MeasuringTapes
Steel Tape - surveyor’s or engineer’s tape,
made of ribbon or steel 0.5 to 1.0 cm in width
and weighs 0.8 to 1.5 kg per 30 m.

Metallic Tape - woven tapes, made of water-

proof linen fabric which are woven
longitudinally small brass, copper, or bronze
wires to increase its strength and reduce
stretching
DISTANCE BY TAPING
Types of MeasuringTapes

Non-metallic Tape - type of tape woven from

selected synthetic materials with strong dimensional
stability; turn coated with plastic material

Invar Tape - special tape made of an alloy of nickel

(35%) and steel (65%) with very low coefficient of
thermal expansion (1/30 to 1/60 of steel tape)
DISTANCE BY TAPING
Types of MeasuringTapes

Lovar Tape - has properties and costs between

those of conventional steel tapes and invar tape

Fiberglass Tape - made by weaving fiberglass in a

longitudinal and traverse pattern; strong and
flexible and will not shrink or stretch appreciably
with changes in temperature and humidity.
DISTANCE BY TAPING
Types of MeasuringTapes

Wires Builder’s Tape - has smaller cross-

section and lighter than engineer’s tape;
graduated to suit commonly used dimensions
in building construction.
DISTANCE BY TAPING
Types of MeasuringTapes

Phosphor-Bronze Tape - rust-proof tape

designed for use in the vicinity of salt-water.

Nylon-coated steel tape - flexible crack-resistant

steel core tape with coating of permanently
bonded non-conducting nylon
 DISTANCE BY TAPING
TAPINGACCESSORIES

Range Pole – known as flags or lining rods; used

as temporary signals to indicate locations of
points or directions of lines, and to mark
alignment

Tape Clamping Handles – used to apply tension

with a quick grip on any part of the steel tape
without causing damage to the tape or hands of
the tapeman
 DISTANCE BY TAPING
TAPINGACCESSORIES

Chaining Pins – surveyor’s arrows or taping pins;

stuck in the ground to mark the ends of
measured tape lengths or partial tape lengths

Tension Handle – spring scale; used at one end of

a tape for insuring the application of the correct
amount of pull on the tape during measurement
 DISTANCE BY TAPING
TAPINGACCESSORIES
Tape thermometer – 10to 15cm long, usually
graduated from -30 to +50 °C in 2 to 5 °C divisions;
fastened to tape by means of clips

Plumb bob - used for projecting tape ends to the

ground when the tape must be suspended above
the measured line; 0.25 kg weight and attached to
1.5 m long string or cord.
 DISTANCE BY TAPING
TAPINGACCESSORIES

Woodenstakes or hub – 5 x 5 x 30 cm wood

to mark points, corners or stations on the
ground
Hand Level and Clinometer- 15cm long
device consisting of metal sighting tube with
a level bubble.
Clinometer – hand level adapted for measuring
vertical angles
 DISTANCE BY TAPING
TAPINGACCESSORIES
Tape RepairKit - will allow emergency repairs
to be made on damaged or broken tapes

Crayons – usually lumber crayons; 10cm long

and hexagonal cross section; blue yellow and red
in color; used for marking points, corners or
stations by indicating cross marks on paved
roads, side walks or walls.
DISTANCE BY TAPING
PROCEDURE OF TAPING
1.Aligning the tape.
2.Stretching the tape – a steady and firm
pull, around 4 to 7 kg, is applied at one
end of the tape
“Tape too short” – tape is stretched
less than the required standard pull
“Tape too long” – tape is stretched
greater than the required standard
pull
DISTANCE BY TAPING
PROCEDURE OF TAPING
3.Plumbing
4. Marking Full Tape Lengths.
5. Tallying Taped
Measurements.
6. Measuring
Fractional Lengths.
BREAKING TAPE
- procedure of measuring shorter distances which
are accumulated to total a full length tape length.
SLOPE TAPING
DISTANCE BY TACHYMETRY
-based on the optical geometry of the instruments
employed
-an instrument is used to measure subtended intervals and
angles from which distances are computed by
trigonometry
DISTANCE BY TACHYMETRY
Two methods:
3a. Stadia method
3b. Subtense bar method
 DISTANCE BY TACHYMETRY
3a. Stadia Method
- Precision is 1/300 to 1/1000
- Used in topographic survey and
reconnaissance survey and for
checking measurements

D =Ks + C
where: k is stadia interval factor
s is the stadia interval
s =UR – LR
C is the additive Factor
 DISTANCE BY TACHYMETRY
SAMPLE PROBLEM INTACHYMETRY:

The distance from A to B is to be determined by stadia

method. After leveling the instrument, the upper and
lower stadia hair read 2.455 and 0.990 respectively. If K
is 100 and the additive factor is 0, what is the distance
between the 2 points?
 DISTANCE BY TACHYMETRY
SAMPLE PROBLEM INTACHYMETRY:

A stadia rod was placed 103 m away from a theodolite. If

the Upper stadia hair reading was 2.120, what should be
the lower stadia hair reading? Stadia interval factor of
the instrument is 100 and additive factor is 0.
 DISTANCE BY TACHYMETRY
3b. Subtense bar Method
uses a bar precisely 2 meters long
Theodolite is used to measure the angle
subtended by the distance between the
ends of the bar.
D=Cot (Ɵ/2)
RP of 1/3000
 DISTANCE BY TACHYMETRY
SAMPLE PROBLEM INTACHYMETRY:

The following subtended angles were read on a 2-m

long subtense bar using a theodolite:
a) 0⁰54’13’’ d) 1⁰16’00’’
b) 0⁰22’20’’ e) 2⁰03’10’’
c) 0⁰32’06” f) 1⁰25’30’’
Compute for the horizontal distance from the theodolite
to each position of the bar.
DISTANCE BY TACHYMETRY
SAMPLE PROBLEM INTACHYMETRY:

A subtense bar 2.0 meters long is set up near the

middle of a line PQ. Using a theodolite set up at P, the
angle subtended reads 0⁰20’14’’. When the Theodolite is
transferred and set up at Q, the corresponding
subtended angle was observed as 0⁰23’47’’. Determine
the horizontal length of line PQ.
DISTANCE BY GRAPHICAL & MATHEMATICAL METHODS
-Determination of distances by scaling from maps and
aerial photographs.
-Before distances are determined, scale must be
established
-Scale is the ratio of the distance between two points on
the map and the corresponding distance on the ground.
-Practical to employ in long distances and inaccessible
terrain
DISTANCE BY GRAPHICAL & MATHEMATICAL METHODS
SAMPLE PROBLEM:
A local map of Subdivision X has a scale of 1:1000. Using
a ruler, the distance between the Subdivision infirmary
and Mr. N.A. Batucan’s house is 0.235 m.
a. What is the actual distance between the two
buildings?
b. using the ruler again, the distance between house A
and house B is 12.7 cm. What is the actual distance
between the two houses in m?
 DISTANCE BY MECHANICAL DEVICES
Odometer
– device that can be attached to a wheel and can register its
number of revolutions. It measures only surface distances
and the result must be reduced to the horizontal distance.
- RP is 1/200 for fairly level terrain
-For route location surveys
-low precision surveys
- D=(2ᴨr) x No. of Rev
DISTANCE BY MECHANICAL DEVICES

Measuring Wheel
- same as the odometer but has
a built in calibrated recorder
that automatically gives
readings for distances.
 DISTANCE BY MECHANICAL DEVICES
SAMPLE PROBLEM:
A measuring wheel is used to measure the distance
between A and B and the wheel diameter is 0.15 m. The
wheel had 380 complete revolutions between the points.
a. If the ground is even, what is the distance between A
and B?
b. If the slope of the ground is 20%, what is the distance
between A and B?
c. What is the difference in elevation between the two
points?
DISTANCE BY MECHANICAL DEVICES
SAMPLE PROBLEM:
After covering the distance from the gate to the NSB
Building, the odometer registered 560 complete
revolutions. If the wheel has a diameter of 0.2 m,
a. how far is the NSB building from the gate?
Assume that the ground is flat and fairly level.
b. what is the difference in elevation between the
gate and the building?
DISTANCE BY MECHANICAL DEVICES

Optical Range finder

- Distance is determined by focusing the device. The
operator looks through the eyepiece and sights an object.
When the split image is brought into coincidence, the
distance is then read on the scale of the rangefinder.
DISTANCE BYPHOTOGRAMMETRY

Measurement of images on a
photograph taken from aircraft with
the axis of the camera pointed
vertically towards the terrain
photographed.

RP 1/3000 to 1/5000 using

precise cameras and
photogrammetric equipment.
ELECTRONIC DISTANCE MEASUREMENT

Basic Principle
Distance is obtained by measuring the time required for a
radio or light wave to travel from one point to another and
using the time data and the speed of the wave on
computations.

RP can reach 1/200,000

ELECTRONIC DISTANCE
MEASUREMENT
ELECTRONIC DISTANCE MEASUREMENT
Classification
a. Electro-Optical Instruments
-Transmit wavelengths within or slightly beyond the
visible region of the spectrum; newer models use
modulated laser or infrared lights
b. Microwave Instruments
-Transmits microwaves corresponding to wavelengths
of about 1.0 to 8.6 mm; measuring range is long and can
operate even during frizzle or fog
STAY SAFE!