Explain the two important principles of surveying.

While surveying an area, it is important to make the survey as accurate as possible. To ensure this,
two principles are followed while surveying:

1. Working from whole to part

2. Location of a point (new station) using at least two measurements from fixed reference points.

Working from whole to part:

(This is also known as “first principle of surveying” or “main principle of surveying”)

According to this principle, it is always desirable to carryout survey work from whole to part. This
means, when an area is to be surveyed, first, control points are established covering the whole
(bigger) area with very high precision. Then minor details are located by less precise methods. So,
the errors are localised and minimised. Thus, the idea of working this way is to prevent the
accumulation of errors (ie., to reduce errors).

If the survey is done the other way, that is from parts to whole, errors also will get magnified leading
to wrong survey map. Hence, it is always preferred to do survey from whole to part.

This principle is explained with an example below:

In the diagram shown, the main control points are A, B and C which are fixed on the bigger area. P, Q,
R, X, Y and Z are the minor control points

That is

∆ABC = Main framework

∆PQR and ∆XYZ are subsidiary (minor) frame works.

By using the main framework (∆ABC) as the base, ∆PQR and ∆XYZ can be quickly fixed. Now the
other interior parts also can be easily measured without any accumulation of (increase in) errors.
But, if one starts from surveying the small framework ∆XYZ and move up to the bigger framework
∆ABC based on this smaller measurement, errors will get magnified resulting in wrong survey results.

(for your understanding: when you measure a small area (say an area of 10 m2), as the numbers
involved are small, any error in measurement will be high. So if you extend the measurements based
on the small area measurements to bigger area, errors will get magnified. When you measure a big
area (say, a length of 200 m2), any error will be less compared to the measurements. So, when
measurements of smaller area within this big area are derived using the bigger area measurements,
errors will be less.
In the figure above, the bigger triangle represents the whole place to be surveyed. (Remember:
surveying is not just measuring the total area. It is like complete mapping of a given place..like minor
details within the bigger area, like say roads, house plots, water source, etc.,). Within that other
minor details are surveyed (mapped/measured). Similarly, you can take any bigger shape and draw
smaller ones derived from that. For example as the one shown in your ppt, slide no.7., the figure on
left. There the area to be surveyed is trapezium (?). Major points are fixed in the whole area and then
using those as reference, minor points are mapped)

Another example :

Here, ABCDEF is the whole area to be surveyed. That is ABCDEF is the main framework. Using this
smaller framework abcdef, and other minor points, are measured.

(if you are given a big circle as the “whole”, then you can draw a square or rectangle or some other
shape inside the circle and mark the corners of that shape as the major points and that shape as the
major frame work. Then can derive minor frame work inside that. Something like this. Here you can
mark the pentagon as ABCDE and call that as the major frame work, based on which other minor
details are measured.

)
Location of a point using at least two reference measurements:
(this is also known as the second principle of surveying)
According to this principle, the relative position of a point to be surveyed should be located by
making at least two measurements from fixed reference points. These two measurements can be
two distance measurements, or two angular measurements, or one distance and one angular
measurement.

Example:
Suppose P and Q are two known reference points on the ground. The distance between these two
points, PQ, is measured accurately and drawn and marked on a sheet of paper. Now, using these two
reference points, location of the unknown point R (which is to be measured for the survey) can be
determined by any one of the many ways shown below. As can be seen, it involves measuring two
distances, or two angles, or one distance and one angle.

(a) When PR and QR distances are known: Two arcs PR and QR are drawn from P and Q. Point R will
be at the crossing of these two arcs. This principle is useful in chain surveying.

(b) In this method, a line RS perpendicular to the line PQ is drawn. Lengths PS and SR are measured.
Point R is then plotted using set squares.

(c) Distance QR and angle PQR are known. With which point R can be plotted. This principle is useful
in traversing.

d. Angles RPQ and RQP are known.: As these two angles are known, lines PR and QR can be drawn.
The crossing point of these two lines gives the position of R. This principle is useful for triangulation.

e. Length PR and angle PQR are known: Using the known angle PQR, draw a line from Q. Now, point
R is obtained by cutting an arc (on the line drawn from Q) with a radius equal to length PR from the
point P. (this is also used in traversing)