Colegio de San Juan de Letran

College of Engineering and Information Technology

Civil Engineering Program
CVE 402L – Fundamentals of Surveying Laboratory

Name: Rating:
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Date Performed:
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EXPERIMENT NO. 3
Compass Rule

OBJECTIVES
The objective of this experiment is to demonstrate the application of the compass rule as a traverse
adjustment method in land surveying. Through a simulated traverse scenario, participants will practice
balancing the traverse using the compass rule technique to achieve a closed-loop traverse with minimal closure
error.

EQUIPMENT
❖ Theodolite or Total Station
❖ Meter Tape
❖ Range Poles 
❖ Plumb Bob
❖ Surveying Prism or Reflective Target (Required if using total station)
❖ Prismatic /hand held compass

PROCEDURE
1. Set up the theodolite or total station on a stable tripod at the starting point (station) of the traverse.
Ensure that the instrument is correctly leveled using the plumb bob and plumb line/Calibrate the
theodolite or total station to ensure accurate angle measurements. Check for any systematic errors and
apply necessary corrections.
2.  Identify the traverse stations and mark them with station markers or flags. Ensure that the stations are
visible and accessible for angle and distance measurements.

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 Colegio de San Juan de Letran
College of Engineering and Information Technology
Civil Engineering Program
CVE 402L – Fundamentals of Surveying Laboratory

3. Determine the initial bearing or direction of the traverse using the prismatic compass or handheld
compass. Set the instrument to this bearing as the reference direction for the survey.
4. Measure the angles between consecutive traverse stations using the theodolite or total station. Record
the observed angles in the field book or data recorder/Measure the distances between traverse stations
using the surveying tape or EDM instrument and get the sum of all the distances which will be the
resulting perimeter of the area.  Record the measured distances in the field book.
5. Calculate the altitude and departure of each station with reference to the previous stations and
determine their respective algebraic sum.
6. Determine the correction factor of latitude by getting the product of the ratio of the given station and
the total perimeter and the algebraic sum of the altitudes. Similarly, repeat the process to determine the
correction factor of departure but this time, multiply the ratio of the given station and the total
perimeter to the algebraic sum of the departures.
7. Adjust each latitude and departures. If the algebraic sum of latitudes or departures is positive, subtract
the corrections, otherwise add the corrections.
8. From the adjusted latitudes and departures, determine the adjusted bearing and distance for each line
using the tangent function.

ILLUSTRATION

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 Colegio de San Juan de Letran
College of Engineering and Information Technology
Civil Engineering Program
CVE 402L – Fundamentals of Surveying Laboratory

RESULTS AND COMPUTATIONS

A. Calculating the latitude and departure

Use the following formula to calculate the latitude and departure:

B. Calculating the correction factor for latitude and departure

Use the following formula to calculate the correction latitude and departure:

Where:
 c = correction factor for latitude or departure
d = distance of a line 
D = total distance of the lines/perimeter of the given area
C = algebraic sum of latitudes or departures

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 Colegio de San Juan de Letran
College of Engineering and Information Technology
Civil Engineering Program
CVE 402L – Fundamentals of Surveying Laboratory

C. Calculating the adjusted bearing and distance

Use the following formula to calculate the adjusted bearing and distance:

CONCLUSION

REFERENCES

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 Colegio de San Juan de Letran
College of Engineering and Information Technology
Civil Engineering Program
CVE 402L – Fundamentals of Surveying Laboratory