FIELDWORK #3

NAME: ______________________________________ GROUP NO: _______ BCE211F(1385)

LAB EXERCISE OUTLINE

A. INSTRUMENTS & ACCESSORIES : 30-m or 100-ft Steel Tape, Chaining Pins, Range
Poles, Pegs or Hubs Spring Scale, and Plumb Bobs.
B. PROCEDURE:
1. Measuring Uphill.
a) On a designated uneven and sloping terrain, mark the ends of a line (about 90 m long)
to be measured. Designate the hub' at the bottom of the slope as point A and the hub at the upper
portion of the slope as point B. Range poles are held or set behind each point to serve as markers,
or are set at intermediate points along the line to insure better alignment during taping.
b) Head tapeman unreels and spreads out the tape and pulls the zero mark uphill along the
line from point A. The rear tapeman raises the 30-m (or 100-ft) end of the tape breast high while
the head tapeman moves back to a place on the line near a full meter (or foot) mark where the
ground surface is as high as the other raised end of the tape. The head tapeman stays by the side
of the line measured and holds a chaining pin on the ground.
c) The rear tapeman temporarily releases end of tape and signals head tapeman to either
move to the right or to the left in order to align him. When the pin of the head tapeman is in line
with the range pole held over point B, the head tapeman is then signaled to stick the pin vertically
into the ground.
d) Rear tapeman plumbs from point A to the terminal mark of the tape with a plumb bob:
and maintains this plumb bob steadily over A while head tapeman pulls the tape taut, and making
sure that the tape is on line by bringing one of its edges in contact with the previously aligned pin.
The head tapeman then moves the pin opposite the nearest full meter or foot mark of the tape and
he sticks it firmly into the ground.
e) The rear tapeman leaves his end of the tape, moves up the slope and gets hold of the tape
at the point previously held by the head tapeman. The next measurement is made horizontally from
the pin stuck in the ground by the head tapeman as done at point A.
f) The process is repeated until the whole tape length is used up thus finishing the
measurement of one tape length of horizontal distance.
g) From the pin marking the end of one tape length measurement, the horizontal
measurement is continued until point B is reached. The last partial tape length is measured with
the rear tapeman holding the tape until he has a full meter (or foot) mark at his end while the head
tapeman pulls the tape taut and takes note of the fractional measurement. Then the number of tape
lengths and the last partial measurement are totaled to determine the horizontal length of the line
measured.
2. Measuring Downhill.
a.) In measuring down the slope the tape is reversed to bring its zero end forward in the
direction of point A along the line. Horizontal measurements starts from B with the rear tapeman
holding his terminal meter (or foot) mark of the tape in level with B.
b.) After the plumb bob of the head tapeman has been aligned with the range pole held at
A, the head tapeman drops the plumb bob causing it to leave a mark on the ground. He then sticks
a pin at the ground mark left by the plumb bob.
c.) The next horizontal measurement starts from the pin until one whole tape length is
measured. As in measuring the slope, the number of tape lengths plus the partial tape length at the
end of the line determines the horizontal length of the line.
d.) Tabulate observed and computed values accordingly. Refer to the accompanying sample
format for the tabulation data.
Relative
Trial Line Length Difference Mean
Precision

1 AB

2 BA

C. COMPUTATIONS :
1. The discrepancy for the measurement is the difference between the first measurement and the
second measurement.
2. The mean length of the measured line is determined by adding the two measurements and
dividing the sum by two: This is also known as the most probable value length of the line.
3. The relative precision of the measurement is determined by dividing the discrepancy by the
mean length, where the numerator is reduced to unity or 1. Relative Precision is expressed in
fractional form and the denominator is rounded to the nearest hundredth.
D. REMARKS, HINTS & PRECAUTIONS :
1. The procedure of breaking tape involves the measurement of short horizontal distances and
accumulating these distances to total full tape length. This is done when a 30-m (or 100-ft) tape
cannot be held horizontal without plumbing from above shoulder length.
2. Except for the use of a plumb bob, the process of taping over uneven and sloping ground is
similar to taping over smooth and level ground.
3. It is important to determine if the tape is held nearly horizontal since it is the usual tendency to
hold the downhill end of the tape too low.
4. A hand level should be used to check if the tape ends are held correctly so as to have a good
horizontal measurement.
5. A firm stance is important during taping. The tapeman should position the lane of his body
parallel to the tape, with his legs well apart. His forearm should be in line with the tape and he
should snub it against his body comfortably.
6. If a hand level is not available, the tape may be estimated to be horizontal by eye. It is usually
sufficient to compare the tape with some level line or have two ends in line with the horizon.
7. The tape sags between supports when taking horizontal measurements over uneven and sloping
ground this making the tape shorter. To eliminate the effect of sag, the tape should be standardized,
corrected for sag, or nominal tension is used.
8. As a variation to breaking tape, the line may also be measured by short and segmented individual
distances and these distances are added up to determine the total length. This practice, however,
requires continuous recording of each partial length measured and may also lead to mistakes in
addition.
9. The designated line should be measured in two trials, once uphill and once downhill. The ratio
of discrepancy to length should be determined. The acceptable precision should be at least 1/1000.
If this is not attained the measurement should be repeated.