DETERMINATION OF

PACE FACTOR
 PACING
Pacing consists of counting the number of steps or paces in
a required distance.
A pace is defined as the length of step walking.
It may be measured from heel to heel or toe to toe.
PACE FACTOR is the number of paces per unit length.
HOW TO DETERMINE ONE’S PACE
FACTOR
A 45 meter course, AB , on level ground was paced by a surveyor for the purpose of determining
his pace factor. the number of paces of each trial taken are shown in the accompanying
tabulation. Determine the surveyor’s pace factor.
TRIAL LINE TAPED DIST NO. OF PACES MEAN
1 AB 45 50
2 BA 45 53
3 AB 45 51
4 BA 45 53
5 AB 45 52
6 BA 45 53
HOW TO DETERMINE ONE’S PACE
FACTOR
Step 1. Calculate for the mean number of pace.

𝑠𝑢𝑚 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ 𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙

𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 =
𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙𝑠

50 + 53 + 51 + 53 + 52 + 53
𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 =
6

312
𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 = = 52
6
HOW TO DETERMINE ONE’S PACE
FACTOR
Step 2. Calculate the pace factor

𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑠

𝑃𝐹 =
𝑡𝑎𝑝𝑒𝑑 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒

52
𝑃𝐹 =
45

𝑃𝐹 = 1.156 per meter (pace per meter)

EXERCISE
Problem:
From the previous situation, if the surveyor then took 771, 770, 768, 770, 772, and 769 paces in
walking an unknown distance CD,
a. What is the length of the line CD?
b. Assuming that the taped length of line CD 667.0 m, determine the relative precision of the
measurement performed.
Solution
(For a) In solving for an unknown distance using pacing, follow the two simple steps;
Step 1. calculate the mean number of paces.

𝑠𝑢𝑚 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ 𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙

𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 =
𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙𝑠

771+770+768+770+772+769
𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 =
6

4620
𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 = = 770
6
Step 2. Calculate the distance using the computed pace factor

𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑠

𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 =
𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟

770
𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 = = 666.09 𝑚
1.156
(For b) The relative precision is the accuracy of the measurement or the percentage of the
difference in measurement with respect to the actual measurement.

І 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 −𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑏𝑦 𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑔 І

𝑅𝑃 = x 100%
𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡

І 667.0 −666.09 І
𝑅𝑃 = x 100%
667.0

𝑅𝑃 = 0.136% of error or 99.864% accurate