INTRODUCTION

TO SURVEYING
Surveying is the art of determining the positions of
points on or near the earth’s surface by means of
measurements in the three elements of space; namely,
distance, direction, and elevation.

-Rayner and Schmidt

Surveying is the art of measuring horizontal and vertical
distances between objects, of measuring angles
between lines, of determining the direction of lines, and
of establishing points by predetermined angular and
linear measurements.

-David, Foote, Anderson, and Mikhail

Surveys are divided into two general
classifications.
▪Plane Surveying
▪Geodetic Surveying
 GEODETIC SURVEYING
PLANE SURVEYING

▪ Earth’s surface is a considered as ▪ Earth’s surface is a considered as

a plane surface. a curved surface.
▪ The curvature of the earth is ▪ The curvature of the earth is
ignored. taken into account.
▪ The line joining any two stations ▪ The line joining any two stations
is considered a straight line. is considered a curved line.
▪ Lower degree of accuracy. ▪ Higher degree of accuracy.
▪ Involves smaller area less than ▪ Involves larger area more than
about 250 sq.km. about 250 sq.km.
TYPES OF SURVEYS
1. Cadastral Surveys are
usually closed surveys which
are undertaken in urban and
rural locations for the purpose
of determining and defining
property lines and boundaries,
corners and areas.
TYPES OF SURVEYS
2. City Surveys are surveys of
the areas in and near a city for
the purpose of planning
expansions or improvements,
locating property lines, fixing
reference monuments,
determining the physical
features of the land, and
preparing maps
TYPES OF SURVEYS
3. Construction Surveys are
surveys which are undertaken
at a construction site to provide
data regarding grades,
reference lines, dimensions,
ground configuration, and the
location and elevation of
structures.
TYPES OF SURVEYS
4. Forestry Surveys are
executed in connection with
forest management and
mensuration, and the
production and conservation of
forest lands.
TYPES OF SURVEYS
5. Hydrographic Surveys
refer to surveying streams,
lakes, reservoirs, harbors,
oceans, and other bodies of
water.
TYPES OF SURVEYS
6. Industrial Surveys refer to
the use of surveying techniques
in ship building, construction
and assembly of aircraft, and
other industries where very
accurate dimensional layouts
are required.
TYPES OF SURVEYS
7. Mine Surveys are surveys
which are performed to
determine the position of all
underground excavations and
surface mine structures, to fix
surface boundaries of mining
claims, and to calculate
excavated volumes.
TYPES OF SURVEYS
8. Photogrammetric
Surveys are surveys which
makes use of photographs
taken with specially designed
cameras either from airplanes
or ground stations.
TYPES OF SURVEYS
9. Route Surveys involves
the determination of
alignment, grades, earthwork
quantities, location of natural
and artificial objects in
connection with the planning,
design and construction of
linear projects.
TYPES OF SURVEYS
10. Topographic Surveys
are those surveys made for
determining the shape of the
ground, and the location and
elevation of natural and
artificial features upon it.
SURVEYING MEASUREMENTS
A measurement is the process of determining the extent, size
or dimensions of a particular quantity in comparison to a
given standard.

In surveying, measurements are usually concentrated on

angles, elevations, times, lines, areas, and volumes.
SURVEYING MEASUREMENTS
1. Direct Measurements – comparison of the measured
quantity with a standard measuring unit or units employed for
measuring a quantity of that kind.
2. Indirect Measurements – the observed value is
determined by its relationship to some other known values.
SURVEYING FIELD NOTES
TYPES OF NOTES
1.Sketches
2.Tabulations
3.Explanatory notes
4.Computations
5.Combination of the above
INFORMATION FOUND IN FIELD
NOTEBOOKS
1. Title of the Field Work
or Name of Project
2. Time of Day and Date
3. Weather Conditions
4. Names of Group
Members and their
Designations
5. List of Equipment
THE FIELD SURVEY PARTY
1. Chief of Party 9. Flagman
2. Assistant Chief of Party 10.Rodman
3. Instrumentman 11.Pacer
4. Technician 12.Axeman/Lineman
5. Computer 13.Aidman
6. Recorder 14.Utilitymen
7. Head Tapeman
8. Rear Tapeman
An ERROR is defined as the difference between
the true value and the measured value of a
quantity.

MISTAKES are inaccuracies in measurements

which occur because some aspect of a surveying
operation is performed with carelessness.
SOURCES OF ERRORS
1.Instrumental errors
2.Natural errors
3.Personal errors
ACCURACY indicates how close a
given measurement is to the true
value of a quantity measured.

PRECISION refers to the degree of

refinement and consistency with
which any physical measurement is
made.
THEORY OF PROBABILITY
The theory of probability is based upon the following
assumptions relative to the occurrences of errors:
❑Small errors occur more often than large ones and
that they are more probable
❑Large errors happen infrequently and are therefore
less probable; for normally distributed errors,
unusually large ones may be mistakes rather than
accidental errors
THEORY OF PROBABILITY
The theory of probability is based upon the following
assumptions relative to the occurrences of errors:
❑Positive and negative errors of the same size
happen with equal frequency; that is they are
equally probable.
❑The mean of an infinite number of observations is
the most probable value.
MOST PROBABLE VALUE
𝚺𝑿 𝑿𝟏 + 𝑿𝟐 +𝑿𝟑 +. . . . . +𝑿𝒏
𝒎𝒑𝒗 = =
𝒏 𝒏
Where:
mpv is the most probable value of the quantity
measured
ΣX is the sum of the individual measurements
n is the total number of observations
MOST PROBABLE VALUE
In a case of related measurements taken under
identical conditions where the sum should equal a
mathematically exact quantity, the most probable
values are the observed values corrected by an equal
part of the error.
SAMPLE PROBLEMS
1. A surveying instructor sent out six groups of students to
measure a distance between two points marked on the
ground. The students came up with the following six
different values: 250.25, 250.15, 249.90, 250.50, 251.04,
and 251.22 meters. Assuming these values are equally
reliable and that variations result from accidental errors,
determine the most probable value of the distance
measured.
2. The angles about a point Q have the following
observed values : 130°15’20”, 142°37’30”, and
87°07’40”. Determine the most probable value of each
angle.
3. The observed interior angles of a triangle are
A=35°14’37”, B=96°30’09”, and C=48°15’05”. Determine
the discrepancy for the given observation and the most
probable value for each angle.
4. Measurements of three horizontal angles about a
point P are : APB=12°31’50”, BPC=37°29’20”, and
CPD=47°36’30”. If the measurement of the single angle
APD is 97°37’00”, determine the most probable value
of the angles.