This document provides an overview of fundamentals of surveying. It defines surveying as determining relative positions of points on or beneath the Earth's surface. Surveying has two main branches - geodetic surveying which accounts for the figure and size of Earth, and plane surveying which treats the surface as flat. The document also outlines the phases of surveying as field work and office work, various types of surveys like property and construction surveys, basic survey measurements, units of length including metric and imperial units, types of errors in measurements, and the history of development of metric system standards.

1. SURE 110 - Fundamentals of Surveying
BASICS OF
SURVEYING
Robert Burtch
Surveying Engineering Department
Ferris State University
DEFINITION
The art and science of making such
measurements as are necessary to
determine the relative position of points
above, on, or beneath the surface of the
earth, or to establish such points in a
specified position
Surveyor needs understanding of
rigorous mathematical to analyze and
adjust
scientific principles underlying and
affecting measurements
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2. SURE 110 - Fundamentals of Surveying
BRANCHES OF SURVEYING
Geodetic Surveying Plane Surveying
Branch of surveying Branch of surveying
in which account is in which the surface
taken of figure and of the earth is
size of earth considered a plane
surface
PHASES OF SURVEYING
Field Work
Data procurement phase
Office Work – data are
Analyzed
Reduced to useful form by mathematical
calculations
Adjusted
Frequently converted to graphical mode of
expression
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3. SURE 110 - Fundamentals of Surveying
KINDS OF SURVEYS
Property surveys
Determine boundary lines, location of
property corners, acquisition of data to
prepare land subdivisions
Route surveys
Designing and constructing engineering
projects associated with transportation and
communications
Industrial surveys
Surveys in aircraft and other industries
where accurate dimensional layouts
necessary
KINDS OF SURVEYS
Topographic surveys
Collect field data to prepare topographic
maps
Hydrographic surveys
Map shorelines of water bodies, chart
bottom areas of streams, lakes, harbors,
etc., measure flow of rivers, assess other
issues related to navigation and water
resources
Aerial surveys (photogrammetry)
Use photographs mounted in specially
designed planes
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4. SURE 110 - Fundamentals of Surveying
KINDS OF SURVEYS
Mine surveys
Determine position of underground works
and surface mines, fix position and
direction of tunnels and shafts, define
surface boundaries
Construction surveys
Performed during building of structure or
project to fix elevations, horizontal position,
and dimensions
Control surveys
Provide basic horizontal and vertical
position data for engineering mission
KINDS OF SURVEYS
Final (“As Built”) survey
Tie in features that have just been
constructed to provide final record of
construction and to check that construction
has proceeded according to design plan
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5. SURE 110 - Fundamentals of Surveying
BASIC SURVEY
MEASUREMENTS: DEFINITIONS
Direction of gravity used as
reference direction
Vertical – means direction of gravity
Horizontal – means direction
perpendicular to gravity
SURVEY GEOGRAPHIC
REFERENCE Latitude (φ)
Lines run east-west
parallel to equator
Max angle 90°
South latitudes
negative
Longitude (λ)
Lines run north south,
converge at poles
0° - Greenwich
Measured east and
west - 180° max angle
West longitude
negative
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6. SURE 110 - Fundamentals of Surveying
Oblate Spheroid
DEFINITIONS Ellipsoid of
Revolution
Solid obtained by
rotating an ellipse on
its shorter axis
Idealized figure of
earth
DEFINITIONS
Level surface (geoid)
Continuous surface that is at all points
perpendicular to the direction of gravity
Can be thought of as the surface of large
body of water at complete rest (unaffected
by tides, etc.)
Elevation
Vertical distance above or below a given
reference level surface
Difference in elevation
Vertical distance between two level
surfaces containing the two points
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7. SURE 110 - Fundamentals of Surveying
Vertical line
DEFINITIONS Line following direction
of gravity
Vertical line passing
through several different
points on surface of
earth do not intersect at
a common point
Vertical lines not
necessarily normal to
surface of the earth
Deflection of vertical
Angle between
perpendicular to geoid
and ellipsoid
DEFINITIONS
Horizontal line
Line perpendicular to vertical line at a point
Horizontal plane
Plane perpendicular to vertical line at point
Only 1 horizontal plane through a given
point
Vertical plane
Plane containing vertical line at the point
Infinite number of vertical planes as a
given point
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8. SURE 110 - Fundamentals of Surveying
DIRECTION
Azimuth- clockwise Bearing – angle
angle from north to measured from north
line or south to east or
west
ACCURACY & PRECISION
Accuracy –
closeness between
measurement and
“true” value
Precision –
closeness to one
another of a set of
repeated
observations
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9. SURE 110 - Fundamentals of Surveying
ERRORS
No measurement free of error (except
counting)
Mistakes or blunders
Not really errors because they are usually
so gross in magnitude
Most common reason – carelessness
Must be discovered and eliminated
ERRORS
Systematic error
Occur according to a system which can be
expressed mathematically
Magnitude and sign can be determined
Follow definite pattern
Can be caused by observer, instrument,
environment
Random error
Error left after systematic error removed
May tend to cancel themselves
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10. SURE 110 - Fundamentals of Surveying
UNITS OF LENGTH
Imperial units SI units (meters)
(feet) Le Systeme
Usually Internationale d’Unites
subdivided into (International System
decimal units in of Units
surveying Normally subdivided
Use of inches into decimeter,
centimeter, millimeter
NORMAL PREFIXES FOR
METER
deci (d) 10-1
exa (E) 1018
centi (c) 10-2
peta (p) 1015
milli (m) 10-3
tera (t) 1012
micro (µ)10-6
giga (g) 109
nana (n) 10-9
mega (m) 106
pico (p) 10-12
kilo (k) 103
femto (f) 10-15
hecto (h) 102
atto (a) 10-18
deka (da) 101
Ex: kilometer = 1,000m Ex: millimeter = 0.001m
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11. SURE 110 - Fundamentals of Surveying
METRIC SYSTEM
1791 French Academy of Sciences
recommended metre to be
1/10,000,000th part of polar quadrant
passing through Paris
1799 Academy of Sciences developed
new standard – Metre of the Archives –
made of platinum 1 meter in length
1999 General Conference of Weights
and Measures adopts “International
Prototype Metre” – platinum & iridium
bar
METRIC SYSTEM
1960 National Prototype Meter –
1,650,763.73 wavelengths of Krypton 86
atom in a vacuum
1983 Conference Generale des Poids et
Mesures redefined meter as length of
the path traveled by light in a vacuum
during a time interval of 1/299792458 of
a second
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12. SURE 110 - Fundamentals of Surveying
FEET-METER CONVERSION
FEET-METER CONVERSION
Ferdinand Hassler brought iron meter
bar to U.S. in 1805 for work with Coast
Survey
1866 Congress legalized use of metric
system
1893 – Mendenhall Order
Superintendent of Weight & Measures
1 meter = 39.37 inches (exact)
1 U.S. Yard = (3600/3927) meter (exact)
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13. SURE 110 - Fundamentals of Surveying
FEET-METER CONVERSION
1959 U.S. & U.K. agreed that Imperial
units used in both countries should be
the same
Defined 1 Yard = 0.9144 metre (exact)
1 ft = 0.3048 m (exact)
1 inch = 25.4 mm (exact)
Did not change relationship established by
Congress – kept for surveying and called
U.S. Survey foot
Basics of Surveying 13