CIVE 2004: Introduction to Surveying, Geomatics, and Field Notes

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering foundational concepts, classifications, measurement units, instruments, field note standards, and basic trigonometry from the introductory surveying lectures.

Surveying

The technique and science of accurately determining the relative position of points on, above, or beneath the surface of the earth or of establishing such points.

Geomatics

The modern discipline referring to the collection and manipulation of geospatial data; the term was introduced because advances in satellite and computer technology expanded the field beyond the terrestrial (ground-based) connotations of traditional surveying.

King Sesostris

An Egyptian king (about $1400\text{ B.C.}$), recorded by Herodotus, who divided the land of Egypt into plots for taxation purposes, prompting surveyors to relocate and replace boundaries washed away by annual Nile River floods.

Diopter and Groma

Historical surveying instruments developed through Greek and Roman contributions used for alignment, sighting, and area calculations.

Geodetic Surveying

A branch of surveying performed to a higher order of accuracy than plane surveying, where computations account for the curved surface of the Earth by modeling it on an ellipsoid.

Plane Surveying

A branch of surveying in which the reference base for fieldwork and computations is assumed to be a flat horizontal surface (except for levelling), plumb lines representing gravity are assumed parallel, and all observed angles are presumed to be plane angles.

Control Surveys

Specialized surveys that establish a network of horizontal and vertical monuments serving as a reference framework for initiating other surveys.

Topographic Surveys

Surveys conducted to determine the locations of natural and artificial features, as well as ground elevations, for use in map making.

Land, Boundary, and Cadastral Surveys

Surveys that establish property lines and property corner markers.

Alignment Surveys

Surveys conducted to plan, design, and construct highways, railroads, pipelines, and other linear projects.

Construction Surveys

Surveys that provide line, grade, elevations, horizontal positions, dimensions, and configurations for construction operations, and secure essential data for computing construction pay quantities.

As-built Surveys

Surveys that document the precise final locations and layouts of completed engineering works and record any design changes incorporated during construction.

Hydrographic Surveys

Surveys that define shorelines and water depths of lakes, streams, oceans, reservoirs, and other bodies of water.

Optical Alignment Surveys (Optical Tooling)

A method of making extremely accurate measurements for manufacturing processes where exceptionally small tolerances are required.

Total Station (TS)

An electronic surveying instrument that combines angle and distance measurement systems with an internal data recording system, becoming common after the 1960s.

Five Fundamental Surveying Measurements

Horizontal distances, horizontal angles, vertical distances, vertical angles (zenith), and slope distances.

Significant Figures (in Surveying)

The total number of digits recorded in an observed value, comprising all certain (positive) digits plus exactly one estimated or rounded-off digit that is questionable.

Metre

The basic SI unit of length, defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of $\frac{1}{299\,792\,458}$ of a second.

Radian

The derived SI unit of angle, defined as the angle subtended at the centre of a circle by an arc of the circumference equal in length to the radius of the circle ($2\pi$ radians in a complete circle).

Unbiased Rounding

A convention (also called 'round-to-even') where a number ending exactly in $5$ with no subsequent non-zero digits is rounded toward the nearest even digit (e.g., $51.5$ rounds up to $52$, while $54.5$ truncates to $54$).

Field Notes

The official records of all work completed in the field, including measurements, sketches, project descriptions, surveyor names, instrument types, dates, times, and weather conditions.

Five Essential Qualities of Field Notes

Accuracy (freedom from blunders), Integrity (completeness without omitted details or fudged closures), Legibility (professional readability), Arrangement (standard note forms), and Clarity (avoidance of crowded notes to prevent computation and drafting errors).

Geographic Information System (GIS)

A computer-based suite of software programs, spatial data, and analytical tools capable of storing, manipulating, and presenting geographically referenced information by linking map geometry with tabular attribute data.

Grade of a Line

The rate of inclination of a line expressed as a percentage: $\text{Grade of AB} = \frac{\text{Rise}}{\text{Run}} \times 100 = \tan(\text{VA}) \times 100 = \frac{\text{VD}}{\text{HD}} \times 100 = \frac{\sqrt{\text{SD}^2 - \text{HD}^2}}{\text{HD}} \times 100$.

Gunter's Chain

A traditional foot-based surveying unit of length equal to $66\text{ feet}$ or $100\text{ links}$ ($80\text{ chains} = 1\text{ mile}$).

Acre

A customary area measurement unit equivalent to $43{,}560\text{ ft}^2$ or $10\text{ square chains}$.

U.S. Survey Foot

A historic unit of length defined prior to 1959 by the relationship $1\text{ m} = 39.37\text{ in}$, equaling approximately $0.3048006\text{ m}$ (in contrast to the international foot defined as exactly $0.3048\text{ m}$).

Sine Law

A fundamental trigonometric formula relating the side lengths of any plane triangle to the sines of their opposite angles: $\frac{a}{\sin(A)} = \frac{b}{\sin(B)} = \frac{c}{\sin(C)}$.

Cosine Law

A trigonometric identity used to calculate an unknown side or angle in an oblique triangle: $a^2 = b^2 + c^2 - 2bc\cos(A)$.