GEE 141 Fundamentals of Surveying Midterm Reviewer

Comprehensive practice flashcards covering fundamental surveying definitions, error analysis, coordinate calculations, traverse adjustments, and worked review problems.

What type of survey is conducted specifically to determine land boundaries?

Cadastral survey (boundary survey).

How is a bearing that is less than $90^\circ$ classified, and how is a quadrant bearing expressed?

It is an acute bearing angle. A quadrant bearing is expressed from N or S toward E or W, with an angle from $0^\circ$ to $90^\circ$.

What is the surveying term for a direction measured clockwise from north from $0^\circ$ to $360^\circ$?

Azimuth.

What term describes the angular difference between true north and magnetic north?

Magnetic declination (magnetic variation).

What is the angle between the extension of the previous traverse line and the next line called?

Deflection angle.

What is the reference line from which bearings and azimuths are measured?

Meridian.

Why does using a tape that is too short result in measured distances that are longer than the true distance?

A short tape must be used more times; each nominal tape length represents a shorter actual length, so the recorded total is too large.

Under what condition is it true that angular misclosure must be distributed equally to each traverse angle?

Only when the angles are of equal precision (equal weight).

What are the algebraic signs of latitude and departure for a line with a bearing of S $30^\circ$ E?

Latitude is negative (South) and departure is positive (East).

What cardinal direction corresponds to an azimuth of $270^\circ$?

Due west.

What is the formula for the tape temperature correction ($C_t$)?

$C_t = \alpha(T_m - T_s)L$, where corrected distance equals measured distance plus $C_t$.

What is the formula for calculating the temperature-adjusted tape length ($L_{\text{actual}}$)?

$$L_{\text{actual}} = L_{\text{nominal}}[1 + \alpha(T_m - T_s)]$$

What is the formula to convert degrees, minutes, and seconds (DMS) to decimal degrees?

$$D + \frac{M}{60} + \frac{S}{3600}$$

How is an azimuth ($\text{Az}$) converted to a quadrant bearing for angles between $90^\circ\text{–}180^\circ$ and $180^\circ\text{–}270^\circ$?

For $90^\circ\text{–}180^\circ$: $\text{S}(180^\circ - \text{Az})\text{E}$; for $180^\circ\text{–}270^\circ$: $\text{S}(\text{Az} - 180^\circ)\text{W}$.

What are the trigonometric formulas used to calculate Latitude and Departure?

$\text{Lat} = L \cos(\text{Az})$ (North is $+$, South is $-$) and $\text{Dep} = L \sin(\text{Az})$ (East is $+$, West is $-$).

What is the formula for linear error of closure ($LE$)?

$$LE = \sqrt{(\sum \text{Lat})^2 + (\sum \text{Dep})^2}$$

According to the Bowditch (compass) rule, what are the formulas for corrections to latitude ($C_{\text{Lat},i}$) and departure ($C_{\text{Dep},i}$)?

$C_{\text{Lat},i} = -(\sum \text{Lat})\left(\frac{L_i}{\text{Perimeter}}\right)$ and $C_{\text{Dep},i} = -(\sum \text{Dep})\left(\frac{L_i}{\text{Perimeter}}\right)$

To lay out a true $500\,\text{m}$ line when $T_s = 28^\circ\text{C}$, field temperature $T_m = 12^\circ\text{C}$, and $\alpha = 0.0000116\,\text{m}/(\text{m}\cdot^\circ\text{C})$, what measurement should be read on the tape?

Approximately $500.093\,\text{m}$ (computed as $\frac{500}{1 + \alpha \Delta T} = \frac{500}{1 - 0.0001856} = 500.0928\,\text{m}$).

What is the bearing in degrees, minutes, seconds and in decimal degrees for an azimuth of $128^\circ 13' 46''$?

$\text{S } 51^\circ 46' 14''\text{ E}$ or $\text{S } 51.77056^\circ\text{ E}$.

What is the procedure for computing the correction per angle for the interior angles of a triangle with equal precision?

Sum the measured angles ($\sum \theta$), calculate the angular misclosure as $180^\circ - \sum \theta$, and distribute it equally by computing $\text{Correction per angle} = \frac{180^\circ - \sum \theta}{3}$.

In a traverse with a perimeter of $2556.00\,\text{m}$ and a linear closure error of $89.927\,\text{m}$, what is the relative precision?

Approximately $1 : 28.4$ (from $\frac{2556.00}{89.927} = 28.42$).

What does a relative precision of $1 : 1000$ indicate?

About $1$ unit of closure error for every $1000$ units of traverse length.

How must the signs and magnitudes of Bowditch corrections relate to total misclosure and line lengths?

Bowditch corrections are proportional to each line's length and opposite in sign to the total misclosure.