Surveying I Theory of errors and Basic Adjustment Principles

Chapter 2
Theory of Errors and Basic Adjustment Principles

2.1. Introduction
Measurement is an observation carried out to determine the values of quantities (distances,
angles, directions, temperature …) the process of taking measurements involves physical
operations like setting up, caliberating, pointing matching comparing etc of the instrument.
The fundamental principle of measurement of surveying is that no measurement is exact and
the true value of quantity being measured is never known. No matter how a sophisticated
instrument used and all necessary cares are taken the result of a survey measurement will
contain some error. This is due to:
 Lack of perfection by the surveyor in his senses of seeing touching, hearing.
 Imperfection by the instruments and methods (in construction and adjustments and
environmental factors in their operation and approximations etc)
Therefore, it is theoretically impossible to get the ”exact” value or ”true” value of any
measured quantity as all of our measurements will contain some error and as the “ exact”
value should contain infinite significant digits (Which is practically impossible). Hence one
may ask why so measuring, as we cannot get the “exact “value of a measured quantity? In
surveying and generally in any scientific measurements what is important is not the “exact‟‟
value rather the possibility of carrying out the measurement to the degree of accuracy
sufficient to the desired purpose. Hence, as long as the desired accuracy is achieved our
measurements can be used as an equivalent to the “true “value.

2.2 Measures of quality

Accuracy: is a parameter indicating the closeness of measured value to the “true‟‟ or
„‟exact” value of a quantity. It indicates the degree of perfection obtained in measurements.
The further a measured value from the its “true” value the less accurate it is.

Precision or apparent accuracy: is the degree of refinement with which a given quantity is
measured. In other words, it is the closeness of the measured values to one another
regardless of their closeness to the true value.
It is possible for surveyors to obtain both accuracy and precision by exercising care,
patiency and using good instruments and procedures.
In measuring distance, precision is defined as the ration of the error of the measurement to
the distance measured.
Note a measurement can be accurate but not precise; precise but not accurate; precise and
accurate; and neither precise nor accurate as shown in figure 2.1.

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Surveying I Theory of errors and Basic Adjustment Principles

Figure 2.1: example on the concept of accuracy and precision

Weight: is a parameter indicating the relative reliability of recorded values .The assignment
of weight to a measurement is a matter of judgment. For measurements carried under similar
conditions the weight is assigned proportional to the number of observations. Also if
variance of the measurement is known it is assigned proportional to 1/variance (the inverse
of variance).

2.3 Error
Error is generally defined, as the deviation of the measured value from the “exact” value of
a quantity. The study of errors is important in surveying as it helps the surveyor understand
the sources and exercise the necessary care and apply correction to minimize their effect so
that an acceptable accuracy is achieved.

2.3.1 Error sources

Generally the errors in surveying measurements are classified as:

a) Personal: the error that occurs due to lack of perfection in the surveyor‟s sense of
sight, touch, hearing etc during survey activity. Also mistakes due to carelessness or
fatigue of the surveyor are classed under this category. This type of error can be
minimized with care and vigilance by the part of the surveyor.

b) Instrumental: it is the error type that occurs due to imperfection of the instruments
in manufacture and during adjustments and due to wear and tear by usage. Also
included are mistakes due to failure or damage of the instrument. This type of error
can be minimized with careful handling, maintenance and adjustment and calibration
of instruments and by applying corrections.

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Surveying I Theory of errors and Basic Adjustment Principles

c) Natural: included under this are errors due to effect of temp, pressure, humidity,
magnetic variation etc. this type of error can be minimized by applying correction
and by carrying out the survey when their effect is minimal.
There are also other errors that result due to choice of geometric or mathematical models
used to treat the measurements.

2.3.2 Error Types

Classically errors are classified in to three; these are Mistakes, Systematic errors and
Random errors.
a) Mistakes
These actually are not error because they usually are so gross in magnitude compared to the
other two types. These are rather blunder made by surveyor or his equipment and can occur
at any stage of the survey (during reading, recording computing and plotting).
Source: May be due to one of the following
 Carelessness or fatigue by surveyor
 Failure of equipment
Examples are:
- Reading wrong scale
o Transposing figure in recording ex 56 instead of 65 or reading 6 instead of 9.
o Omitting digits during recording ex 200 instead of 2000
- Sighting towards wrong target etc.
Generally, these class of errors can be easily detected and eliminated if strict and well
designed procedures and methodologies are followed in measuring recording etc. Some of
these are:
 Taking multiple independent readings and checking for reasonable
consistency
 Careful checking of both sighting on targets and recording
 Using simple and quick techniques for verification, applying logic and
common sense
 Checking and verifying performance of equipment particularly that with an
electronic read out
 Repeating the measurement with slightly different techniques or adopting
different datum/ index
 In relatively complex models, applying geometric or algebraic checks to
detect mistakes
 Simply noting that mistakes have large magnitude so can easily be detected.
Note: an observation with a mistake is not useful unless the mistake is removed, otherwise,
that observation must be discarded.

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Surveying I Theory of errors and Basic Adjustment Principles

b) Systematic errors
These are error types with relatively small magnitude compared to mistakes, and are result
of some systems whose effect can be expressed in mathematical relations; hence their
magnitude and sign can be estimated (determined). In most cases, the system causing the
systematic error can be personal, instrumental or physical and environmental conditions or
may be result of choice of geometric or mathematical model used.
Systematic / cumulative errors are those which for constant conditions remain the same as to
sign and magnitude: hence mare repetition will not help in detection and elimination. As
their values can be determined correction can be applied to improve the data. In addition,
proper calibration and adjustment of instruments also contribute to minimizing their effect.
c) Random Error
These are types of errors that remain after elimination of mistakes and systematic errors.
They occur because neither the surveyor nor his instruments are perfect. The magnitude of
this type can be estimated (standard deviation) but unlike that of systematic errors their sign
cannot be determined. Hence correction cannot be applied.
These types of errors are random in their nature and are thought to have normal probability
distribution. Their effect can be greatly decreased by exercising care and vigilance by the
part of surveyors and by using high precision instruments.

2.4 Significant figures

The expression significant figures are used to designate those digits in a number that have
meaning. A significant figure can be any one of the digits 1, 2, 3… 9; and 0 is a significant
figure except when used to fix a decimal point. Thus, the number 0.00456 has three
significant figures and the number 45.601 has five significant figures.
Rules of significant numbers applied to arithmetic operations:
 Round all the numbers to one more decimal than the least significant number and
add.
 To subtract one approximate number from another, first round each number to the
same decimal place before subtracting.
 During multiplication, round the more accurate numbers to one more significant
figure than the least accurate number and the answer should be given to the same
number of significant figures as found in the least accurate factor.
 In division, the same rules apply as for multiplication.

2.6 Adjustments
The term adjustment is used to imply that the given values of the observations must be
altered or adjusted, to make them consistent with the model, leading to the uniqueness of the
estimated unknowns.
Several techniques can be used to adjust redundant measurements. The most rigorous and
commonly used is the method of least squares.
Other approximate adjustment techniques can also be employed. If it is assumed that
measurements are of equal quality, or weight, the residual could be divided equally among
the observations. If these were not true and the different weights of the observations could

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Surveying I Theory of errors and Basic Adjustment Principles

be estimated, then each observation would be assigned a residual that is somewhat different
from the others.
Example: Three angles α, β, γ are measured in a plane triangle. The respective weights
estimated for the angles are w1, w2, and w3, respectively. Form the mathematical model for
this problem and adjust the three angles.
What would be the adjusted angles, if:
(a) α = 90, β = 43, γ=44, and w1 = w2 = w3 = 1
(b) α = 90, β = 43, γ=44, and w1 = 1, w2 = w3 = 2

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