AS 1

SURVEYING

Engr. Edmar C. Toledo

 AREA
COMPUTATIONS
Engr. Edmar C. Toledo
 Latitude and Departure

Latitude
▪ Of any line is the projection on a north and south lines

▪ It may be called as north or positive latitude and south or negative latitude

Departure
▪ Of any line is the projection on the east and west line
▪ West departure is sometimes called negative departure and East
departure is called positive departure
Latitude and Departure
 Error of Closure

Error of Closure
▪ In any closed traversed there is always an error
▪ No survey is geometrically perfect until proper adjustment are made.
▪ For a closed traversed, the sum of the north and south latitudes
should always be zero and the algebraic sum of the east and west
departures should also be zero
 Linear Error of Closure

Linear Error of Closure (LEC)

▪ Is usually a short line of unknown length and direction connecting
the initial and final stations of the traverse.
▪ Approximately determined by plotting the traverse to scale or more
exactly computing the hypotenuse of a right triangle whose sides are
the closure in latitudes and the closure in departures respectively.
LEC = σ 𝑳𝟐 + σ 𝑫𝟐
෍ 𝑫 − 𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝒅𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆

෍ 𝑳 − 𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆
 Relative Precision

Relative Error or Precision (RP)

▪ A convenient and more useful to measure of precision

▪ Defined by the ratio of the linear error of closure to the perimeter or

total length of the traverse. Usually expresses as a fraction

𝑳𝑬𝑪
RP =
𝑷

RP – Relative Error or Precision

LEC – Linear Error of Closure
P – Perimeter of the traverse
Latitude and Departure/Linear Error
of Closure/Relative Precision
Sample Problem 1:
Given in the tabulation are notes for an open traverse. Determine the
latitude and departure of each course and tabulate the observed and
computed values accordingly. Course Distance (m) Bearing
AB 550.30 N28°10’E
BC 395.48 S69°35’E
CD 462.70 S27°50’E
DE 631.22 N50°00’E
EF 340.05 S25°05’E
FG 275.6 Due East
 Latitude and Departure/Linear Error
of Closure/Relative Precision
Sample Problem 2:
Given in the tabulation are the observed data for a closed traverse obtained from a
transit-tape survey. Determine the following quantities: Latitude and Departure of each
course, Linear Error of Closure and Relative Precision. Line Length (m) Azimuth from
North
AB 233.10 122°30’
BC 242.05 85°15’
CD 191.50 20°00’
DE 234.46 333°35’
EF 270.65 254°08’
FG 252.38 213°00’
METHODS OF DETERMINING
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Different Methods used in Determining Area
▪ Triangles
▪ Coordinate Method
▪ DMD and DPD Method
▪ Trapezoidal Rule
▪ Simpsons One Third Rule
METHODS OF DETERMINING
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Area by Triangles
▪ Useful and fairly accurate method of computing area of
traverse that have only a few sides.
▪ This method is well suited for determining areas of small
tracts of land and was popularly used before the engineer’s
transit was invented.
 METHODS OF DETERMINING
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Area by Triangles
The following are the commonly used cases:
▪ Known Base and Altitude

𝟏
A = 𝟐 𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒙 𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆

Where:
A = area of the tract of land (sq.m.)
b = base or any side of the trianle (m)
h = altitude or the perpendicular distance
from the corner opposite the base (m)
 METHODS OF DETERMINING
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Area by Triangles
The following are the commonly used cases:
▪ Two sides and Included Angle Measured

𝟏
A = 𝟐 𝒂𝒃 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝜽
𝜽
Where:
A = area of the tract of land (sq.m.)
a,b = sides of the triangle(m)
𝜃 = angle between sides a and b
 METHODS OF DETERMINING
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Area by Triangles
The following are the commonly used cases:
▪ Three Sides Measured

A = 𝒔(𝒔 − 𝒂)(𝒔 − 𝒃)(𝒔 − 𝒄)

Where:
A = area of the tract of land (sq.m.)
s = semi perimeter
𝑎, 𝑏, 𝑐 = sides of the triangle
 METHODS OF DETERMINING
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Area by Triangles
The following are the commonly used cases:
▪ Three Angles and One side

𝒂𝟐 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝑩𝒔𝒊𝒏𝑪
A= a
𝟐𝒔𝒊𝒏𝑨

Where:
A = area of the tract of land (sq.m.)
a = one side of triangle
𝐴, 𝐵, 𝐶 = 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒
METHODS OF DETERMINING
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Sample Problem 3:

The sides of triangle ABC measured as follows: AB = 129.26m,

BC = 258.73m and AC = 211.25m. Calculate the area in square
meters and in hectares.
 METHODS OF DETERMINING
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Sample Problem 4:
A surveyor set up a transit at P which is located in the middle portion of a four sided
tract of land and reads direction and measures distances, as given to the four
corners. Find the area of the tract in square meters.

LINE DISTANCE (m) BEARING

PA 410.52 N41°30’W
PB 532.18 N38°10’E
PC 450.75 S70°20’E
PD 590.08 S60°15’W
METHODS OF DETERMINING
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Area by Offset from a Straight Line
▪ Tracts of land are not always bounded by straight lines
and it is often necessary to determine areas that are
sometimes bounded by irregular lines or curves
Two Common Rules: Offsets – short distances measured
perpendicular to a reference or
▪ Trapezoidal Rule base line

▪ Simpson’s One –Third Rule

METHODS OF DETERMINING
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TRAPEZOIDAL RULE
▪ Assumption made is that the ends of the offsets in the
boundary lines are assumed to be connected by straight
lines, thereby forming a series of trapezoids
METHODS OF DETERMINING
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TRAPEZOIDAL RULE
𝑑
A= [ℎ1 + ℎ𝑛 + 2 ℎ2 + ℎ3 + … . . ℎ𝑛−1 ]
2
Where:
A = summation of the areas of the trapezoids comprising the total area
d = common spacing between the offsets
n = number of offsets
ℎ2, ℎ3, 𝑒𝑡𝑐 = intermediate offsets
ℎ1 = end (first) offset
ℎ𝑛−1 = last intermediate offsets
ℎ𝑛 = end (last) offset
METHODS OF DETERMINING
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SIMPSON’S ONE THIRD RULE
▪ Is based on the assumption that the curved boundary consists of a
series of parabolic arcs, where each arc is continuous over three
adjacent offsets that are equally spaced.

▪ Because of this assumption, the rule in only applicable when there

is an odd number of offsets and if they are equally spaced. When
there is an even number of offsets, the portion of all but the part
between the last two offsets may be determined by using the rule.
The remaining portion is then determined separately by assuming
it to be a single trapezoid.
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SIMPSON’S ONE THIRD RULE
𝑑
A= [ℎ1 + ℎ𝑛 + 2(ℎ3 + ℎ5 + ⋯ ℎ𝑛−2 ) + 4(ℎ2 + ℎ4 + ⋯ ℎ𝑛−1 )]
3

Where:
A = area of the tract bounded by the curved boundary, the base line and the end offsets
d = common spacing between the offsets
n = number of offsets ℎ3, ℎ5, 𝑒𝑡𝑐 = odd numbered intermediate offsets
ℎ1 = end (first) offset ℎ2, ℎ4, 𝑒𝑡𝑐= even numbered intermediate offsets
ℎ𝑛 = end (last) offset ℎ𝑛−1 = last even intermediate offsets
ℎ𝑛−2 = last even intermediate offsets
 METHODS OF DETERMINING
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Sample Problem 5:

A series of perpendicular offsets were taken from a transit line to

an irregular boundary. Those offsets were taken 2.5 meters apart
and were measured in the following order; 0.0, 2.6, 4.2, 4.4, 3.8,
2.5, 4.5, 5.2, 1.6, and 5.0 meters. By the trapezoidal rule, find the
area included between the transit line, curve boundary and the
end offsets.
 METHODS OF DETERMINING
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Sample Problem 6:

From a transit line to the edge of a river a series of perpendicular

offsets are taken. These offsets are spaced 4.0 meters apart and
were measured in the following order; 0.5, 1.4, 2.5, 5.6, 8.5, 7.4,
3.8, 5.1 and 2.3 meters. By Simpson’s One-Third Rule, compute
the area included between the transit line, the river’s edge and
the line offsets.
METHODS OF DETERMINING
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Meridian Distance
▪ Of a line is defined as the
shortest distance from the
midpoint of the line to the
reference meridian
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Double Meridian Distance (DMD)
▪ Of a line is the meridian distance of the line multiplied
by two
▪ Abbreviated as DMD, used in computing the area of field
enclosed by a traverse.
METHODS OF DETERMINING
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Double Meridian Distance (DMD)
Three Rules in Computing the DMD for each Course of Traverse:
Rule 1 – The DMD of the first course is equal to the departure of the course.

Rule 2 – The DMD of any course is equal to the DMD of the preceding course,
plus the departure of the preceding course, plus the departure of course itself
Rule 3 – The DMD of the last course is numerically equal to the departure of
that course, but with the opposite sign
 METHODS OF DETERMINING
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Parallel Distance
▪ Of a line is defined as the distance from the midpoint of
the line to the reference parallel or the east west line
Double Parallel Distance (DPD)
▪ By using the latitudes of the successive courses instead
of the departures, parallel distances can also be
computed in a manner similar to meridian distances
▪ Abbreviated as DPD, it is equal to twice its parallel distance
METHODS OF DETERMINING
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Double Parallel Distance (DPD)
Three Rules in Computing the DPD for each Course of Traverse:
Rule 1 – The DPD of the first course is equal to the latitude of the course.

Rule 2 – The DPD of any course is equal to the DPD of the preceding course,
plus the latitude of the preceding course, plus the latitude of course itself
Rule 3 – The DPD of the last course is numerically equal to the latitude of that
course, but with the opposite sign
 METHODS OF DETERMINING
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Sample Problem 7:
A closed traverse has the following data.

LINE DISTANCE (m) BEARING a. Find the Departure of line CD

AB 32.24 S70°14’E b. Compute the DMD of line DE
BC 31.71 S36°30’W c. Determine the area of the
CD 17.54 N65°19’W traverse using DMD method

DE 36.30 N80°35’W d. Determine the area of the

traverse using DPD method
EA 46.44 N60°08’E