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Chapter 1
1. Introduction
1.1. Basic definitions
Surveying is the science and art of determining the positions of various points above, on or below the
surface of the earth. The relative positions are determined by measuring horizontal distance, vertical
distance (elevations), horizontal angle, and vertical angle accurately using various surveying instruments.
After taking the measurements in the field, computations are done and the plans and maps are prepared in
the office. These plans and maps are used for planning of engineering works, making of boundaries,
computations of area and volumes, and various other purposes. Surveying also includes the art of setting
out or locating the points on the ground from the plan or map.
The first stage in all the big projects is generally to survey the area and to prepare plans. These plans are
used in the preparation of the detailed drawing, design, and estimate of the project. After finalizing the
drawings, setting out is done by establishing the various points and lines on the ground from the drawing.
Surveying although simple in concept, it requires great skill and practice for doing the work accurately
and economically. It requires basic knowledge of various disciplines such as mathematics, physics,
geodesy and astronomy. The need for accurate surveying is increasing rapidly with the development in
technology. The construction of modern buildings, high ways, railways, high dams, long bridges, and
tunnels requires accurate surveying. As the cost the of land and property is increasing rapidly, high
accuracy is required in making the boundaries and land subdivisions
In order to gain a clear understanding of the procedures for making surveying measurements on earth‟s
surface, it is necessary to be familiar with the meanings of certain basic terms.
Vertical line: - it is the line that follows the direction of gravity at a point on the earth‟s surface.
Vertical plane: - any plane that contains the vertical line at the point on the surface of the earth.
Horizontal line: - It is any line that is perpendicular to the vertical line at a point on the earth's surface.
Horizontal plane: - at a point on the earth's surface, the plane that is perpendicular to the vertical line at
that point is known as horizontal plane.
A vertical angle: - is an angle measured in a vertical plane.
A Horizontal angle: - is an angle measured in a horizontal plane between two vertical planes.
Elevation of a point: is its vertical distance above or below a given reference level surface.
Difference in elevation between two points: is vertical distances between two level surfaces contain the
two points.

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1.2. Types and principles of surveying

1.2.1 Types of surveying

Types and principles of surveying

We can classify Surveying Based on:
 Primary division ……Plane Surveying & Geodetic Surveying
 Purpose ……
 Control survey
 Topographic Survey
 Route Survey
 Hydrographic Survey
 Construction Survey
 Photogrammetric survey
 Cadastral Survey

 .
Instruments used… Chain Surveying .Compass Surveying .Level1ing
.Plane table Surveying .Theodolite Surveying .Tacheometric Surveying .EDM
 Position of Instruments………..Air-Based & Ground Based

 Method of Survey………………..Traverse & Triangulation

i. primary division of surveying

Primary division of surveying is made on the basis of whether the curvature of the earth is considered or
assumed to be flat plane. The shape of the earth is an oblate spheroid. It is an ellipsoid revolution,
flattened at the poles and bulging at the equator. The length of the polar axis is about 12713.168km and
that of equatorial axis is about [Link] the polar axis shorter than the equatorial axis by about
43.43km.
Because of the curvature of the earth's surface the measured distances on the earth are actually curved.
However, when the distances are small, compared with the radius of the earth, there is no significant
difference between the curved distance and the corresponding straight line distance and the curvature of
the earth can be neglected.
Surveying is thus divided into two types
1. Plane surveying
2. Geodetic surveying
1. Plane surveying
It is the type of surveying in which the curvature of the earth is neglected and it is assumed to be flat
surface. All distance and horizontal angles are assumed to be projected on to a horizontal plane.
Plane surveying can safely be used when one is concerned with small portion of the earth's surface and
areas involved are less than [Link] or so. It is worth noting that the difference between an arc distance

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of 18.5km on the earth's surface and the corresponding chord distance is less than 10mm. Further the
difference between the sum of the angles of a spherical triangle having an area of [Link] on the earth's
surface and that of the corresponding angles of a plane triangle is only 1second. In plane surveying the
angled of polygons are considered as plane angles.
2. Geodetic surveying
It is the type of surveying in which the curvature of the earth is taken into consideration, and a very
standard of accuracy is maintained. The main objective of geodetic surveying is to determine the precise
location of a system of widely spaced points on the surface of the earth.
ii. Classification of surveying based on purpose
Most of these types of survey are planning type surveying.
1. Control survey: - is a survey made to establish the horizontal or vertical positions of an arbitrary
point.
2. Topographic Survey is a survey conducted to determine the configuration of the ground and all the
features on it (man made or natural)
3. Construction Survey: - Surveys performed to locate or layout engineering works.
4. Cadastral Survey: - us a survey made to determine the lengths and directions of boundary lines and
the area of the tract bounded by these lines. Or it is simply a survey made to establish the positions of
boundary lines on the ground.
5. Hydrographic Survey: - is a survey conducted to determine the configuration of the bottom of the
body of water.
6. Route Survey: - involves the determination of the relief and the location of natural and artificial
objects along a proposed route for high– way, railroad, canal, pipeline, power line or other utilities.
The may also involve the calculation of earthwork quantities.
7. Arial survey (or photogram metric survey): - a survey conducted by means of Arial photography.
iii. Classification of survey based on instruments used
Based On the instruments used surveying can be classified as under:
1. Chain surveying: This is the simplest type of surveying in which only linear measurements are taken
with a chain or tape.
2. Compass surveying: In compass surveying, the horizontal angles are measured with the help of a
magnetic compass, in addition to the linear measurements with a chain or a tape.
3. Level1ing: this is a type of surveying in which a leveling instrument is used for determinations of
vertical elevations (levels) of various points in the vertical plane.

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4. Plane table surveying: In plane table surveying, a map is prepared in the field while viewing the
terrain after determining the directions of various lines and taking the linear measurements with
telescopic alidade.
5. Theodolite surveying: theodolite is a very precise instrument for measuring horizontal and vertical
angles. The theodolite surveys can be broadly classified in two types:
 Traversing
 Triangulation.
6. Tacheometric surveying: a tacheometric is a special type of theodolite that is fitted with a Stadia
diaphragm having two horizontal cross hairs in addition to the central horizontal hair. in tacheometric
surveying horizontal angles, horizontal distances and elevations are measured with a tacheometr.
7. Photogrametric surveying: Photogrammetry is a science of taking measurements with the help of
photographs. Photogrametric surveying are generally used for topographic mapping of vast areas.
8. EDM Surveying: Trilateration is a type of triangulation in which all the three sides of a triangle are
measured accurately with EDM instruments. The angles are computed indirectly from the known
sides of the triangles. Thus all the sides and angles are determined.

1.2.2. PRINCIPLES

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Every profession must be founded upon sound practice and in this surveying is no different.
Practice in turn must be based upon proven principles. This section is concerned with examining the
principles of survey, describing their interrelationship and showing how they may be applied in practice.
Most of the principles below have an application at all stages of a survey and it is an unwise and
unprofessional surveyor who does not take them into consideration when planning, executing, computing
and presenting the results of the survey work. The principles described here have application across the
whole spectrum of survey activity, from field work to Photogrammetry, mining surveying to metrology,
hydrography to cartography, and cadastral to construction surveying.
Control
A control network is the framework of survey stations whose coordinates have been precisely determined
and are often considered definitive. The stations are the reference monuments, to which other survey
work of a lesser quality is related. By its nature, a control survey needs to be precise, complete and
reliable and it must be possible to show that these qualities have been achieved. This is done by using
equipment of proven precision, with methods that satisfy the principles and data processing that not only
computes the correct values but gives numerical measures of their precision and reliability.
Since care needs to be taken over the provision of control, then it must be planned to ensure that it
achieves the numerically stated objectives of precision and reliability. It must also be complete as it will
be needed for all related and dependent survey work. The practice of using a control framework as a basis
for further survey operations is often called „working from the whole to the part’. If it becomes
necessary to work outside the control framework then it must be extended to cover the increased area of
operations. Failure to do so will degrade the accuracy of later survey work even if the quality of survey
observations is maintained.
Economy of accuracy
Surveys are only ever undertaken for a specific purpose and so should be as accurate as they need to be,
but not more accurate. In spite of modern equipment, automated systems, and statistical data processing
the business of survey is still a manpower intensive one and needs to be kept to an economic minimum.
Once the requirement for a survey or some setting out exists, then part of the specification for the work
must include a statement of the relative and absolute accuracies to be achieved. From this, a specification
for the control survey may be derived and once this specification has been achieved, there is no
requirement for further work.
Whereas control involves working from „the whole to the part‟ the specification for all survey products is
achieved by working from „the part to the whole‟. The specification for the control may be derived from
estimation based upon experience using knowledge of survey methods to be applied, the instruments to
be used and the capabilities of the personnel involved. Such a specification defines the expected quality

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of the output by defining the quality of the work that goes into the survey. Alternatively a statistical
analysis of the proposed control network may be used and this is the preferable approach. In practice a
good specification will involve a combination of both methods, statistics tempered by experience. The
accuracy of any survey work will never be better than the control upon which it is based. You cannot set
out steelwork to 5 mm if the control is only good to 2 cm.
Consistency
Any „product‟ is only as good as the most poorly executed part of it. It matters not whether that „product‟
is a washing machine or open heart surgery, a weakness or inconsistency in the endeavor could cause a
catastrophic failure. The same may apply in survey, especially with control.
Consistency and economy of accuracy usually go hand in hand in the production of control.
The Independent check
The independent check is a technique of quality assurance. It is a means of guarding against a blunder or
gross error and the principle must be applied at all stages of a survey. Failure to do so will lead to the
risk, if not probability, of „catastrophic failure‟ of the survey work. If observations are made with optical
or mechanical instruments, then the observations will need to be written down. A standard format should
be used, with sufficient arithmetic checks upon the booking sheet to ensure that there are no
computational errors. The observations should be repeated, or better, made in a different manner to
ensure that they are in sympathy with each other. For example, if a rectangular building is to be set out,
then once the four corners have been set out, opposite sides should be the same length and so should the
diagonals. The sides and diagonals should also be related through Pythagoras‟ theorem. Such checks and
many others will be familiar to the practicing surveyor.
Checks should be applied to ensure that stations have been properly occupied and the observations
between them properly made. This may be achieved by taking extra and different measurements beyond
the strict minimum required solving the survey problem. An adjustment of these observations, especially
by least squares, leads to misclosure or error statistics which in themselves are a manifestation of the
independent check.
Data abstraction, preliminary computations, data preparation and data entry are all areas where
transcription errors are likely to lead to apparent blunders. Ideally all these activities should be carried out
by more than one person so as to duplicate the work and with frequent cross-reference to detect errors.
In short, wherever there is a human interaction with data or data collection there is scope for error.
Every human activity needs to be duplicated if it is not self-checking. Wherever there is an opportunity
for an error there must be a system for checking that no error exists. If an error exists, there must be a
means of finding it.

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Safeguarding
Since survey can be an expensive process, every sensible precaution should be taken to ensure that the
work is not compromised. Safeguarding is concerned with the protection of work. Observations which
are written down in the field must be in a permanent, legible, unambiguous and easily understood form so
that others may make good sense of the work. Observations and other data should be duplicated at the
earliest possible stage, so that if something happens to the original work the information is not lost. This
may be by photocopying field sheets, or making backup copies of computer files. Whenever the data is in
a unique form or where all forms of the data are held in the same place, then that data is vulnerable to
accidental destruction.
In the case of a control survey, the protection of survey monuments is most important since the precise
coordinates of a point which no longer exists or cannot be found are useless.
Basic measurements in surveying
Surveying basically consists of the following four measurements.
1. Horizontal distance: A horizontal distance is measured in a horizontal plane. If a distance is measured
along a slope, it is reduced to the horizontal equivalent.
2. Vertical distances: A vertical distance is measured along the direction of gravity at that point. The
vertical distances are measured to determine the difference in elevations height of the various points.
3. Horizontal ang1e: A horizontal angle is measured between two lines in a plane that is horizontal at
that point.
4 Vertical angles: Vertical angle is measured between two lines in a plane that is vertical at a point.

OPERATIONS IN SURVEYING
1. PLANNING TO DECIDE
 The methods to be adopted for surveying
 The resources (instruments & personnel) to be used
 The control points or stations to be used ( those already available and /or to
set up).
 The planning operation needs a-priori field visit and this is known as
reconnaissance
2. FIELD OBSERVATION ; It involves
 Collection of field data by making necessary measurements;
 Recording of observed data in a systematic manner.

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 Before starting any field observation, the permanent adjustments of all the
instruments need to be checked thoroughly by trained personnel and if
required, it must be adjusted.
3. OFFICE WORKS; It involves
 Processing, analysing and calculation of observed data;
 Preparation of necessary data (for making plan or map of the area);
 Making of a plan or map of the area;
 Computation of relevant field parameters as per design for setting out
engineering works at site.
4. SETTING OUT WORKS
 To locate and establish different parameters / dimensions at the site as per design for
further engineering works.

1.3. Errors and Mistakes

No one is perfect in nature while measuring any quantity and there is no perfect instrument with which to
do the measuring. Thus the results of all measurements are imperfect and this imperfectness is the results
of errors and/or mistakes

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Errors: - are inaccuracies in measurement caused by the types of equipment used for by the way in
which the equipments are used. In other words it is the difference from the true value due to personal or
instrumental imperfectness.
Errors cannot be eliminated but they can be minimized to some degree by careful work combined with
the application of certain numerical corrections.
Mistakes: - (or blunders) are inaccuracies in measurement occurring because of some part of the
surveying operation are performed improperly (i.e. carelessness of the surveyor). They are the difference
from the true value caused by the inattention of the survey or for example, he/she may read a number as 6
when it is actually 9 and record the wrong quantity.
Mistakes are also known as gross error and can be eliminated by adopting standard methods of
observation, booting and checking. They are random in nature.
Sources of error
In general there are three sources of error: people, instruments and nature. So, from this point of view the
sources of error may be summarized as follows.
1. Personal Errors: - cased by the inability of the individual to make exact observation due to the
limitations of human sight, touch and hearing. For example in estimating the fractional part of a
scale a person cannot read it perfectly and the reading will always be either a little large or a little
small.
2. Instrumental Errors: - Occur because of imperfect production of parts of the instrument cannot
be adjusted exactly with respect to each other. More over with time the wear and tear of the
instrument cause errors. These can be minimized or even eliminated by proper design and
adjustment of instrument.
3. Natural Errors: - Caused by the variations in one or more of the natural variables like
temperature, wind, moisture, magnetic variations and so on.
Types of errors
Errors are said to be systematic or accidental based on their occurrence and sources
1. Systematic Error; -are also known as cumulative error. These arise from the methods of
measurements, the instruments used and the physical conditions at the time of measurement must all
be considered in the respect.
Expansion of steel tapes, frequency changes in electromagnetic distance measure (EDM) instruments
and collimation in a level are jest few examples of possible sources of systematic errors. Though
they are cumulative in nature some of them can be eliminated and some may be minimized.
2. Accidental Errors: - (Random Errors) they are excess of systematic errors. They are beyond the
control of the observer and are random in nature.

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Accuracy and Precision

As discussed earlier any measurement cannot exactly be perfect, due to errors or/and mistakes. Hence a
major concern in surveying is the precision of the work and the objective of the surveyor is to make
measurements that are both precise and accurate. The terms accuracy and precision are constantly used
in surveying & yet their correct meanings are a little difficult to grasp.
Accuracy denotes the closeness of a given measurement to the true value. It is the degree of perfection
achieved in measurement.
Precision or apparent accuracy is the degree of refinement with which a given quantity measured. In
other words, it is the closeness of one measurement to another. If a quantity is measured several times
and the values obtained are very close to each other, the precision is said to be high. It doesn‟t necessarily
follow that better precision means better accuracy. A measurement that is precise will always be accurate
if it contains no errors.
In measuring distance precision is defined as the ratio of the error of the measurement to the distance
measured and it is reduced to fraction having a numerator of unity.
Example: - If the distance of 210m is measured and the error is later estimated to equal 0.35m, the
precision of measurement is 0.35/210 = 1/ 600. This means for every 600m measurement there is an
error of 1m if the work were done with same degree of precision.
Precision and accuracy can be illustrated diagrammatically as shown below

1.4. Unit of Measurements

Units of measurement and conversions
There are two main systems of measurements:
1) Metric system (SI Système International)
2) British system

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Most countries of the world use SI metric units of measurement; SI stands for “Système International.”
Most measurements and computations in surveying are related to the determination of angles (or
directions), distance, area, and volume.
1.4.1. Distance (Length), Area, Volume
A. Distance (Length)
In the SI system of units, length or distance is measured primarily in terms of meters (m) and its fractions
where as in the brutish system; the basic unit for distance or length is the foot (ft) and its fractions.
SI Metric System British System
1 meter (m) =1000 millimeters (mm) 1 foot (ft) = 12 inches (in)
1 meter (m) =100 centimeters (cm) 1 yard (yd) = 3 feet (ft)
1 meter =10 decimeters (dm) 1 mile (mi) = 5280 feet
1 kilometer (km) = 1000 meters 1 chain (ch) = 66 feet
1 millimeter= 0.001 meter 1 chain =100 links (lk) = 4 rods (rd)
1 centimeter =0.010 meter 1 mile =80 chains
1 decimeter = 0.100 meter 1 fathom (fm) = 6 feet
British and SI Metric Equivalences
1 inch =25.4 millimeters* 1 meter= 39.37009 inches
1 foot=0.3048 meter 1 meter =3.2808399 feet
1 mile=1.609344 Kilometers 1 kilometer =0.62137119 mile
(Note: * denotes an exact equivalence.)
Example Conversions:
1. Convert a distance of 567.89 ft to its equivalent in meters.
567.89 ft x 0.3048 m =173.09 m
1 ft
2. Convert a distance 2.34 km to its equivalent in miles.
2.34 km x0.62 137 119 mi =1.45 mi
1 km
B. Area
The unit for measuring area, which expresses the amount of two-dimensional Space encompassed
within the boundary of a closed figure or shape, is derived from the basic unit of length. In SI
metric units, the basic unit for area is the square meter (m2). Large land areas may be expressed in
terms of square kilometers (sq km or km2) or hectares (ha), where 1 ha is equivalent to 1 0 000 m2.
Another metric unit for area is the acre, where 1 acre = 100 m2.

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British System SI Metric System

2 2
1 square yard (yd ) = 9 square feet (ft ) 1 square kilometer (km2) =106 square
1 cubic yard (yd3) = 27 cubic feet (ft3) meters (m2)
1 acre (ac) =10 square chains 1 square kilometer =100 hectares (ha)
1 acre = 43560 square feet 1 hectare= 10000 square meters
I square mile (mi2) = 640 acres 1 hectare =100 acres
1 are =100 square meters
1 m2 = 106 mm2
104 m2 = 1 hectare (ha)
106 m2 = 1 square kilometer (km2
British and SI Metric Equivalences
1 square yard =0.8361274 square meter 1 square kilometer=0.3861 Square mile
1 cubic yard =0.764555 cubic meter 1 square meter =1.19599 square yards
1 square foot =0.0929368 square meter 1 cubic meter =1.30795 cubic yards
1 acre = 0.40468564 hectare 1 square mile= 2.59 square kilometers
1 hectare= 2.47 10538 acres 1 square meter =10.76 square feet
C. Volume
The SI Unit for volume is the derived unit
cubic meter (m3)
1000 cu millimeters =1 cubic centimeter
1000 cu centimeters = 1 cubic decimeter
1000 Cu decimeters =1 cubic meter

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1.4.2. Describing the units for Plane angle

An angle is simply a figure formed by the intersection of two lines. It may also be viewed as
being generated by the rotation of a line about a point, from an initial position to a terminal
position. The point of rotation is called the vertex of the angle. Angular measurement is
concerned with the amount of rotation, or the space between the initial and terminal positions of
the line.
There are three systems in use for angular unit, namely sexagesimal graduation, centesimal
graduation and radian.
Sexagesimal graduation (DEGREES, MINUTES AND SECONDS)
The sexagesimal units, in which a complete rotation of a line (or a circle) is divided into 360
parts called degrees of arc, this is used in many parts of the world, including the UK, and
measure angles in degrees (º), minutes (') and seconds ('') of arc, i.e.1 degree is divided into 60
minutes, and 1 minute is further divided into 60 seconds of arc. The symbols for degrees,
minutes, and seconds are °, ', and '', respectively
 1circle=360º
 1º = 60'
 1' = 60''
Centesimal graduation (GRADS)
The centesimal system is quite common in Europe and measures angles in gons (g). Here, a
complete rotation is divided into 400 grades, or grads, written as 400 g. The grad is subdivided
into 100 parts called centigrads (1g =100c, and the centigrad is further subdivided into centi-
centigrads (1c = 100cc). A right angle (90°) is equivalent to 100g. For an angle expressed as
139.4325g, the first two digits after the decimal point are centigrads (0.43g = 43c), and the second
pair of digits represents centi-centigrads (0.0025g = 25cc).
1 gon = 100 cgon (centigon)
1 cgon = 10 mgon (milligon)
The radian or rad
By definition, one radian is equivalent to the angle formed between two radii in a circle, when
the arc length between the radii is the same as the radius. Since the circumference of a circle is
equal to 2πR, there must be 2π (about 2 X 3.14 = 6.28) rad in a circle. Therefore 6.28 rad = 360°
and 1 rad = 57.3°

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A radian is that angle subtended at the centre of a circle by an arc on the circumference equal in
length to the radius of the circle, i.e.
2π rad = 360° = 400 gon
Thus to transform degrees to radians, multiply by π / 1800 and to transform radians to degrees,
multiply by 180°/ π. It can be seen that:
1 rad = 57.2957795° = 63.6619972gon
1.5. Scale
Considering the actual surface dimensions, drawings are made to smaller sizes of the area. It is
never possible to make its drawing to full size. This Operation is generally known as „drawing
to scale‟.
The scale of a map may be defined as the fixed proportion which every distance between the
locations of the points on the map, bears to the corresponding distances between their positions
on the ground. For an example, if 1 cm on a map represents a distance of 5 meters on the
ground, the scale of the map is said to be 1 cm = 5 m. The scale of a map is also sometimes
expressed by fraction generally called, „Representative Fraction‟ (R.F.). Scales of the maps are
represented by the following two methods:
(i) Numerical scales. (ii) Graphical scales.
1. Numerical Scales. Numerical scales are further divided into two types, i.e.
a) Engineer‟s scale b) Fraction scale.
(a) Engineer’s scale. The scale, on which one cm on the plan represents some whole number
of meters on the ground, is known as Engineer‟s scale. For example1 cm= 5 m; 1 cm= 10
m, etc.
(b) Fraction scale. The scale on which a unit of length on the plan represents some number
of the same unit of length on the ground is known as Fraction Scale. For example 1:
500; 1: 1000; 1: 5,000, etc.
To convert an engineer‟s scale into fraction scale, multiply the whole number of meters by
100. Similarly, a fraction scale may be converted into engineer‟s scale by dividing the
denominator by 100 and equating the quotient to 1 cm.
2. Graphical scales. A graphical scale is a line subdivided into plan distances corresponding to
some convenient units of length on the surface of the earth.

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Necessity of Drawing Scales on Maps

When a map is used after a considerable time or in different climatic conditions, the dimensions
of the paper usually get distorted. Due to distortion in the paper the numerical scales will not
give accurate results. On the other hand, if a graphical scale is drawn on the map, there will also
be a proportional distortion in the length of the scale and the distances from the distorted map
will be accurately scaled off. This is why scales are always drawn on the maps and charts which
are maintained for future reference.
Requirements of a Useful graphic Scale
A useful map scale should possess the following essential requirements.
1) It should be sufficiently long and should not be less than 18cm and more than 32cm.
2) Inter-divisions should be accurately done and correctly numbered.
3) The zero must always be placed between unit and its sub-divisions.
4) The name of scale and its R.F. should always be written on the plan.
5) It should be easily readable without making any arithmetical calculations for measuring
the distances on a map. The main divisions should, therefore, represent one, ten, hundred
or thousand units.
- Map scales may be classified as large, medium, or small.
 large scale 1:1000 or larger
 intermediate (medium) 1:1000 up to 1:10000
 small scale 1:10000 or smaller

Type of measuring scales

1. Plain Scale
2. Comparative Scale
3. Diagonal Scale
4. Vernier Scale

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