What is the purpose of this site?
Surveying for Central Station, Sydney, 1900
Surveyor needs a lot of knowledge from math, geometry and being a surveyor was admired and honorable career
Surveyor needs a lot of knowledge from math, geometry and being a surveyor was admired and honorable career
This website is being made for subject Surveying Course and is based on book Surveying Fundamentals and Practises, 6th edition, Pearson.
- The web is intended for students as a convenient learning material. Students are not assistants of their teachers (to prepare notes of lecturers' presentations).
- I want to make students confident of topic coverage needed to successfully pass the exam.
- I consider some passages within the book as not clear and I tend to believe these can be explained better, often also by means of interactive web presentation.
- I consider some passages within the book as outdated and many as unimportant. We have to focus on essentials and important topics. "Nice to know" topics have not to replace memories for basic concepts.
- I want to attract students to the subject using—what I consider—some more interesting content collected from Internet (which is overlooked by the book).
- This website serves also as the presentation material for lessons.
List of chapters
- Motivation
- Introduction
- Units and errors
- Geometry fundamentals
- Measuring horizontal distances
- Measuring vertical distances
- Measuring angles and directions
- Horizontal control surveys
- Property surveys
- Topographic surveys and maps
- Construction surveys
List of field works
- Leveling
- Horizontal distances (trilateration)
- Measured building survey
- Contour lines
- Triangulation
- Property resurvey
- Traverse
- Building stakeout
List of basic questions
- What is the purpose of geodetic surveying? Can you name some usefull applications?
- GPS satellites are not on geostationary orbit. Can you name some implications?
- Explain basic concept of GPS.
- Compare precision of handheld (widely used) GPS receiver and GPS receiver used for geodetic purposes. What are the main differences between handheld and precise geodetic GPS receiver?
- Earth is a sphere but maps are being depicted in 2D. What are the implications of such disorder a) for mapmaking and b) for geodetic surveying? Can you depict some example?
- The maps state the altitudes against a sea level. What is the meaning of sea level and what are vertical datums?
- Explain the difference between magnetic and geographic pole. How geographic pole can be found?
- Why do we use probability in geodetic surveying? What does standard error tell us?
- Compare methods to measure distances according their expected accuracy. Which one will you choose?
- What is EDM, its accuracy and prism?
- What is the principle of differential leveling? What is backsight, foresight, turning point, rod shots?
- What are the other methods to find altitudes, if level instrument is not available?
- What is closing the loop of survey? Why do we tend to close the loop?
- Why theodolite is the basic equipment of geodetic engineer? What is the purpose and precision of theodolite?
- What is the purpose of network of control points and what are the techniques to establish such network?
- What is a traverse in geodetic engineering, when traverse is favored against other methods? Which values are measured and how the data reduction is being made?
- What is triangulation and trilateration, what is their purpose? Which measurements are involved?
- Name some cases when property survey might be in need. What will be the procedure if throughout resurvey is demanded?
- What are the typical features shown on a topographic map? How to make a map containing contour lines?
- What is the purpose of a topographic survey? When is there a need to conduct topographic survey?
- Explain the basic principles of photogrammetry.
- How to mark temporary locations (line and grade) on the ground for construction project, which is in progress?
List of basic problems to solve
- Find important countries/locations on the globe.
- The signal has left from two GPS satellites at the same time but at different distances from receiver. How long does the signal travel from satellites and what is the time difference of their arrival?
- Find average and standard error (SE) from measured values. Sum up random variables described by average and SE.
- Evaluate the error of distance taken if the tape is not pulled in horizontal line as expected but in a slope (under an angle).
- It is expected that the level instrument is located near the middle between turning points to cancel errors caused by effect of Earth's curvature. Compute the error of Earth curvature when setup is established far from middle.
- Process data reduction on traverse.
- Propose surveying method to find out location of given points according to given conditions and explain how data reduction will be made.
