ENGR.

LORIE CRIS SANCHEZ – ASUBE

GE 100 Angle and Direction
Lecture No. 6 Instructor
General Surveying I Measurements
 GE 100 Angle and Direction
Lecture No. 6 Measurements
General Surveying I
Outline:
 Meridians and Its Types
 Units of Angular Measurement
 Direction of Lines
1. Interior and Exterior Angles
2. Deflection Angles
3. Angles to the Right
4. Bearings
5. Azimuths
 Magnetic Declination and Its Variations
 Instruments used in Angle and Direction
Measurements

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Lecture No. 6 Measurements
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Expected Outcomes:
At the end of the lecture, the students would be
able to:
 Explain the concept of meridian and its types.
 Discuss the different kinds of angles which ca be
used to describe the direction of lines.
 Explain the concepts of magnetic declination
and its variations.
 Identify and discuss the different types of
instruments used in angle and direction
measurements.
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 Meridians
 The direction of a line is
usually defined by the
horizontal angle it makes
with fixed reference line or
direction.
 In surveying, this is done
with reference to a
meridian which lies in a
vertical plane passing
through a fixed point of
reference and through the
observer’s position.

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 The line of reference we
use is a Meridian
There are several types of meridians:
1. Astronomical or True
2. Magnetic
3. Grid
4. Assumed

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 Astronomical or True
Meridians
 A plane passing through a point on the surface of the
earth and containing the earth’s axis of rotation defines
the astronomical or true meridian at that point.

 Astronomical meridians are determined by observing the

position of the sun or a star.

 For a given point on the earth, its direction is always the

same and therefore directions referred to the astronomical
or true meridian remain unchanged. This makes it a good
line of reference.

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Astronomical or True
Meridians

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 Magnetic Meridian
 A magnetic meridian lies parallel with the magnetic lines
of force of the earth.
 The earth acts very much like a bar magnet with a north
magnetic pole located considerably south of the north
pole defined by the earth’s rotational axis.
 The magnetic pole is not fixed in position, but rather
changes its position continually.
 The direction of a magnetized needle defines the
magnetic meridian at that point at that time.
 Because the magnetic meridian changes as magnetic
north changes, magnetic meridians do not make good
lines of reference.

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Magnetic Meridian

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 Grid Meridians
 In plane surveys it is convenient to perform the work in
a rectangular XY coordinate system in which one
central meridian coincides with a true meridian.
 All remaining meridians are parallel to this central true
meridian. This eliminates the need to calculate the
convergence of meridians when determining positions
of points in the system.
 The methods of plane surveying, assume that all
measurements are projected to a horizontal plane and
that all meridians are parallel straight lines.
 These are known as grid meridians.

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 Grid Meridians

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 Assumed Meridians
 It is an arbitrary direction assigned to some line
in the survey from which all other lines are
referenced. This could be a line between two
property monuments, the centerline of a tangent
piece of roadway, or even the line between two
points set for that purpose.
 They have no relationship to any other meridian
and thus the survey cannot be readily (if at all)
related to other surveys. Also, if the original
monuments are disturbed, the direction may not
be reproducible.

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 Expedient Methods of
Establishing Meridians
1. Establishing Magnetic Meridian By Compass.
2. Determining True North By Aid of Sun and a
Plumb Line.
3. Determining True North By the Rising and
Setting of the Sun.
4. Determining True North By Polaris.
5. Determining True South by the Southern
Cross.
6. Determining Direction or True North
( or South ) By a Wrist Watch.
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 Units of Angular
Measurement
1. Degree
 A degree, usually denoted by °, is a
measurement of a plane angle,
defined so that a full rotation is 360
degrees. It is not an SI unit, as the SI
unit of angular measure is the radian,
but it is mentioned in the SI brochure
as an accepted unit.
2. Grad
 The gradian is a unit of
measurement of an angle,
equivalent to 1/400 of
a turn, 9/10 of a degree, or π/200 of
a radian

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 Units of Angular
Measurement
3. Mil
 A milliradian, often called a mil or mrad, is
an SI derived unit for angular
measurement which is defined as a
thousandth of a radian(0.001 radian). Mils
are used in adjustment of firearm sights by
adjusting the angle of the sight compared to
the barrel (up, down, left or right).

4. Radian
 The radian is the standard unit of angular
measure, used in many areas
of mathematics. The length of an arc of
a unit circle is numerically equal to the
measurement in radians of the angle that
it subtends; one radian is just under
57.3 degrees

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 Designation of North
Points
There is always a starting or reference
point to define directions. . . .

Map users are primarily concerned with the north

point for the determination of directions and the
following are the commonly used reference
points.

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 Designation of North
Points
1. TRUE NORTH
 It is the north point of the true meridian.
2. MAGNETIC NORTH
 A north point that is established by means of a
magnetized compass needle when there are no local
attractions affecting it.
3. GRID NORTH
 A north point which is established by lines on a map
which are parallel to a selected central meridian.
4. ASSUMED NORTH
 It is used to portray the location of any arbitrarily
chosen north point.
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 Direction of Lines
 It is defined as the horizontal angle the line makes
with an established line of reference.

Kinds of angles which ca be used to describe the

direction of lines:
1. Interior and Exterior Angles
2. Deflection Angles
3. Angles to the Right
4. Bearings
5. Azimuths

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 Angle
 An angle is defined as the difference in direction
between two convergent lines.

 A horizontal angle is formed by the directions to two

objects in a horizontal plane.

 A vertical angle is formed by two intersecting lines in a

vertical plane, one of these lines horizontal.

 A zenith angle is the complementary angle to the

vertical angle and is formed by two intersecting lines in
a vertical plane, one of these lines directed toward the
zenith.

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 GE 100 Angle and Direction
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 Type of Measured Angles
 Interior angles are
measured clockwise or
counter-clockwise between
two adjacent lines on the
inside of a closed polygon
figure.
 Exterior angles are
measured clockwise or
counter-clockwise between
two adjacent lines on the
outside of a closed polygon
figure.

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 Type of Measured Angles
 Deflection angles, right or left, are measured from an
extension of the preceding course and the ahead line. It
must be noted when the deflection is right (R) or left (L).

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 Type of Measured Angles
 Angles to the right are turned from the back line in a
clockwise or right hand direction to the ahead line.
 Angles to the left are turned from the back line in a
counter-clockwise or left hand direction to the ahead line.

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 Azimuth
 The azimuth of a line on the ground is its horizontal
angle measured from the meridian to the line.
 Azimuth gives the direction of the line with respect to
the meridian.
 It is usually measured in a clockwise direction with
respect to either the north meridian or the south
meridian.

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 Azimuth
 In plane surveying, azimuths are generally measured
from the south (here in Philippines).
 When using azimuths, one needs to designate
whether the azimuth is from the north or the south.
 Azimuths are called true (astronomical) azimuths,
magnetic azimuths, grid azimuths, or assumed
azimuths depending on the type of meridian
referenced.
 Azimuths may have values between 0 and 360
degrees.

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Using the deflection angles shown, calculate
North azimuths of the lines.

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 Bearing
The bearing of a line
also gives the direction
of a line with respect to
the reference meridian.
The bearing states
whether the angle is
measured from the north
or the south and also
whether the angle is
measured toward the
east or west.
Bearing may have
values between 0 and 90
degrees.
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Quadrantal System
N

North-West North-East
( NW ) ( NE )
Quadrant Quadrant
(+,-) (+,+)

W E

South-West South-East
( SW ) ( SE )
Quadrant Quadrant
(-,-) (-,+)

S
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Azimuth from South
N 180ᵒ

90ᵒ W E 270ᵒ

0ᵒ S 360ᵒ
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 Azimuth from North
360º N 0ᵒ

270ᵒ W E 90ᵒ

S 180ᵒ
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 Conversion: Azimuth to Bearing
( From South )
180ᵒ
SW Quadrant: N
Azimuth = Bearing
NW Quadrant: NW (NE
Azimuth = 180° - Quadrant Quadrant
Bearing
NE Quadrant:
Azimuth = 180° + W E
90ᵒ 270ᵒ
Bearing
SE Quadrant: SW SE
Azimuth = 360° - Quadrant Quadrant
Bearing
S
0ᵒ

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 Forward and Back
Bearings
 Forward Bearing
 when the bearing of a line is observes in the direction
in which the survey progresses.
 Example: N. 44° 38’ E. and S. 42° 30’ E.

 Back Bearing
 if the bearing of the line is observed in an opposite
direction.
 Example: S. 44° 38’ W. and N. 42° 30’ W.

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 Forward and Back
Azimuth
To determine the back azimuth when the forward
azimuth is known, the following rules are used:

Rule 1 : If the forward azimuth of the line is greater

than 180ᵒ, subtract 180ᵒ to obtain the back azimuth.
Rule 2 : If the forward azimuth of the line is less than
180ᵒ, add 180ᵒ to obtain the back azimuth.

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 Example
LINE FORWARD BACK FORWARD BACK
AZIMUTH FROM SOUTH AZIMUTH FROM NORTH

AB 230° 00” 50° 00” 50° 00” 230° 00”

BC 314° 00” 134° 00” 134° 00” 314° 00”

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 Magnetic Declination
 The horizontal angle
and direction by
which the needle of a
compass deflects
from the true meridian
at any particular
locality.

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 Variations in Magnetic
Declination
1. Daily Variation
 It is also called diurnal variation.
 It is an oscillation of the compass needle
through a cycle from its mean position over
a 24-hour period.
 It is periodic in character.
2. Annual Variation
 It is another form of periodic swing taken by
the magnetic meridian with respect to the
true meridian.

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3. Secular Variation
 It is a slow, gradual but unexplainable shift
in the position of the earth’s magnetic
meridian over a regular cycle.
4. Irregular Variation
 It is uncertain in character and cannot be
predicted as to amount or occurrence.

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 The Compass
 It is a hand-held instrument for determining the
horizontal direction of a line with reference to
the magnetic meridian.
 It is so constructed to allow a magnetized
needle to swing freely on a pivot at the center
of a graduated circle and point toward
magnetic north.

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 The Compass
 For many centuries, it has been widely used in
navigation.
 Prior to the invention of the transit, it was the
only practical instruments for measuring
directions and horizontal angles.
 Because of its portability, it is still employed for
reconnaissance and preliminary surveys, in
timber cruising and exploratory surveys, in
retracing old land surveys, and in obtaining
rough checks on angles or directions measured
by more precise methods.
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 The Compass

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Essential Features of the
Magnetic Compass
Magnetic Needle

Compass Box Line of Sight

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 Sources Of Error in
Compass Work
1. Bent Needle
2. Bent Pivot
3. Sluggish Needle
4. Plane of Sight Not Vertical
5. Electrically Charged Compass Box
6. Local Attraction
7. Magnetic Variations
8. Errors in Reading The Needle

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Mistakes in Compass Work
 Reading the wrong end of the magnetic needle.
 Falling to observe the reverse bearings or
azimuths of lines in the traverse.
 Not releasing the needle completely and not
allowing it to swing freely about the pivot.
 Misreading the quadrant letters when taking a
bearing near the cardinal points of the
compass.

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Mistakes in Compass Work
 Bearing letters are not changed when using the
reversed bearing of a line.
 Setting off the magnetic declination on the wrong
side of north.
 Failing to adjust the observe traverse angles
prior to calculating bearings or azimuths of
traverse lines.

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Mistakes in Compass Work
 Mixing or interchanging the recording of
azimuths from north and south, magnetic and
true bearings, clockwise and counterclockwise
angles, or forward and back bearings.
 Selecting a line for referencing arbitrary
directions which may be difficult to locate later.

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 Types of Compass
Surveyors Compass

Brunton Compass
Plain Pocket
Compass

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 Types of Compass
Prismatic
Compass

Transit
Forester’s Compass
Compass

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 The Engineer’s Transit
 It is essentially a telescope and two large
protractors.
 One of the protractors is mounted in a horizontal
plane and the other in a vertical plane.
 It is so designed to measure the angle of rotation of
the telescope about its horizontal and vertical axes.
 It is basically a repeating instrument since it can
measure angles by repetition for any number of
times and their total added on the graduated circles.

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 The Engineer’s Transit
 It is also commonly employed for a wide variety
of tasks such as determining differences in
elevation, taking magnetic bearings and
azimuths, for measuring distances, and to stake
out lines, curves, angles, and grades.
 It is usually referred to as the “ UNIVERSAL
SURVEYING INSTRUMENT “

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 GE 100 Angle and Direction
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 Main Parts of the Transit
1. Upper Plate ( Alidade )
a. Telescope
b. Standards
c. Compass Box
d. Plate Level Vials
e. Vertical Circle
f. Plate Verniers
g. Optical Plummet
h. Telescope Clamp
i. Telescope Tangent Screw
j. Upper Clamp
k. Upper Tangent Screw

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2. Lower Plate
a. Lower Clamp
b. Lower Tangent Screw

3. Leveling Head Assembly

a. Leveling Screws
b. Plumb Bob Chain

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 Setting up the Transit
1. Positioning the Tripod
2. Mounting the Transit
3. Attaching the Plumb Bob
4. Final Centering

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 Leveling the Transit
 The upper plate is turned until the plate level
vials are approximately parallel to a line through
two opposite leveling screws.
 Leveling is started by turning two opposite
leveling screws uniformly.
 One screw is loosened as much as the other is
tightened.
 Shift to the other set of leveling screws when the
bubble is nearly in the center of its tube.
 Continue manipulating the screws alternately
until both level vial bubbles are centered.

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 Care of the Transit
1. When the transit is not in use, it should be stored in its
carrying case. If it is to be transported in a vehicle or
over long walking distances, the instrument should be
removed from its tripod and carried in its box.
2. If the instruments becomes wet or damp, dry it off with
absorbent cloth or preferably in sunlight. The objective
lens should not be wiped as it is easily scratched. Clean
the lens by rubbing gently with a piece of soft cloth
moistened in alcohol or with a piece of lens paper, then
finish off with a camel’s hair brush.
3. Protect the instrument at all times from any shock or
sudden jolt. Never allow the instrument to fall or be
dropped because very serious damaged will surely
result.

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 Care of the Transit
4. Hold the transit in the arms with the tripod sticking out to
the side or behind and not on the shoulder when carrying
it inside a building or when there is danger of striking the
instrument against a tree and other obstruction.
5. The transit should be lifted from the carrying case by
grasping the standards and not by the telescope.
6. When the transit is set up, the tripod legs should be
spread well apart so that it is stable. To minimized the
danger of damage from overturning, the tripod shoes
should be sunk firmly in the ground. It should never be
left unattended because it may be upset by passing
vehicles, stray animals, playing children, wind, or it may
be stolen.
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 Care of the Transit
7. Since tripod legs easily slip on smooth or hard surfaces,
avoid setting up the transit on concrete slabs, boulders,
and steel plates. In soft ground, the pointed shoes of
the tripod should be pressed deeply enough so that the
tripod will not settle while standing.
8. Graduated circles and verniers should not be touched
with the fingers since this will only tarnish their surfaces.
If such surfaces are tarnished, they are cleaned by
applying a thin film of oil which should be left for a few
hours and then wiped off with a soft clean rag.

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 Care of the Transit
9. Clamps should be tighten only until they are snug and
never tighten down hard. Over-tightening may lead to
appreciable damage of the instrument. A definite and
firm, but not too severe, tightening is all that is
necessary.
10. A waterproof cover for the transit should always be
brought along in case of rains, showers, and
thunderstorms.

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 Verniers

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 GE 100 Angle and Direction
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Adjustment of the Transit
Adjustment which are made on an engineer’s
transit are classified either as:
a. Shop adjustment – are those made in a
service facility of the manufacturer or through
an authorized dealer or distributor.
b. Field adjustment – are simpler to perform,
and should be undertaken by the
instrumentman periodically or just prior to
executing a survey.

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 Common Field Adjustments

1. Adjustment of the Plate Bubbles

2. Adjustment of the Cross Hairs
3. Adjustment of the Line of Sight
4. Adjustment of the Standards
5. Adjustment of the Telescope Bubble Tube
6. Adjustment of the Vertical Circle

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 Telescope
It is a metal tube
containing a system of
lenses which are used to
fix the direction of the line
of sight and is magnifying
the apparent size of the
objects in its field of view.

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Parts of the Telescope

Objective Lens

Eyepiece

Cross Hairs

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Cross Hair Ring or
Reticule

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 Types of Telescope
1. Internal Focusing Telescope
 It has an additional auxiliary lens which moves
back and forth between the objective and the
cross hairs as the focusing screw it turned.
2. External Focusing Telescope
 It has an objective lens mounted on a sleeve
which moves back and forth in the telescope
barrel as an object is brought into focus.

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 Types of Telescope
Eyepiece
Auxiliary
Reticule Lens Objective Lens

dust cap

Internal Focusing Telescope

Eyepiece
Draw Tube
Reticule Objective Lens

External Focusing Telescope

GE 100 GE 100 Angle and
Measurement of Direction
Lecture 3 Lecture No. 6 Elementary Surveying
General Surveying I Measurements
Vertical Distances
 Magnification of the
Telescope
It is the ratio of the apparent size of an
object viewed through a telescope to its
size as seen by the unaided eye from the
same distance.
It may also be taken as the amount by
which an object is increased in apparent
size.

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 Level Vial

It is sealed graduated glass tube

containing some amount of liquid and a
small air bubble.
It is used to determine the direction of
gravity.

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 Tripods
 It serves as a base to prevent movement of the
instrument after it is set up.
 It consists of three wooden or aluminum legs
which are securely fastened the tripod head by
means of a hinged joint.
Fixed-Leg Tripod Extension Tripod

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 Measuring Horizontal
Angles
Horizontal Angles
 They are measured directly either to the right
(clockwise) or to the left (counterclockwise).
 It is important to always remember that when an
angle is measured to the right the inner circle
graduations and the vernier on the left are read,
and when the angle is measured to the left the
outer graduations and the vernier on the right
are read.

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 Measuring Vertical
Angles
Vertical Angles
 In a vertical plane it is the difference in direction
measured between two intersecting lines.
 It may be above or below a horizontal plane
through the point of intersection and may lie only
between zero and plus ( or minus ) 90 degrees.
 They are either angles of elevation or angles of
depression ( sometimes referred to as positive
or negative angles.
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 Angle of elevation

+α Horizontal Line of Sight

-α

Angle of depression

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 When using a transit with a full circle it is
advantageous to measure a vertical angle
once with the telescope in normal position and
once in reversed position. The mean of the
two readings will be the correct value of the
vertical angle since both measurements are
made independently of each other, thus

α’ = (αN + αR ) / 2

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where:
α’ - correct value of the vertical
angle.
αN – vertical angle measured with
telescope in direct or normal
position.
αR - same vertical angle measured
with telescope in reversed or
plunged position.
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 Index Correction
 When a transit is used the accuracy in reading a
vertical angle is affected if the line of sight is not
parallel to the axis of the telescope level tube,
there is an inclination of the vertical axis, and the
vertical circle does not read zero when the
telescope bubble is centered.
 Due to any of the above reasons an error will be
introduced and is referred to as the index error.

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Index error ( IE ) = (αN - αR) / 2
The index correction ( IC ) is equal in amount
but opposite in sign to the index error, thus

Index correction ( IC ) = -IE

The corrected vertical angle should then be

α’ = αN + IC

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 The Theodolite
 It is an instrument designed to accomplish the
same primary purposes as a transit, that is to
measure horizontal and vertical angles and to
prolong straight lines.
 Its appearance can easily be distinguished
from a transit since this instrument is smaller,
more compact, lighter in weight, easy to
operate, has a short telescope, and no
exposed verniers and compass.

GE 100 Angle and Direction

Lecture No. 6 Measurements
General Surveying I
 The Theodolite
• A precision
instrument used
for measuring
angles both
horizontally and
vertically angular
measurements
are more
accurate than
transits.
GE 100 Angle and Direction
Lecture No. 6 Measurements
General Surveying I
 The Theodolite
 They have horizontal and vertical circles for angle
measurements just as in transit.
 Its graduated horizontal and vertical circles are
made of glass instead of metal and are relatively
small.
 They are viewed simultaneously from the eyepiece
of the telescope by means of a system of
microscopes and prism.
 It can be used at day and night time.
 It enables the instrumentman to make single
observations of angles more precisely than those
which can be made by several repetitions with an
engineer’s transit.

GE 100 Angle and Direction

Lecture No. 6 Measurements
General Surveying I
 The Total Station
It is an electronic transit
and an Electronic
Distance Measurement
(EDM) device
combined into one
instrument.

GE 100 Angle and Direction

Lecture No. 6 Measurements
General Surveying I
 THANK
YOU!
GE 100 Angle and Direction
Lecture No. 6 Measurements
General Surveying I