CUTandFILL

Land Leveling

The surveyor is often

confronted with the problem of
leveling land to a specific
grade.

The goal is to accomplish this

with a minimum of data
calculation and earth
movement.

Ground Elevation

Determining ground
elevation at each station
Take a rod reading at
each station.
Determine station
elevation by subtracting
rod reading from height
of instrument.

Average Elevation

Now to calculate the

average elevation; sum all
of the elevations and divide
by the number of elevations
taken.
ie: 90/16 = 5.6feet

The average elevation is

placed at the center of the
map.

Cut-n-Fills

Once station grades are

determined then cuts and fills
can be determined.
Subtract the grade and
elevation at each station.
If the elevation is larger than
the grade then the value is a
cut.
If the elevation is less than
grade the value is a fill.
Enter all figures on survey
map.

Stakes
These stakes at set to guide the
construction process at every crosssection of the road and to provide data
needed for earthwork calculations.
Stakes are set at each cross-section
to specify the location of the centerline
(centre stake), the shoulder lines
(shoulder stakes), and the point where
the side slopes of the route meet the
ground (slope stakes).
Rod reading, elevation, grade
elevation, and cut-n-fill is marked at
each station.

Balance Check

Used to ensure the cuts are

enough to cover the fills.

At Cut-Fill ration should fall

between 1.0-1.6

Sum all cuts and fills

Cuts:
0.2+0.2+0.3,+0.1+0.2+0.1+0.1
+0.2+0.2=1.6
Fills: 0.4+0.1+0.4+0.3=1.2
Ratio: 1.6/1.2=1.3 - check

Determining Land Area

Area Calculations

Introduction--cont.

Areas are calculated by using

one of two methods.
Field measurements
Map measurements
Common field measurements
for determine area include:
Division into simple figures.
Offsets form a straight line.
Coordinates

Common map measurements for

determining area are:
Coordinates squares.
Division into simple figures

Digitizing coordinates

Planimeter

Field Measurements

Division Into Simple Figures

The area of complex shapes can be determined by

dividing the field into simple figures and then calculating
the area of each figure.
Common simple figures used are:
Triangle
Square/Rectangle
Parallelogram
Circle
Sector
Trapezoid

Triangle
A triangle is three-sided figure
or polygon whose interior angle
sum is equal to 180 degrees.
Several different equations can
be used to determine the area
of a triangle.
The best equation to use is
determined by the site.
The standard triangle equation
is:

This is an easy equation to

use, but measuring the
boundaries can be difficult.
The difficulty is in measuring
the height.

Base x Height
Area =
2

Triangle--cont.

When the area forms an equilateral

triangle, determining the height is not a
problem.

Base x Height
Area =
2
Divide the base in 1/2 and turn a ninety degree angle at the mid point.

Triangle--cont.

Two types of triangles do not

have two sides or two angles
that are the same.
A triangle with three unequal
lengths.
A triangle with one angle
greater than 90 degrees.

It can be difficult to determine the height for these triangles.

Triangle--cont.

The same equation is used, the

problem is determining the height.

the recommended procedure is to

move along the base line and
estimate where a perpendicular
line intersects the apex of the
triangle.
Turn a 90 degree angle and
establish a line past the apex.
Measure the distance between the
line and the apex (error).
Move the line the correct distance
and direction along the base line
and remeasure the height.

Base x Height
Area =
2

Triangle--cont.
It is not always possible to
measure the height of a
triangle.
When the lengths of the
three sides can be
measured, Herons
equation can be used.

Area =

s =

ss - as bs c

a +b +c
2

Triangle--cont.

There are occasions when

neither the length of one side
or the height of a triangle can
be measured.
In this situation the area can
be determined if one of the
angles and the lengths of the
two adjoining sides can be
measured.

The equation is:

a x b x Sine
Area =
2

Square & Parallelogram

The area of a square is
determined by:

Area = b x h

The area for a parallelogram is

determined using the same
equation.
The difference is in how the
height is measured.

Circle & Sector

The standard area equation for

a circle is:

Area = r2

A sector is a part of a circle.

The equation used to
determine the area of a
sector depends on the known
information.
When the angle is known:
When the arc length is
known:

Area =

r x arc length
2

r2
Area =
360

Trapezoid
There are two different
trapezoidal shapes.
The area equation is the same
for both.

Area = h x

a +b
2

Example Of Simple Figures

There is no right or
wrong way to divide the
irregular shape.
The best way is the
method that requires
the least amount of
resources.

Area of Irregular Shape--cont.

Which one of the illustrations is the best

way to divide the irregular shaped lot?

The best answer?

It depends.
It is important to ensure all the
figures are simple figures.

Offsets From A Line.

Each the area of each trapezoid is determined and
summed to find the total area.

Areas of cross-sections

Total area of a cross-section can be calculated based on the recorded field data. The easiest
method of calculating the total area of a cross-section is to sum up all the sub-areas between
shoulder stakes and the

Irregular Curved Field

The area between lines AB and the curved boundary is measured

Take the sums of the two end offsets and divide by two; to this add the sum of all other
offsets and multiply by the uniform distance between offsets.

Trapezoidal rule.

h1

h0
b1

h 2 h3
b2 b 3

h5

h4
b4

b5

h6
b6

h8

h7
b7

h9

b8

b9

h10
b10

Note: Area of Trapezoid = b1(h0+ h1)

Area = [b1(h0+ h1) + b2(h1+ h2) + b3(h2+ h3) + b4(h3+ h4) + b10(h9+ h10) ]

For equal intervals b (e.g. offsets measured every 100 ft):

Area = b[h0/2 + h1 + h2 + h3 + h4 + h5 + h6 + h7 + h8 + h9 + h10/2]

Irregular Curved Field

Line AB is 300 long and the lengths of the offsets are

25,20,10,15,25,30,&15 feet long. The uniform spacing between
offsets is 50; the sum of the two end offsets (25+15)2 = 20ft
20+20+10+15+25+30 = 120
Area = 120 x 50 (uniform offset) = 6,000ft

Area By Coordinates

Introduction
Determining area by coordinates is a popular approach
because the calculations are easily done on a
computer.
To determine the area, the coordinates for each corner
of the lot must be determined.
These can be easily determined using GPS.
Coordinates can also be determined by traversing
the boundary.

Area By GPS Coordinates

GPS equipment determines
the location of points by one of
two methods:
Latitude & Longitude
Universal Transverse
Mercator (UTM)
Latitudes and longitudes are
angles referenced from
Greenwich Mean and the
equator.
Not very useful for
determining areas.
Can be done, but
complicated math.

The UTM system determines

the location of a point by
measuring the distance east of
a theoretical point and north of
the equator.
UTM measurements are
easily used to determine
area.

Area By Traverse

A traverse is a surveying
method that determines the
boundary of an lot or field by
angle and distances.
A traverse can be balanced to
remove errors in measuring
angles and distances.

The location of the corners can be converted to x - y

coordinates

Calculating Area by Coordinates

Y
B

Area ABCD = Area BBCC + Area CCDD Area BBA Area ADD
= A1 + A2 A3 A4
A1 = (XB-XA+XC-XA)(YB-YC)
= (XB+XC-2XA)(YB-YC)
= (XBYB-XBYC+XCYB-XCYC-2XAYB+2XAYC)

A
C

A2 = (XC-XA+XD-XA)(YC-YD)
= (XC+XD-2XA)(YC-YD)
= (XCYC-XCYD+XDYC-XDYD-2XAYC+2XAYD)
X

A1+A2 = (-2XAYB-XBYC-XCYD-XDYD+YBXC+YBXB+YCXD+2YDXA)
A3 = (XB-XA)(YB-YA) =(XBYB-XBYA-XAYB+XAYA)
A4 = (XD-XA)(YA-YD) =(XDYA-XDYD-XAYA+XAYD)
A3+A4 = (-XAYB+XBYB-XBYA+XDYA-XDYD+XAYD )
Area ABCD = (-XAYB-XBYC-XCYD-XDYA+YAXB+YBXC+YCXD+YDXA )

Area Calculation using Coordinates

Area ABCD=(-XAYB-XBYC-XCYD-XDYA+YAXB+YBXC+YCXD+YDXA )
B
2xArea =[-XAYB-XBYC-XCYD-XDYA
+YAXB+YBXC+YCXD+YDXA]
A
C

Negative Terms
Positive Terms

D
(easy method to remember formula)

Area By Coordinates Example

The first step is to determine

the coordinates of each corner
by establishing an x - y grid.
In this example UTM
coordinates were used.

The next step is to set up a table to organize the computations.

Area By Coordinates Example--cont.

The area is computed by

cross multiplying the X
and Y coordinates and
sorting them into the
appropriate column.
The multiplication and
sorting is controlled by a
matrix.

Area By Coordinates Example--cont

After the matrix computations have been
accomplished, the plus and minus columns are
summed and subtracted.
The answer is divided by two.
This equals the area in square feet.

Area By Coordinates Example--cont.

Point

Plus

Minus

38.90

201.40

252.78

188.30

50,909.9

7,324.9

238.22

264.40

44,856.8

66,835.0

77.08

0.0

20,380.0

0.0

0.0

38.89

0.0

2,997.6

38.90

201.40

1,512.8

0.0

Sum 117,659.5
Subtract

77,157.5

Area

20,251.0

77,157.5

ft2

Map Methods

Coordinate Squares
This method overlays a
map with a grid that has
a known size.
Knowing the size of the
grid and the scale of the
map, the area can be
determined by counting

squares.
Whole and partial
squares are counted.

When the map scale is expressed as a

ratio, the area is determined by:

Area (ft ) = Grid size (in) x

Example 1/2 inch grid is used and the

map scale is 1:1,000, then each square
would be equivalent to:

Area (ft ) = Grid size (in) x

= 0.5 x

2
Map scale (in)

12

1,000

12

= 1,736 ft2

2
Map scale (in)

12

Coordinate Squares--cont

If the map scale is expressed in in/ft then each grid area is:

Area (ft ) Grid size x map scale

Example: a 1/2 inch grid is overlaid on a map with a scale of 1 in =

500 ft. The area of each grid is:

Area (ft2) Grid size x map scale

(0.50 in x 500)2
= 62,500 ft2

Coordinate Squares Example

Determine the area
for the illustration.
The first step is to
draw a grid on a
clear material and
lay it over the map.

The area is determined by counting the grids.

Coordinate Squares Example--cont.

Whole squares are counted and
then partial squares are
estimated.
63 + 12 = 75 squares

ft2
Area
= Square size x
square

1000
= 0.25 x

12

= 434 ft2/square

Map scale

12

ft2
434
x 75 square
square
Area (ac) =
ft2
43560
ac
32552.08 ft2
=
43560
0.75 ac

Simple Figures

The simple figures method works the same for

both field and map methods.
In the map method a scale is used to measure
the distances from the map.
It is easier to determine the distances from a
map than to measure them out in the field.

Digitizing Coordinates
This method requires a machine
called a digitizer.
The operator moves a
special mouse or pen
around the map and
activates the mouse at
each desired location.
Computer records x - y
coordinates.

Planimeter

1.
2.

3.

A Planimeter is a mechanical device for

determining the area of any irregular
sided plan figure area by tracing the
boundary on a map.
Two types:
Mechanical
Electronic
Method of use:
Point A is marked and scale read.
The tracing point is moved clockwise
round the perimeter figure back to point A
and the scale is again read.
The difference between the two readings
multiplied by any necessary factor gives
the ground area.

End area method

Vtoal V1 V2 V3 ....... VN -1
A1 A 2 d A 2 A 3
d1
2
2
2
A 3 A 4 ... d
A N 1 A N
d3
N 1
2
2
if d1 d1 d1 d1 d N 1 d
Total volume

d
2

A1

A N 2 A 2 A 3 ...A N 1

Prismoidal formula (Simpsons rule)

if d1 d 2 d 3 .........
d
3
d

V1 3

A1

V3 5

A3

from CS1 to CS 5

from CS1 to CS N

4 A2 A3
4 A4 A5
d
A1 4 A2 2 A3 4 A4 A5
3

d A1 AN 4 even areas

3 2 remaining odd areas

2. Volumes From Contours

The method used is the end area method or the prismoidal formula.
the cross section being replaced by the areas contained within successive contours .
The distance between contours becomes the contour interval.
The areas are normally determined by planimeter or by computers.

V=c

[a1 + 2a2 + 2a3 + a4]

2

where c in the contour interval.

Volumes from spot level

A = plan area of each grid square.
Single depths : depths which are used once.
double depths : depths which are used twice.
triple depths : depths which are used three
times.
quadruple depths : depths which are four times.

Volum mean height plan area

A
Total volum ( sigle depth 2 double depth 3 triple depth
4
4 quadruple depth )