ENGR 132: Introduction to Surveying

Citrus College Course Outline of Record

Citrus College Course Outline of Record
Heading Value
Effective Term: Fall 2025
Credits: 4.5
Total Contact Hours: 117
Lecture Hours : 63
Lab Hours: 54
Hours Arranged: 0
Outside of Class Hours: 126
Total Student Learning Hours: 243
Prerequisite: MATH 175 or higher.
Strongly Recommended: ENGL C1000.
Transferable to CSU: Yes
Transferable to UC: No
Grading Method: Standard Letter

Catalog Course Description

This course introduces land surveying methods along with the care and use of instruments such as a steel tape, engineer's level, theodolite and total station. Included are concepts such as route location, field notes, layout and staking, earthwork, horizontal and vertical measurements, operations of electronic distance measurements, research methods, area and volume computations, along with profiles and sections. Analysis and adjustments of systematic and random errors, stadia surveying, construction layouts, state plane coordinates, route location and layout, and mapping are also introduced. Field procedures, computations for engineering project control, topographic mapping, are also introduced. Field assignments include determination of pace factor, chaining/taping, differential and three-way leveling, measurement of a closed traverse, compass rule adjustment, and staking a building envelope. 63 lecture hours, 54 lab hours.

Course Objectives

  • Demonstrate the ability to properly select, setup, and use surveying instruments to perform simple surveying tasks.
  • Create accurate records and field notes of all field data in a clear and orderly manner.
  • Apply corrections to measurements to adjust field data.
  • Create survey maps from adjusted field data.
  • Compute areas from maps.
  • Demonstrate collaborative skills through active participation in team activities during fieldwork assignments.
  • Demonstrate proper care of delicate surveying instruments.
  • Use concepts of survey engineering to solve related civil engineering problems.
  • Demonstrate the ability to write a technical surveying report.

Major Course Content

  1. Introduction to surveying
    1. Surveying history
    2. Specialized types of surveying
    3. Land and geographic information systems
    4. Surveying agencies and the surveying profession
    5. Surveying and modern civil engineering
  2. Measurements, errors, and surveying field notes
    1. Units and significant figures
      1. Units of measurement
      2. SI units
      3. Significant figures
      4. Rounding off numbers
    2. Field notes
      1. Handwritten field notes
      2. Kinds of notes and books
      3. Arrangement and recording of notes
      4. Survey controllers, file transfer, and data management
    3. Errors in observations
      1. Direct and indirect observations
      2. Errors in measurements
      3. Types and Sources of errors
      4. Precision and accuracy
      5. Eliminating errors
      6. Probability, most probable value, and residuals
      7. Standard deviation
      8. Error propagation
      9. Weights of observations
      10. Least-squares adjustments
  3. Stadia and tacheometry principles
  4. Leveling theory, methods, and equipment
    1. Leveling theory and methods
      1. North American vertical datum
      2. Curvature and refraction
      3. Determining differences in elevation
    2. Equipment for differential leveling
      1. Categories
      2. Telescopes, level vials, tilting levels, automotive levels
      3. Digital levels, tripods, hand levels, level rods, turning points
      4. Testing and adjusting levels
  5. Leveling field procedures and computations
    1. Setting up a level and duties of a rod person
    2. Differential leveling
    3. Precision and adjustments of simple level circuits
    4. Reciprocal, three-wire leveling, and profile leveling
    5. Grid, cross-section, and hand level
    6. Leveling error sources
  6. Distance measurement
    1. Methods for measuring distance
      1. Linear measurements methods
      2. Pacing
      3. Odometer readings
      4. Optical rangefinders
      5. Tacheometry
      6. Subtense bar
    2. Distance measurements by taping
      1. Taping equipment and accessories
      2. Taping on ground level
      3. Horizontal and sloping measurements
      4. Tapping error sources
    3. Electronic distance measurement
      1. Principles of electronic distance measurement
      2. Electro-optical instruments
      3. Total station and EDM instruments without reflectors
      4. Using software and errors found in electronic measurements
  7. Angles, azimuths, and bearings
    1. Units and types of angle measurements
    2. Direction of line
    3. Azimuths and bearings
    4. Computing Azimuths and bearings
    5. The compass and magnetic declination
    6. Magnetic declination problems
  8. Traversing
    1. Traverse Angles, directions and lengths
    2. Selection and referencing of traverse stations
    3. Angle misclosure
    4. Radial traversing
  9. Traverse computations
    1. Balancing angles
    2. Computation of azimuths or bearings
    3. Departures and latitudes, and closure conditions
    4. Traverse linear misclosure and relative precision
    5. Traverse adjustments
    6. Rectangular coordinates
    7. Methods for making traverse computations
    8. Inversing
    9. Final adjusted traverse lengths and directions computations
    10. State plane coordinate system
    11. Identifying mistakes and errors in traverse computations
  10. Coordinate geometry in surveying calculations
    1. Equations for lines and circles
    2. Point to line distances
    3. Intersection of two lines, a line with a circle, and two circles
    4. Three-point resection
    5. Two-dimensional conformal coordinate transformation
    6. Inaccessible point problem
    7. Three-dimensional two-point resection
  11. Area
    1. Measuring area
    2. Area by division into simple figures, by offset from straight lines, and by coordinates
    3. Area by double-meridian distance method
    4. Area of parcels with circular boundary
    5. Partitioning of lands
    6. Area by measurements from maps
  12. Mapping Surveys and Mapping
    1. Map Scale
    2. Contours and characteristics of contours
    3. Locating contours
    4. Field methods for locating topographic details
    5. Three dimensional conformal coordinate transformation
    6. Selection of field method
    7. Hydrographic surveys
    8. National mapping program and accuracy standards for mapping
    9. Manual and CAD procedures
    10. Map design, layout, and basic plotting procedures
    11. Contour and interval and plotting
    12. Cartographic map elements
  13. Control surveys
  14. Survey research methods
  15. Construction surveys
    1. Equipment for construction surveys
    2. Horizontal and vertical control
    3. Staking out pipelines and pipeline grades
    4. Computing bend angles in pipelines
    5. Staking out buildings and highways
    6. Machine guidance and control
  16. Horizontal curves
    1. Circular curve degree
    2. Circular curve formulas
    3. Circular curve stationing
    4. Circular curve layout by deflection angles and incremental chords
    5. Computing deflection angles and chords
    6. Setups on curve
    7. Circular curve layout by deflection angles and total chords
    8. Computation of coordinates on circular curves
    9. Curve stakeout
    10. Circular curve layout by offsets
    11. Compound and reverse curves
  17. Vertical curves
    1. Equation of a vertical parabolic curve and equal tangent vertical parabolic curve
    2. High and low point on a vertical curve
    3. Tangent-offset equation computations
    4. Equal tangent property of a parabola
    5. Computations by proportion
    6. Staking a vertical parabolic curve
    7. Computations for an unequal tangent vertical curve
    8. Designing a curve to pass through a fixed point
    9. Slight distance
  18. Earthwork
    1. Methods of volume measurements
    2. Cross-sections and profiles
    3. End areas and average-end-area formula
    4. Slope intercepts and prismoidal formula
    5. Volume computations
    6. Volume and mass diagrams
    7. Unit area and contour-area method
    8. Volumes of water discharge

Lab Content

  1. Surveying mathematics applications
  2. Surveying field work
    1. Field safety review
    2. Instrumentation care and use
    3. Collaborative processes
    4. Field data recording
  3. Survey measuring
    1. Determination of pace factor
    2. Chaining on level ground
    3. Estimating distances by pacing and determining pace length
    4. Three-wire leveling
    5. Taping equipment use for measurements
    6. Use of differential and precise leveling techniques near building sites
    7. Profile leveling data along a route and prepare a profile
    8. Introduction to leveling and differential leveling practices
  4. Operating theodolite and total station
    1. Performing interior angle traverse using a theodolite
    2. Measuring distances and angles of a traverse using total station
    3. Staking a building envelope
  5. Using stadia surveying technique for obtaining elevations of points
  6. Using polar planimeter to determine areas
  7. Recording and analyzing the field data to prepare a topographic map using field data
    1. Instrument setup for creating a topographic map
    2. Principles and procedures for creating a topographic map

Suggested Reading Other Than Required Textbook

Articles from the Journal of Surveying Engineering and other surveying periodicals

Examples of Required Writing Assignments

Being given an article to read, a one page written assignment will be assigned to relate concepts discussed in class to real-world applications.

Examples of Outside Assignments

Answering questions at each end of section: - Convert the given magnetic bearing of a line to its true azimuth - Obtain the elevation of a new benchmark from the given benchmark and record in the field book using standard rules - Compute the area of the given lot by using available distance and bearings and record in the field book - Draw a contour map of a given area and show spot elevations

Instruction Type(s)

Lab, Lecture, Online Education Lecture