COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

Civil Engineering Department

Fieldwork No. 2
MEASURING DISTANCES ON LEVEL SURFACES
WITH A TAPE

COURSE OUTCOMES

Create a written report about the fieldwork conducted on plane surveying and
CO1
horizontal & vertical curves

COURSE INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOME

CILO 1 Measure horizontal distance w/ the use of tape supported throughout its length

I. OBJECTIVE
 To determine the horizontal length of a line over smooth and level ground with the tape
supported throughout its length

II. APPARATUS
 Steel tape
 Range poles
 Marker/marking pins

Fig. 2.1 Range Pole Fig. 2.2 Tape

III. TEST PROCEDURE

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3. When the head tapeman has gone nearly a full tape length, the rear tapeman calls “tape” to stop
the head tapeman. The rear tapeman then holds the 30-m mark at the starting point and aligns
the other end of the tape held by the head tapeman on the range pole set behind the end point
or on any of the intermediate points earlier established along the line.
4. With the 30-m mark at the starting point, the head tapeman align the tape. The rear tapeman
calls “all right” if the tape is already aligned. The head tapeman then pulls the tape tight in the
ground to mark the 0-m end of the tape.
5. The rear tapeman pick up the pin and the head tapeman pulls the tape forward and the process
is repeated for the next full tape length.
6. When the end of the line is almost reached and the last full tape length has been determined, the
remaining partial length is then measured. The rear tapeman holds the tape until he has a full
meter mark at his pin while the head tapeman pulls the tape tight and read the fractional
measurement from the tape.
7. After the measurement of the whole line is completed, a second measurement should be made
along the opposite direction using the previous procedure.
8. Tabulate observed and computed values accordingly.
9. The mean length of the measured line is determined by adding the two measurements and
dividing the sum by two.
10. The discrepancy for the measurement is the difference between the first measurement and the
second measurement.
11. The relative precision of the measurement is determined by dividing the discrepancy by the
mean length, where the numerator is reduced to unity or 1. Relative precision is express in
fractional form and the denominator is rounded to the nearest hundredth.

IV. DATA, RESULTS, AND COMPUTATION

Table 2.1 Smooth and Level Ground

RELATIVE
TRIAL LINE LENGTH DISCREPANCY MEAN
PRECISION

1 A

2 B

SUM =

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V. ILLUSTRATION

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VI. CONCLUSION

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VII. RECOMMENDATION

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