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

1. Mark both ends of the line to be measured. Designate these points as A and B. Place a range pole
behind each point and also established intermediate points along the line to ensure
unobstructed sight lines.
2. To start the measurement, the rear tapeman holds the steel tape at point A while the head
tapeman takes the zero end of the tape and advances toward the other end of the line to be
measured.
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

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Civil Engineering Department

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 14.89 0.11
14.78 1/33.59
2 B 14.67 0.33
SUM = 0.44 14.78 0.0298

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V. ILLUSTRATION

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VI. CONCLUSION

After completing the fieldwork Measuring Distances on Level Surfaces with a Tape, I
discovered and concluded that moving from point A to point B or vice versa will result in the
same measurement or a very little variation. To get the horizontal length of a line, then we
gather all the data, to calculate the discrepancy first we must use the difference between the
two trials, and then subtract 15 meter or the provided length from each value. Get the total of
the discrepancy once you've gotten the discrepancy. To get the mean, add the data from trials
1 and 2 and divide it by two. Finally, the total of the two discrepancies is divided by the mean
and multiplied by the sum of the two Discrepancies over the sum of the two Discrepancies to
get the relative precision.

VII. RECOMMENDATION

I would recommend having a longer steal tape or measuring tape for this fieldwork
since I only use 7.5 meters steal tape because it is the only one, we have and because of the
epidemic. Because we all have various living situations, I would also advise being resourceful.
I would strongly advise having a companion with you since holding the steel tape and
measuring at the same time is impossible. Reduce the number of persons working on the
project to two by using a CVC pipe or a 2 x 2 board as a base for the ends.

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