SURVEYING – I

WEEK 5

CLASS PRESENTATIONS FOR SURVEYING I COURSE BY

E.TARI, H. KARAMAN
ERRORS IN OBSERVATION

However no matter how carefully made, observation are never exact

and will contain errors.

Surveyors, whose work must be performed to exacting standards,

should therefore thoroughly understand the different kinds of errors,
their sources and expected magnitudes under varying conditions, and
their manner of propagation.
Only then can they select instruments and procedures necessary to
reduce error sizes within tolerable limits.

2
ERRORS IN OBSERVATION

Consequently, it can be stated that :

 No observation is exact

 Every observation contains error

 The true value of an observation is never known

3
TYPES OF OBSERVATION

1. Direct Observation:
The quantity of observation can be determined by applying a measuring
instrument directly.
⎔ Applying a tape to a line
⎔ Turning an angle with a theodolite

2.Indirect Observation:
Observation is determined by its relationship to some other observed
value or values.
⎔ The distance across a river can be determined by observing the length
of line on one side, the angle at each end of this line to a point on the
other side, and then computing the distance by one of the standard
trigonometric formulas.

4
ERROR
By definition an error is the difference between an observed value for
a quantity and its true value,
εi = yi – μ
εi = the error an observation
yi = the observed value
μ = the true value

True value: a quantity’s theoretically correct or exact value.

(True value can never be determined!)
True value is the simply the population’s arithmetic mean if all
repeated measurements have equal precision.

5
SOURCES OF ERRORS

1. Natural errors: are caused by variations in wind, temperature, humidity,

atmospheric pressure, atmospheric refraction, etc. An example is a steel tape
whose length varies with the changes in temperature.

2. Instrumental errors: result from any imperfection in the construction or

adjustment of instruments and from the movement of individual parts. For
instance, the graduations on scale may not be perfectly spaced or the scale
may be warped.

3. Personal errors: arise principally from limitation of the human senses. As an

example; a small error occurs in the observed value of a horizontal angle if
the vertical crosshair in a theodolite is not aligned perfectly on the target.

6
TYPES OF ERRORS

Errors in observation are of two types; Systematic errors and Random Errors

1.Systematic errors: result from factors that comprise the measuring system and
include environment, instrument, and observer. So long as system conditions
remain constant, the systematic errors will likewise remain constant. If condition
change, the magnitudes of systematic errors also changed.
Condition producing systematic errors conform to physical laws that can be
observed, a correction can be computed and applied to observed values. An error
due to the effects of temperature on a steel tape is an example of systematic
error. If temperature is known, the shortening or lengthening effects on a steel
tape can be determined.

7
TYPES OF ERRORS

1. Systematic errors

Before observations, systematic errors that result from instrumental

error should be removed or minimize by controlling and adjusting
instruments.

Also, systematic errors should be removed by selecting suitable

survey techniques.

8
TYPES OF ERRORS
2. Random errors: are caused by factors beyond the control of the
observer, obey the laws of probability, and are sometimes called
“accidental errors”. They are present in all surveying observations.
They can be (-) or (+) sign.

There is no absolute way to compute or eliminate them, but

they can be estimated using adjustment procedures.

Random errors are present in every horizontal angle observation. For

example; careless plumbing , poor focusing etc. Random errors tend
to partially cancel themselves in a series of observation.

9
MISTAKES

These are blunders (loosing the data) made by observer.

Examples of mistakes include transposing figures (recording a tape value of 68 as 86),
miscounting the number of full tape length in a long measurement, measuring to or from
the wrong point, and like that.

Mistakes must be discovered and eliminated. All measurements are

suspect until they have been verified. Verification may be as simple as
repeating the measurement, or verification can result from geometric or
trigonometric analysis of related measurements.
As a rule, every measurement is immediately checked and repeat. This
repetition enables the surveyor to eliminate most mistakes and, the same
time, improve the precision of the measurement.

10
PRECISION and ACCURACY

Precision
It refers to the degree of refinement or consistency of a group of
observations and is evaluated on the basis of discrepancy size. If multiple
observations are made of the same quantity and small discrepancies
result, this indicates high precision. The degree of precision attainable is
dependent on equipment sensitivity and observer skill.

Accuracy
It denotes the absolute nearness of observed quantities to their true
values. In other words, accuracy is the relationship between the value of a
measurement and the “true” value of the dimension being measured.
11
PRECISION AND ACCURACY

( Figure:1 Ghilani & Wolf, 2008)

(a) (b) (c)

(a) = precise but not accurate
(b) = neither precise nor accurate
(c) = both precise and accurate
In some case, more precise methods can result in less accurate answers.

For instance; if the steel tape had previously been broken and then incorrectly repaired, the
results would still be relatively precise but not accurate.

12
ELIMINATING MISTAKES AND SYSTEMATIC ERROR

All field operations and office computations are governed by a constant effort
to eliminate mistakes and systematic errors.
Comparing several observations of the same quantity is one of the best ways
to identify mistakes. Assume that five observations of a line are recorded as;
67.91, 66.90, 67.89, 67.90, 67.89. The second value disagrees with the
others, apparently because of a transposition of figures in reading or
recording.
When a mistake is detected, it is usually best to repeat the
observation.

Systematic errors can be calculated and proper corrections applied

to the observations.
13
MOST PROBABLE VALUE ( y’ )

The true of any quantity is never known. However, its most probable value
can be calculated if redundant (more than needed) observation have been
made.

Most probable value is simply the arithmetic mean and derived

from a sample set of data.

y’ = (Σy / n)
Σy = the sum of the individual measurements y,
n = the total number of observations

14
RESIDUALS ( Vi ) : Error of that measurement & Correction

It is the differences between any individual measured quantity and the

most probable value for that quantity.

The mathematical expression for a residual is;

Vi = y’ – yi

where Vi is the residual in any observation yi

and y’ is the most probable value for the quantity.

GENERAL LAWS OF PROBABILITY

Σ Vi = 0 [V] = 0 ; Positive and negative errors of the same size happen with
equal frequency; that is; they are equally probable.
15
REFERENCES:

⎔ C.D. Ghilani, P.R. Wolf; Elementary Surveying , Pearson Education International Edition,
Twelfth Edition, 2008 .

⎔ Barry F. Kavanagh, Surveying Principles and Applications, Pearson Education International

Edition, Eighth Edition, 2009.

⎔ Ü.Öğün , Topografya Ders Notları ,

⎔ E.Tarı , M.Sahin , Surveying II Lecturer Notes - Slides ,

⎔ U.Özerman, Topografya Ders Notları , Bahar 2010

16