ELEMENTARY SURVEYING

FIELD MANUAL
2006

FIELD WORK NO. 4

DETERMINING THE AREA OF A POLYGONAL
FIELD USING ONLY THE TAPE

COURSE AND SECTION: __________________

SUBMITTED BY:

SN. __________ NAME: ____________________ STUDENT NO.: ____________

GROUP NO. _____ CHIEF OF PARTY: ___________________________

DATE OF FIELD WORK: ____________ DATE OF SUBMISSION: ____________

SUBMITTED TO:

PROFESSOR: __________________________
GRADE

ELEMENTARY SURVEYING 1
 FINAL DATA SHEET

FIELD WORK 4 DETERMINING THE AREA OF A POLYGONAL FIELD

USING ONLY THE TAPE

DATE: GROUP NO.

TIME: LOCATION:
WEATHER: PROFESSOR:

A. 1ST METHOD: BY BASE AND ALTITUDE METHOD E. SKETCHES:

TRIANGLE BASE ALTITUDE AREA

1 2.800 m 1.470 m 2.058 m2
2 2.000 m 2.800 m 2.800 m2
3 2.000 m 2.000 m 2.000 m2
TOTAL 6.858 m2

C. 2 ND METHOD: BY TWO SIDES AND THE INCLUDED ANGLE

TRIANGLE ANGLE SIDES AREA

 in a b
degrees
1 59.940˚ 2.000 m 2.000 m 1.731 m2
2 80.650˚ 2.000 m 3.465 m 3.419 m2
3 43.910˚ 2.000 m 2.000 m 1.387 m2
TOTAL 6.537 m2

E. 3RD METHOD: BY THREE SIDES (HERON’S FORMULA)

HALF
TRIANGLE SIDES AREA
PERIMETER
a b c s
1 2.000 m 2.000 m 3.465 m 3.733 m 1.733 m2
2 2.000 m 2.810 m 3.465 m 4.138 m 2.812 m2
3 2.000 m 2.000 m 2.810 m 3.405 m 2.000 m2
TOTAL 6.545 m2
COMPUTATIONS

B. 1ST METHOD: BY BASE AND ALTITUDE METHOD

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 1
ATriangle = ( b )( h )
2

1
A1= ( 2.800 )( 1.470 )=2.058m2
2

1
A2= ( 2.000 )( 2.800 ) =2.800 m2
2

1 2
A3 = (2.000 )( 2.000 ) =2.000 m
2

Total Area= A1 + A2 + A3

2 2
AT =( 2.058+2.800+2.000 ) m =6.858 m

D. 2 ND METHOD: BY TWO SIDES AND THE INCLUDED ANGLE

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 1
ATriangle = ab sinθ
2

1 2
A1= ( 2.000 m ) ( 2.000m ) sin ( 59.940˚ )=1.731m
2

1 2
A2= ( 2.000 m ) ( 3.465m ) sin ( 80.650˚ )=3.419 m
2

1 2
A3 = (2.000 m ) ( 2.000 m) sin ( 43.910 ˚ )=1.387 m
2

Total Area= A1 + A2 + A3

Total Area=( 1.731+3.419+1.387 ) m 2=6.537 m 2

θ̌ :

1
1.731 m2 = (2.000 m ) ( 2.000 m) sin θ θ1=59.940 °
2

2 1
3.419 m = ( 2.000 m ) ( 3.465 m ) sin θ θ2=80.650°
2

2 1
1.387 m = ( 2.000 m )( 2.000 m ) sin θ θ3 =43.910 °
2

ELEMENTARY SURVEYING 4
 F. 3RD METHOD: BY THREE SIDES (HERON’S FORMULA)

a+ b+c
s=
2

2.000+2.000+3.465
s1= =3.733 m
2

2.000+2.810+3.465
s2= =4.138 m
2

2.000+2.000+2.810
s3= =3.405m
2

ATriangle = √ s ( s−a ) ( s−b )( s−c )

A1= √ 3.733 ( 3.733−2.000 )( 3.733−2.000 ) (3.733−3.465 )=1.733 m 2

A2= √ 4.138 ( 4.138−2.000 )( 4.138−2.810 ) ( 4.138−3.465 )=2.812 m 2

A3 =√ 3.405 ( 3.405−2.000 )( 3.405−2.000 ) ( 3.405−2.810 ) =2.000 m2

Total Area= A1 + A2 + A3

2 2
Total Area=( 1.733+2.812+2.000 ) m =6.545 m

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SKETCHES

Steel Tape
Tool used for measuring the distance from point to point

Chalk
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 Tool used for marking the distance from point to point

CONCLUSION

Based on the data gathered from the fieldwork, I can conclude that we can determine

the area of a polygonal field using the tape only by dividing the area into triangles and using

different formulas in getting the area. There were three methods used in this fieldwork. The first

method uses the base and altitude measurements to find the area of the triangles within the

1
polygon using the basic formula: ATriangle = ( b )( h ). The second method uses two sides of a
2

1
triangle and an included angle using the basic formula: ATriangle = ab sinθ . Lastly, the third
2

method uses three sides of a triangle using the basic formula: ATriangle = √ s ( s−a ) ( s−b )( s−c ).

The most common sources of error in this fieldwork are the inaccurate reading of

measurements and human errors. Hence, we must follow the manuals' instructions as carefully

and systematically as possible to make more accurate measurements. Nevertheless, I still

learned how to skillfully determine the area of a polygonal field using only steel tape to measure

by dividing the surface area into triangles.

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APPLICATION

To measure the area of the polygonal field, the surveyor can divide the surface area of

the polygon into triangles and use different area formulas. In the fieldwork, we applied this

method to calculate the surface area of polygons or irregularly shaped fields. For instance, a

farmer’s field is often irregularly shaped, making the direct calculation of areas for this kind of

field difficult. As such, irregularly shaped fields are divided into regularly shaped areas—like

triangles and rectangles—so that the polygonal surface can be calculated using the basic

formulas given in the module.

However, the accuracy of the data gathered will also depend on the taping errors that

the surveyors are bound to make. Since we manually measure the triangles on the ground

using only tape, we can easily make inaccurate readings of measurements, thus, creating

personal errors. Hence, we must correct these errors to get a much more accurate data.

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REFERENCES

Surveying_Field_Manual

Gomez, J. (2017). Field Work No. 4 Determining the Area of a Polygonal Field Using Only the

Tape. Kupdf.net. Retrieved 11 October 2021, from

https://kupdf.net/download/field-work-no-4-determining-the-area-of-a-polygonal-

field-using-only-the-tape-pdf_59f32b70e2b6f5785a3826e2_pdf.

ELEMENTARY SURVEYING 9