College of

Engineering CE 31.1 Fundamentals of Surveying, Lab

Laboratory Activity No. 2

Leveling
Instructors: Engr. Jemima R. Perodes (f.jemima.perodes@cmu.edu.ph) & Engr. Metzilou A. Tigbabao (f.metzilou.tigbabao@cmu.edu.ph)

1. Introduction
Generally, leveling is the process of determining the height of a point with respect to a datum of which the most common
datum used is the mean sea level. The goal of leveling could be either to establish, verify, or measure the elevation of points.
[1] A more specific type of leveling used when determining the difference in elevation between two points that are some distance
apart is called differential leveling. It may require several instrument setups along a general route. In each of those setups, a rod
reading to a point of known elevation and a rod reading to a point of unknown elevation are taken. [2]
This surveying experiment is conducted to determine the difference in elevation of two benchmarks by performing
differential leveling.

2. Materials and methods

2.1 Instruments and tools

In this surveying activity, the following tools will be used:
• Automatic level
• Leveling rod
• Marking pins
• Range poles

2.2 Key Terms and Formulas

• Benchmark (BM) – a fixed point of reference (initial and final points); most often known
• Backsight (BS) – the first rod reading taken after setting up the instrument in any position; always a point of known
elevation
• Elevation – vertical height of a point with respect to the datum
• Foresight (FS) – the rod reading on a point whose elevation is to be determined
• Height of Instrument (HI) – elevation of the line of sight with respect to the datum
• Turning Point (TP) – intervening point between two benchmarks upon which the BS and FS readings are taken

HI3

HI2
HI1

BM2

BM1

Figure 1. Differential leveling [3]

CE 31.1, First Semester, S.Y. 2021-2022
 CE 31.1, First Semester, S.Y. 2021-2022

From the figure, the following formulas can be derived.

𝑯. 𝑰. = 𝑬𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑩𝑴𝟏 + 𝑩𝑺𝟏

𝑬𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑻𝑷𝟏 = 𝑯𝑰𝟏 − 𝑭𝑺𝟐

𝑫𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 = 𝑬𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑩𝑴𝟐 − 𝑬𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑩𝑴𝟏

2.3 Procedure
(See previously posted tutorial videos.)

3. Results and discussions

Here is a sample result and computation.

Table 1. Differential leveling data

Station B.S. (m) H.I. (m) F.S. (m) Elevation (m)
BM1 5.87 392.25*
398.12
TP1 7.03 6.29 391.83
398.86
TP2 3.48 6.25 392.61
396.09
TP3 7.25 7.08 389.01
396.26
TP4 10.19 5.57 390.69
400.88
TP5 9.29 4.45 396.43
405.72
BM2 4.94 400.78
*This is initially known

Arithmetic check:

𝐷𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝐸𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = ∑ 𝐵𝑆 − ∑ 𝐹𝑆

𝐵𝑀2 𝐸𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 − 𝐵𝑀1 𝐸𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = ∑ 𝐵𝑆 − ∑ 𝐹𝑆

400.78 − 392.25 = 43.11 − 34.58
8.53 = 8.53

4. Reference(s)
1 What Is Levelling In Surveying? Importance Of Levelling In Surveying. February 2022. Retrieved on September 19,
2022, from https://civilstuff.com/what-is-levelling-in-surveying/
2 Schofield, W. (1984). Engineering surveying theory and examination problems for students. Volume 1, 3rd Edition.
Oxford: Reed Educational and Professional Publishing Ltd.
3 Araja, V. December 2013. Differential Leveling – Surveying. Retrieved on September 17, 2022, from Differential
Leveling – Surveying | BuildCivil (wordpress.com)