Surveying Engineering Dr.

Ali Jalil Chabuk Lecture 2

2. UNITS OF MEASUREMENT.
In surveying, the most common units are employed for length, area, volume, and angle.
Two different systems are used for specifying units of measurement, the British Imperial
System (English) and metric systems because they are widespread adoption.
The metric system is an internationally agreed decimal system of measurement created
in France in 1799. In the metric system, each basic type of measurement (length, weight,
capacity) has one basic unit of measure (meter, gram, liter). Conversions are quickly made by
multiplying or dividing by factors of 10. The metric system is widely applied in Iraq.
The US English System of measurement grew out of how people secured measurements using
body parts and familiar objects. For example, shorter ground distances were measured with the
human foot and longer distances were measured by paces, with one mile being 1,000 paces. A
standard was eventually set to ensure that all measurements represented the same amount for
everyone.
Length
1 foot (ft) = 12 inches (in) 1 mile (mi) = 5280 feet
1 yard (yd) = 3 feet 1 mile = 1760 yards

Why is the metric system used instead of the English system?

The metric system is the preferred system of scientific units for several reasons: The majority
of countries in the world employ the metric system of measurement. Because metric units are
decimal based, they are easily converted by moving the decimal point.
2.1 For lengths
The common units for lengths that use in both systems are shown in Table 2.1.
Table 2.1: The most common units for distances.
Lengths Lengths
1 km = 1000 m 1 foot = 12 inches
1m = 100 cm 1 yard = 3 feet
1 cm = 10 mm 1 inch = 2.54 cm
1 dm = 10 cm 1m = 3.2808 ft
1 mm = 1000 μm 1 Gunter’s chain (ch) = 66 feet or 22 yards
66 feet 100 links (lk) or 4 rods

2.2 For areas:

The common units for measuring areas in both systems are shown in Table 2.2.
Table 2.2: The most common units for measuring areas
Area Area Area
1 Acre = 4840 yard2 1 ft2 = 144 inch2 1 hectare = 11960 yard2
1 Acre = 43560 ft2 1 yard2 = 1296 inch2 1 hectare = 107639 ft2
2 2
1 Acre = 0.004 km 1 hectare = 0.01 km 1 hectare = 2.47 Acres
1 yard2 = 9 ft2
1 hectare = 10000 m 2
1 Acre = 4046.9 m2

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Surveying Engineering Dr. Ali Jalil Chabuk Lecture 2
2.3 For Volumes:
The common units for measuring volume in both systems are shown in Table 2.3.
Table 3: The most common units for measuring volume.
Volume Volume
1km3 = 1 × 109 m3 1m3 = 1000 liter
1m3 = 1 × 109 cm3 1 ft3 = 1728 in3
3 3
1m = 35.3147 ft 1m3 = 61023.7 in3

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Surveying Engineering Dr. Ali Jalil Chabuk Lecture 2
Example 2.1:
What is the area of the rectangular parcel with the dimension of (1350 m × 1920 m) using the
following units? Using the m2 as a basic unit. a) m2, b) km2, c) hectare, d) Acre, e) ft2
Solution:

a) 1350 × 1920 = 2,592,000 m2.

1 hectare = 10000 m2
b) 1.35 × 1.92 = 2.592 km2.
X hectare = 2592000 m2
c) 259.2 hectares (divided by 10000).
d) 640.5 Acres (divided by 4046.9). 2592000 m2 × 1 hectares
X =
10000 m2
= 259.2
e) 27,889,920 (multiplying by 10.76).
hectares.
2
1 Acre = 4046.9 m 1 m2 = 10.76 ft2
X Acre = 2592000 m2 2592000 m2 = X ft2
2592000 𝑚2 × 1 𝐴𝑐𝑟𝑒
X= = 640.5 Acres. X = 2592000 × 10.76 = 27889920 ft2.
4046.9 𝑚2

Example 2.2:
Calculate the water quantity in a reservoir using (a): ft3, (b): m3, (c): in3, and (d): liter? The
acre-foot unit is used. The area of the reservoir is equivalent to the area of 2 acres and its depth
is 2 ft.
Solution:
Calculating the area of the reservoir in ft2
1 acre = 43560 ft2
2 acres = X ft2
43560ft2 × 2 acres
X= = 87120 ft2.
1 acre

(a) Volume (ft3)

Volume (ft3) = area × depth = 87120 ft2 × 2 ft = 174240 ft3
(b) Volume (m3)
1 m3 = 35.3147 ft3
X m3 = 174240 ft3
Volume (m3) = (174240 ft3 × 1 m3) / (35.3147 ft3) = 4933.92 m3
(c) Volume (in3)
1 ft3 = 1728 in3
174240 ft3 = X in3
Volume (m3) = (174240 ft3 × 1728 in3) / (1 ft3) = 301,086,720 in3
(d) Volume (liters)
1000 liter = 1 m3
X liters = 4933.92 m3
Volume (liters) = (1000 liters × 4933.92 m3) / (1 m3) = 4933920 Liters
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Surveying Engineering Dr. Ali Jalil Chabuk Lecture 2
Example 2.3:
Express of 95,748 ft2 in: (a) acres; (b) hectares; (c) meters.
Solution:
(a) 1 acre = 43560 ft2
X acre = 95748 ft2
95748ft2 × 1 acre
X= = 2.1981 acres.
43560 ft 2
(b) 1 hectare = 107639 ft2
X hectare = 95748 ft2
95748 ft2 × 1 hectare
X= = 0.889 hectare.
107639 ft2
(c) 1 m2 = 10.76 ft2
X m2 = 95748 ft2
95748 𝑓𝑡 2 × 1 𝑚2
X= = 8.898 m2.
10.76 𝑓𝑡 2

Example 2.4:
Convert the following distances given in feet to meters: (a): 537.52 ft.
(b): 9364.87 ft (HW); (c): 4806.98 ft (HW).
Solution:
(a) 1 m = 3.2808 ft
X m = 537.25 ft
537.25 𝑓𝑡 × 1 𝑚
X= = 163.7538 m
3.2808 𝑓𝑡

Example 2.5:
Computing the lengths in feet corresponding to the following distances measured with
Gunter’s chain: (a) 10 ch 13 lk; (b): 6 ch 12 lk (HW); (c): 24 ch 8 lk (HW)
Solution:
(a) 1 Gunter’s chain (ch) = 66 feet = 100 links (lk)
1 ch = 66 ft
10 ch = X ft
66 ft × 10 ch
X= = 660 ft
1 ch
66 ft = 100 lk
X ft = 13 lk
66 𝑓𝑡 × 13 𝑙𝑘
X= = 8.6 ft
100 𝑙𝑘

So, 10 ch 13 lk = 660 + 8.6 = 668.6 ft.

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Surveying Engineering Dr. Ali Jalil Chabuk Lecture 2

Homework (1).
Q1: Computing the lengths in feet, m, and km corresponding to the following distances
measured with Gunter’s chain of (a): 20 ch 25 lk; (b): 50 ch 5 lk.

Q2: What is the area of the rectangular parcel with the dimension of (1500 m × 2000 m)
using the following units? Using the m2 as a basic unit.
(a): m2; (b) km2; (c) hectare; (d) Acre.

Q3: Calculate the quantity of water in a reservoir in the following units:

(a): ft3; (b): m3; (c): liter; (d): gallon.
The acre-foot unit is used. The area of the reservoir is equivalent to the area of 3 acres,
and it has a depth of 6 ft.