DEPARTMENT OF

GEODETIC ENGINEERING
Visca, Baybay City, Leyte,
PHILIPPINES
Telephone: (053) 565-0600
local 1027
Email: dge@vsu.edu.ph
Website: www.vsu.edu.ph

GEng 111 – General Surveying I

DISTANCE MEASUREMENT BY TAPING

Laboratory Exercise No. 4

Name: Tulang, Angela Marie L._(Group 4) Date Performed: __Sept._07,2023

Course and Year: __BSGE_________ Date Submitted: _Sept. 00, 2023___

I. INTRODUCTION
A taping is a common method for measuring horizontal distances in construction, dams,
bridges, canals, and other engineering and non-engineering activities. It involves stretching a
calibrated tape between two points and reading the distance indicated. The technique used
and precautions taken determine the degree of refinement, with a relative precision of about
1:1000 to 1:2500 or better.

II. LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the laboratory class, the students should be able to:
• Define taping and chaining
• Measure/determine the horizontal distance using taping instrument

III. MATERIALS AND TOOLS NEEDED

• Crayon or chalk, marking pins, steel tape/measuring tape, plumb bob, range pole

IV. PROCEDURE
Taping on Sloping ground

1. A line of unknown length on sloping ground will be assigned by the instructor. Call the
downhill and uphill endpoint as C and D, respectively.
2. Place range poles behind each point. Head tapeman unreels and spreads out the tape
and pulls the zero mark uphill along the line from point C. The rear tapeman raises the
last mark end of the tape breast high while the head tapeman moves back to a place
on the line near a full meter mark where the ground surface is as high as the other
raised end of the tape. The head tapeman stays by the side of the line measured and
holds a chaining pin on the ground.
3. The rear tapeman temporarily releases end of tape and signals head tapeman to either
move to the right or to the left in order to align him.

Page 1 of 4
 Figure 1. Breaking-the-Tape

4. As shown in Figure 1, the rear tapeman plumbs from point C to the terminal mark of
the tape with a plumb bob and maintains this plumb bob steadily over C while head
tapeman pulls the tape tight, and making sure that the tape is on line by bringing one
of its edges in contact with the previously aligned pin. The head tapeman then moves
the pin opposite the nearest full meter or foot mark of the tape and he sticks it firmly
into the ground.
5. The rear tapeman leaves his end of the tape, moves up the slope and gets hold of the
tape at the point previously held by the head tapeman. The next measurement is made
horizontally from the pin stuck in the ground by the head tapeman as done at point C.

6. The process is repeated until the whole tape length is used up thus finishing the
measurement of one tape length of horizontal distance.
7. After the measurement of the whole line is completed, a second measurement should
be made along the opposite (downhill) direction. The mean of the two measurements
is taken as the most probable value of the length of the line.
a. In measuring downhill, the tape is reversed to bring its zero-end forward in the
direction of point C along the line. Horizontal measurements starts from D with the
rear tapeman holding his terminal meter mark of tape in level with D.
b. After the plumb bob of the head tapeman has been aligned with the range pole
held at C, the head tapeman drops the plumb bob causing it to leave a mark on the
ground. He then sticks a pin at the ground mark left by the plumb bob.
1. The next horizontal measurement starts from the pin until one whole tape length is
measured. A sample table format for recording of observed field data is shown in table
2; however, the student may opt to use their own table format.

Page 2 of 4
 Table 1. Taping on sloping ground

TRIAL LINE LENGTH (m) MEAN SD RP

1 CD 107.67 m 1/1772
107.58 0.09 or
2 DC 107.49 m
1/2000

V. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Upon conducting this laboratory exercise, we redo it the second time around
because we encountered many reasons to measure inaccurate data at the slope area
by taping, such as the inconsistency of the point where the rod or poles are located,
and also by natural sources of errors, such as wind. And luckily, we made more
accurate data than the first data we gathered in measuring slope area by taping. Below
are the solutions in computing our gathered data:

Mean = CD+DC/2
=107.67+107 49/2
=107.58 m

LINE LENGTH (m) V 𝑉2

CD 107.67 m 0.09 0.0081
DC 107.49 m 0.09 0.0081

Solve for Residual (V) first to get Standard Deviation:

V = observed values - mean
CD = 107.67 – 107.58 = 0.09
DC = 107.49 – 107.58 = 0.09

Solve for Standard Deviation:

√∑𝑣 2
SD = 𝑛(𝑛−1) 𝑣 2 = 0.09+0.09
= 0.0162

√∑0.0162
= 2(2−1)
= 0.09

Solve for Probable Error to get the Relative Precision:

√𝑣 2
PE = ± 0.6745𝑛(𝑛−1)
√0.0162
= ± 0.6745 2(2−1)
= 0.060705

Solve for Relative Precision:

RP = PE/MPV
=0.060705/107.58
=1/1772.17694 or 1/2000

Page 3 of 4
VI. REFERENCE

ELEMENTARY SURVEYING INSTRUCTIONAL MANUAL

By JP La Putt, 1987, 3rd Ed. Newsprint, Laminated Paperback Cover, Measurement Of the
Horizontal Distances , Distance By Taping.

Page 4 of 4