CE-205: Surveying-I

3rd Semester
B.Sc. Civil Engineering

Chapter 09
Calculation of Areas and Volumes

Engr. Khurram Sheraz

(M.Sc. Soil and Water Engineering)
Assistant Professor

Department of Agricultural Engineering

University of Engineering & Technology Peshawar
 Contents
• Introduction to area

• Computation of area
– From plotted plan
– The mid-ordinate rule
– The average-ordinate rule
– Simpson rule
– Trapezoidal rule

• DMD method

• Introduction to volume
• Computation of volume
– Average end area rule
– Prismoidal rule
– Volume by spot levels
– Volume from contours
 Introduction to
• Areaas designing of long bridges, dams, reservoirs, etc., the
In civil engineering works such
area of catchments of rivers is required.
• The areas of fields are also required for planning and management of projects.
• The area is required for the title documents of land.
• The term area in the context of surveying refers to the area of a tract of land projected
upon the horizontal plane, and not to the actual area of the land surface.
• Area may be expressed in the following units:
1) Square-meters
2) Hectares (1 hectare = 10000 m2)
3) Square-feet
4) Acres (1 acre = 4840 sq. yd. = 43560 ft2)
• The method of computation of area depends upon the shape of the boundary of the tract
and accuracy required.
• The area of the tract of the land is computed from its plan which may be enclosed by
straight, irregular or combination of straight and irregular boundaries.
• When the boundaries are straight the area is determined by subdividing the plan into
simple geometrical figures such as triangles, rectangles, trapezoids, etc.
• For irregular boundaries, they are replaced by short straight boundaries, and the area is
computed using approximate methods or Planimeter when the boundaries are very
irregular
 Introduction to
• The following Area
hierarchical representation of the various methods
is a computation of of
area:
 Instrumental Method

Digital Planimeter
 Computation of Area from Plotted Plan
• The area may be calculated in the two following ways.
I. Case I: Considering the Entire Area:
• The entire area is divided into regions of a convenient shape, and calculated
as follows:
a) By Dividing the Area into Triangles:
• The triangles are so drawn as to equalize the irregular boundary line.
• Then the bases and altitudes of the triangles are determined according to the scale
to which the plan was drawn.
• After this, the areas of these triangles are calculated as
1
𝐴 𝑟 𝑒 𝑎 =× 𝐵 𝑎 𝑠 𝑒
2
× 𝐴 𝑙 𝑡 𝑖 𝑡 𝑢 𝑑 𝑒
• The areas are then added to obtain the total
area.
 Computation of Area from Plotted Plan
b) By Dividing the Area into Squares:
• In this method, squares of equal size are ruled out on a piece of tracing paper.

• Each square represents a unit area, which could be 1 cm2 or 1 m2.

• The tracing paper is placed over the plan and the number of full squares are
counted.
• The total area is then calculated by multiplying the number of squares by the unit
area of each square.
• For example,

No. of squares =

42 Scale = 1/1000
Area = 42 x 1 x
(1000)2 = 4.2 x 107
cm2
 Computation of Area from Plotted Plan
c) By Drawing Parallel Lines and Converting them to Rectangles:
• In this method, a series of equidistant parallel lines are drawn on a tracing paper.

• The constant distance represents a meter or centimeter.

• The tracing paper is placed over the plan in such a way that the area is enclosed
between the two parallel lines at the top and bottom.
• Thus the area is divided into a number of strips.

• The curved ends of the strips are replaced by perpendicular lines (by give and
take principle and a number of rectangles are formed.
• The sum of the lengths of the rectangles is then calculate

𝐴 𝑟 𝑒 𝑎 = ෍ 𝐿 𝑒 𝑛 𝑔 𝑡 ℎ 𝑜 𝑓 𝑅 𝑒 𝑐 𝑡 𝑎 𝑛 𝑔 𝑙 𝑒 𝑠 × 𝐶 𝑜 𝑛 𝑠 𝑡 𝑎 𝑛 𝑡
𝐷 𝑖 𝑠 𝑡 𝑎 𝑛 𝑐 𝑒
 Computation of Area from Plotted Plan
II. Case II:
• In this method, a large square or rectangle is formed within the area in the plan.
• Then ordinates are drawn at regular intervals from the side of the square to the
curved boundary.
• The middle area is calculated in the usual way.

• The boundary area is calculated according to one of the following rules:

1) The mid-ordinate rule

2) The average ordinate rule

3) The trapezoidal rule

4) Simpson’s rule
 The Mid-Ordinate Rule
• Consider the following Figure:

• Let O1, O2, O3, ... , On = ordinates at equal intervals

• 𝑙 = length of base line

• d = common distance between ordinates

• h1, h2, ... hn = mid-ordinates

• Area of plot = h1 x d + h2 x d + ... + hn x d

• Area of plot = d (h1 + h2 + ... + hn)

• i.e. Area = Common Distance x Sum of Mid-Ordinates

 The Average-Ordinate Rule
• Consider the following Figure:

• Let O1, O2, O3, ... , On = ordinates or offsets at equal intervals

• 𝑙 = length of base line

• n = number of divisions (e.g. 4 in this Figure)
• n + 1 = number of ordinates (e.g. 4+1 = 5 in this Figure)

𝑂 1 +𝑂 2 +⋯+𝑂 𝑛
𝐴 𝑟 𝑒 𝑎 = × 𝑙
𝑛 +1
𝑆 𝑢 𝑚 𝑜 𝑓
𝐴 𝑟 𝑒 𝑎𝑁 =𝑜 .𝑜 𝑓
𝑂 𝑟 𝑑 𝑖 𝑛 𝑎 𝑡
𝑒 𝑠
𝑂 𝑟 𝑑 𝑖 𝑛 𝑎 𝑡 ×�𝐿 𝑒 𝑛 𝑔 𝑡 ℎ 𝑜 𝑓
�𝑠
𝐵 𝑎 𝑠 𝑒 𝐿 𝑖 𝑛 𝑒
 The Trapezoidal Rule
• While applying the trapezoidal rule, boundaries between the ends of ordinates
are assumed to be straight.
• Thus the areas enclosed between the base line and the irregular boundary line are
considered as trapezoids.
• Consider the following Figure:
• Let O1, O2, O3, ... , On = ordinates at equal intervals
• d = common distance between ordinates
1𝑠 𝑡 𝐴 𝑟 𝑒 𝑎2 =
𝑂 1+𝑂 2
×𝑑
2 𝑛 𝑑 𝐴 𝑟 𝑒 2𝑎 =
𝑂 2+𝑂 3
× 𝑑
3 𝑟 𝑑 𝐴 𝑟 𝑒 𝑎2 =
𝑂 3 +𝑂 4
× 𝑑
Last 𝐴 𝑟 𝑒 𝑎 =
𝑂 𝑛 − 1 + 𝑂 𝑛
2
× 𝑑 𝑑
Total 𝐴 𝑟 𝑒 𝑎2 =1 𝑛 𝑂 2 3 + �
+
i.e.𝑂 + 2(𝑂 + 𝑂 𝑂 �
−1
)
Total 𝐴 𝑟 𝑒 𝑎 = 𝐹𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑂 𝑟 𝑑 𝑖 𝑛 𝑎 𝑡 𝑒 + 𝐿 𝑎 𝑠 𝑡 𝑂 𝑟 𝑑 𝑖 𝑛 𝑎 𝑡 𝑒 +
2
𝐶 𝑜 𝑚 𝑚 𝑜 𝑛 𝐷 𝑖 𝑠 𝑡 𝑎 𝑛 𝑐 𝑒 2(𝑆 𝑢 𝑚 𝑜 𝑓 𝑂 𝑡 ℎ𝑒 𝑟 𝑂 𝑟 𝑑 𝑖 𝑛 𝑎 𝑡 𝑒 𝑠 )
 The Simpson Rule
• In this rule, the boundaries between the ends of ordinates are assumed to form an
arc of a parabola.
• Hence Simpson's rule is sometimes called the parabolic rule.
• Consider the following Figure:
• Let O1, O2, O3 = three consecutive ordinates
• d = common distance between ordinates
• Area AFeDC = area of trapezium AFDC + area of segment FeDEF
𝐴 𝑟 𝑒 𝑎 𝑜 𝑓
2
𝑇 𝑟 𝑎 𝑝 𝑒 𝑧 𝑖 𝑢 𝑚 𝐴 𝐹 2𝐷 𝐶
𝐴
= 𝑂𝑟 1𝑒+ 𝑂𝑎 3 𝑜× 𝑓2 𝑑 3
× 𝐴 𝑟 𝑒 𝑎 𝑜 𝑓
𝑆 𝑒 𝑔 𝑚 𝑒 𝑛 𝑡 2 𝑃 𝑎 𝑟 𝑎 𝑙 𝑙 𝑒2 𝑙 𝑜 𝑔 𝑟 𝑂
𝑎1 +𝑂
𝑚3 �
𝐴
𝐹 𝑟𝑒 𝑒𝐷𝑎 𝐸𝑜 𝐹𝑓 𝑆= 𝑒 𝑔 𝑚 𝑒 3𝑛�𝑡 𝑓 𝐹𝑑 𝑒𝐷 𝐷 𝐸3 × 𝑂
−𝐹 = 2 2
× 𝐸 𝑒 × 𝐴 𝐶 =
× 2𝑑
𝑂1 3 2
∆1 =
• So, the area between
+ 𝑂 × 2 𝑑 3 �2 − 2 ×
2 the first two divisions:
� + � 𝑂 1 +𝑂 3 2𝑑
∆1 = � 3
(𝑂 1 + 4𝑂 2 + 𝑂 3 )
• Similarly, the area between next two divisions:
�
�
 The Simpson Rule
Total Area = �(𝑂 + 4𝑂 + 2𝑂 + 4𝑂 +
1 2 3 4
�
⋯+ 𝑂 𝑛 )
𝑑3
Total Area = 3
𝑂1 𝑛 2 + 𝑂4 ) + 2(𝑂 3 + 𝑂 5 +
+ 4(𝑂 + 𝑂 + ⋯ ⋯ +)
𝐶 𝑜 𝑚 𝑚 𝑜 𝑛
Total Area = 𝐷 𝑖 𝑠 𝑡 𝑎 𝑛 𝑐 𝑒 1𝑠 𝑡 𝑂 𝑟 𝑑 𝑖 𝑛 𝑎 𝑡 𝑒 + 𝐿 𝑎 𝑠 𝑡 𝑂 𝑟 𝑑 𝑖 𝑛 𝑎 𝑡 𝑒 + 4 ( 𝑆 𝑢 𝑚 𝑜 𝑓 𝐸 𝑣 𝑒 𝑛
3
𝑂 𝑟 𝑑 𝑖 𝑛 𝑎 𝑡 𝑒 𝑠 + 2(𝑆 𝑢 𝑚 𝑜 𝑓 𝑂 𝑑 𝑑 𝑂 𝑟 𝑑 𝑖 𝑛 𝑎 𝑡 𝑒 𝑠 )

• Thus, the rule may be stated as follows:

• To the sum of the first and the last ordinate, four times the sum of even ordinates
and twice the sum of the remaining odd ordinates are added.
• This total sum is multiplied by the common distance.
• One-third of this product is the required area.

 Limitation:
• This rule is applicable only when the number divisions is even, i.e. the number of
ordinates is odd.
 Example: Calculation of
Area offsets were taken at 20 m intervals from a survey
The following perpendicular
line to an irregular boundary line:
3.82 4.37 6.82 5.26 7.59 8.90 9.52 8.42 6.43
Calculate the area in m2 enclosed between the survey line, the irregular
boundary line and the first and last offsets by the application of the (a)
Simpson’s rule (b) Trapezoidal rule (c) Average ordinate rule.
Let d = the interval between the offsets = 10
m Δ = the required area
(a) Applying Simpson’s rule, we get
∆= 𝑑3 𝑂1 𝑛 2 + 𝑂4 ) + 2(𝑂 3 + 𝑂 5 +
+ 410( 𝑂 + 𝑂 + ⋯ ⋯ +)
∆= 3 3.82 + 6.43) + 4(4.37 + 5.26 + 8.90 + 8.42 + 2(6.82 + 7.59 +
9.52) 2
∆= 553.03 𝑚
(b) Applying Trapezoidal rule, we have
∆= 𝑑2 𝑂1 𝑛 + 𝑂 2 + 23( 𝑂
+ 𝑂10 +𝑛 𝑂 − )1
∆= 2 3.82 + 6.43) + 2(4.37 + 6.82 + 5.26 + 7.59 + 8.90 + 9.52 +
8.42
∆= 560.05
2
 Example: Calculation of
(c) Area Ordinate
Applying the Average
rule,
Interval between the offsets d = 10 m
Number of intervals n = 8
Number of offsets n+1 = 8+1=9
Length of the survey line 𝑙 = = 8(10) = 80
nd

𝑂 1 +𝑂 2 +⋯+𝑂 𝑛
∆= × 𝑙
𝑛 +1

∆=
3.82 + 4.37 + 6.82 + 5.26 + 7.59 + 8.90 + 9.52 + 8.42 + 6.43 × 80
9

∆=
61.13 × 80
9
∆= 543.38 𝑚 2

Comparison of Rules:

The results obtained using Simpson’s rule are greater or less than those obtained by using the
Trapezoidal rule according as the curve of the boundary is concave or convex towards the base
line. The results of Simpson’s rule are more accurate and, therefore, where great accuracy is
 DMD Method
• Consider the following Figure, ‘A’ is the most westerly station, and the reference
meridian is assumed to pass through it.
• Meridian distance (also called longitude) is the perpendicular distance between
the midpoint of any line and the reference meridian.
• The double meridian distance (DMD) or double longitude of a line is the
distance
equal to the sum of the meridian distances of the two ends of the line.
 Methods of Finding DMD
1) DMD of first line = departure of first line
2) DMD of second line = DMD of first line + departure of first line +
departure
of second line.
3) DMD of any succeeding line = DMD of preceding line preceding line +
departure of preceding line + departure of line itself
4) DMD of last line = departure of last line with opposite sign
 Procedure Calculating Areas:
1) Each DMD is multiplied by the latitude of that line.
2) The algebraic sum of these products is worked out.
 DMD Method
 Points to Remember:
1) The reference meridian should pass through the most westerly station. The
most westerly station is the station at which the departure change from west
to east, or the latitudes change from south to north.
2) The signs of latitude and departure should always be taken into account.
3) A negative sign of the area does not carry any significance .
 Example: Calculation of
Areathe latitudes and departures of the sides of a closed
The following Table gives
traverse ABCD. Compute its area by DMD method.
Side Latitude (m) Departure (m)
N. S. E. W.
AB 214.8 --- 124.0 ---
BC --- 245.1 205.7 ---
CD --- 155.9 --- 90.0
DA 186.2 --- --- 239.7
Solution:
Calculate the double meridian distances of the sides AB, BC, CD, and DA and
tabulate the results as under:
Side Latitude (m) Departure (m) DMD Double Area
1 2 3 4 Col 2 x Col 4
+ - Twice Area =
AB 214.8 124 124.0 26635.20 Algebraic Sum = 114126.83
BC -214.1 205.7 453.7 -97137.17
CD -155 -90 569.4 -88257.00 Area of traverse =
DA 186.2 -239.7 239.7 44632.14 𝟏 𝟏 𝟒 𝟏 𝟐 𝟔 . 𝟖 𝟑
�
=
Total 71267.34 -185394.17
Algebraic Sum = 114126.83 𝟓 𝟕 �𝟎 𝟔 𝟑 . 𝟒 𝟐 m2
 Introduction to Volume
• In many civil engineering projects, earthwork involves excavation and removal
and dumping of earth, therefore it is required to make good estimates of volumes
of earthwork.
• Volume computations are also needed to determine the capacity of bins, tanks, and
reservoirs, and to check the stockpiles of coal, gravel, and other material.
• Earthwork operations involve the determination of volumes of material that is to
be excavated or embanked in engineering project to bring the ground surface to a
predetermined grade.
• Volumes can be determined via cross-sections, spot levels or contours.
• It is convenient to determine the volume from 'standard-type' cross-sections
provided that the original ground surface is reasonably uniform in respect of the
cross-fall, or gradient transverse to the longitudinal center line.
• Having computed the cross-sections at given intervals of chainage along the
center line by standard expressions for various cross-sections, or by planimeter,
etc., volumes of cut in the case of excavation or volumes of fill in the case of
embankment, can be determined using average end-area rule or prismoidal rule
which are analogous to the trapezoidal rule and Simpson's rule, respectively.
• The latter is more commonly employed.
 Area (Cut) Area (Fill)

Standard Cross-sections
 Example: Level Section
Calculate the sectional area of an embankment 10 m wide, with a side slope of
2:1. The ground is level in a transverse direction to the center line. The central
height of the embankment is 2.5 m.

Solution:

b = 10 m
s=2
h = 2.5 m

Cross-sectional Area = (b + sh)h

= (10 + 2 x 2.5) x 2.5
= 37.5 m2
 Example: Two-Level Section
The width at the formation level of a certain cutting is 10 m and side slope 1:1.
The surface of the ground has a uniform slope of 1 in 6 in the transverse
direction. Find the cross-sectional area when the depth of cutting at the centre is
3 m.

Solution:
b = 10 m
s=1
n=6
h=3m
𝑏
𝑏 � 10
𝑛 𝑠 1 = 2 ℎ + � = 10 + 6 × 1 3 + =
2 2× 6
𝑏
+ 𝑛 −𝑏 𝑠 𝑛
� 2 10
9.6 𝑚
= 2 � =
10 1 6×1
6 −+
3− =
𝑛 𝑠 2 ℎ− 2× 6
+ 𝑛 +𝑠 2 2 𝑏2 6.85 𝑚
� −
𝐴 𝑟 𝑒 𝑎 𝑏 + ℎ 𝑏1
� 6 −21
1
2 2
= 2𝑠 +
10 𝑏 � − 10
2
1
𝐴 𝑟 𝑒 𝑎2 =2× 1 + 3 9.6 + �
2× 1
6.85
𝐴 𝑟 𝑒 𝑎 =
2
 Example: Three-Level Section
The following notes refer to a three-level section:
Station Cross-section

1 +𝟎 . 𝟗 𝟓 +𝟏 . 𝟓 𝟎 +𝟐 . 𝟗 𝟎
𝟒. 𝟓 𝟓 𝟎 𝟔. 𝟓 𝟎
2 +𝟏 . 𝟕 𝟓 +𝟐 . 𝟎 𝟎 +𝟑 . 𝟐 𝟎
𝟓. 𝟓 𝟎 𝟎 𝟖. 𝟑 𝟎
Find the sectional area at stations 1 and 2, assuming a formation width of 8
m. Solution:
h = 1.50 m b=8m Data for cross-section at station 2:
h1 = 2.90 m b1 = 6.50 m h = 2.00 m b=8m
h2 = 0.95 m b2 = 4.55 m h1 = 3.20 m b1 = 8.30 m
Cross-sectional area at station 1: h2 = 1.75 m b2 = 5.50 m
ℎ 𝑏 1 + 𝑏 2 𝑏 + ℎ1 Cross-sectional area at station 2:
𝐴 𝑟 𝑒 4 2.00 8
𝑎 = + ℎ2 ∆2 = 8.30 + 5.50 + 3.20 +
1.50 8 2 4
1.75
2 ∆2 = 𝟐 𝟑 .
∆1 = 6.50 + 4.55 + 2.90 +
2 4
0.95 𝟕 𝟎 m2
∆1 = 𝟏 𝟓 .
𝟗 𝟗 m2
 Example: Side-Hill Two-Level Section
The width at formation of a certain road is 10 m and the side slopes are of 1:1 in
cutting and 2:1 in filling. The original ground has a slope of 1 in 5 (fall). If the
depth of excavation at the center is 0.8 m, find the areas of cutting and filling.

Solution:

(a) Area of cutting:

h = 0.8 m n =5
s=1 b = 10 m
2
�
1 �2
+𝑛 ℎ 1 10Τ2 +5×0.8 2
R𝑒 𝑞 𝑢 𝑖 𝑟 𝑒 𝑑 = = 10.1
2 𝑛 −𝑠 2 5−1
𝐴 𝑟 𝑒 𝑎 = ൗ 𝑚 2
(a) Area of filling:
h = 0.8 m n =5
s=2 b = 10 m
2
�
1 �2
+𝑛 ℎ 1 10Τ2 +5×0.8 2
R𝑒 𝑞 𝑢 𝑖 𝑟 𝑒 𝑑 = = 0.16
2 𝑛 −𝑠 2 5−2
𝐴 𝑟 𝑒 𝑎 = ൗ 𝑚 2
 Example: Multi-Level Section
The following life the data corresponding to an irregular cross-section. The width of the
road at formation level is 6 m, The side slope is 1:1. Calculate the cross-sectional area.
Left Center Right
+𝟐 . +𝟑 . +𝟑 . +𝟔 . +𝟕 . 𝟎
𝟐 𝟓 𝟐 𝟎 𝟕 𝟓 𝟐 𝟎 𝟗. 𝟎
Solution: 𝟓. 𝟑. 𝟎. 𝟒.
𝟓 𝟎 𝟎 𝟎 𝟎 𝟎 𝟓 𝟎
Starting from the center (D) and running outwards to the right and left, the coordinates of the
vertices are arranged irrespective of sign in determinant form as follows:
A B C D E F G
0 2.25 3.20 3.75 6.20 7.0 0
3.0 5.50 3.0 0 4.50 9.0 3.0
Sum of the products of the coordinates joined by firm lines is given by:
ΣP = 6.20 x 0 + 7.0 x 4.5 + 0 x 9.0 + 3.20 x 0 + 2.25 x 3.0 + 0 x 5.5
ΣP = 0 + 31.50 + 0 + 0 + 6.75 + 0 = 38.25
Sum of the products of the coordinates joined by dotted lines is given by:
ΣQ = 3.75 x 4.5 + 6.2 x 9.0 + 7.0 x 3.0 + 3.75 x 3.0 + 3.2 x 5.5 + 2.25 x
3.0
ΣQ = 16.87 + 55.80 + 21..00 + 11.25 + 17.60 + 6.75 = 129.27
𝐴 𝑟 𝑒 𝑎2 = 1 ( Σ 𝑃
−
𝐴 Σ𝑟 𝑄𝑒 ) 𝑎2 = 1 (38.25 −
129.27)
𝐴 𝑟 𝑒 𝑎 =
 Computation of Volume
• A prismoid is a solid whose ends are plane figure not necessarily the same number
of sides, lying in parallel planes and whose longitudinal faces are trapezoids as
shown in the Figure.
• Let,
• Ao, A1, A2, … An = the areas of the cross-sections
• D = the distance between the cross sections
• V = the volume of a cutting or an embankment

 Trapezoidal Formula (Average End Area Rule):

𝑉 =2 𝐷 𝑜 𝐴 + 𝐴 1 + 2+ ⋯+
2 ( 𝐴 𝐴+𝑛 𝑜𝐴 + 𝐴 𝑛 −𝐴1 )
V 1 + 𝐴2 + ⋯
2
= 𝐷 𝑛
+ 𝐴 + 𝐴𝑛 −1

 Prismoidal Formula:
𝐷
𝑉 =3 𝑜 𝐴 + 4 ( 𝐴1 3 … � ) + 2 + 4 …+ �
+𝑛 𝐴 + 𝐴 + 𝐴 � 2(𝐴 𝐴 𝐴 � )
−1 −2
 Example- Calculation of Volume
An embankment is 8 m wide having side slopes of 2 to 1. Assuming the ground to be level
in a direction transverse to the center line, calculate the volume in m3, contained in a
length of 300 m the center heights at every 50 m intervals being
0.50 1.00 1.67 2.00 1.17 0.67 (m)

The cross-sectional area of the embankment is given by equation, ∆= 𝑏 + 𝑠 ℎ ℎ

b = 8 m; s = 2 are,
∆0 = (8 + 2 x 0.50) 0.50 = 4.5 m2
∆1 = (8 + 2 x 1.00) 1.00 = 10.0 m2
∆2 = (8 + 2 x 1.50) 1.50 = 16.5 m2
∆3 = (8 + 2 x 1.67) 1.67 = 18.9 m2
∆4 = (8 + 2 x 2.00) 2.00 = 24.0 m2
∆5 = (8 + 2 x 1.17) 1.17 = 12.1 m2
∆6 = (8 + 2 x 0.67) 0.67 = 6.3 m2
Using Trapezoidal formula we get,
𝑉 =𝐷 𝐴 𝑂 + 𝐴 𝑛 + 2 ( 𝐴 1 + 𝐴 2 +
2
⋯ + 50
𝐴 𝑛 −1)
𝑉 = 4.5 + 6.3 + 2(10.0 + 16.5 + 18.9 + 24.0 + = 4345.0
12.1)2 𝑚 3
 Example- Calculation of Volume
Using Prismoidal formula we get,

𝐷
𝑉 = 𝐴 𝑂 + 𝐴 𝑛 + 4(𝐴 1 + 𝐴 3 …+ 𝐴 𝑛 − 1 ) +
2(𝐴 2 + 𝐴 4 …+ 𝐴 𝑛 − 2 ) 3

50
𝑉 = 4.5 + 6.5 + 4 10.0 + 18.9 + 12.1 + 2(16.5 +
3
24.0)

𝑉 = 4263.3
m3
 Volume by Spot Levels
• If the spot levels have been observed at the corners of squares or rectangles
forming grid, the volume is calculated by determining the volume of individual
vertical prisms of square or rectangular base A and depth h, and adding them
together.

• The following expression gives the total volume.

𝐴 ( σ ℎ1 +2 σ ℎ2 +3 σ ℎ3 +4 σ ℎ4 )
𝑉 =
4

A = the area of the square or rectangle

Σh1 = the sum of the vertical depths common to one prism

Σh2 = the sum of the vertical depths common to two prism

Σh3 = the sum of the vertical depths common to three prism

 Volume from Contours
• Contours are used in a manner similar to
cross-sections and the distance between the
cross-sections is taken equal to the contour
interval.

• The area enclosed by a contour is

determined using a planimeter.

• This of determining volume is

method
approximate since the contour interval is
generally not sufficiently small to fully
depict the irregularities of the ground.

• This method is commonly used for finding

the volume of a reservoir, lake or spoil heap.