ABE 48 

FUNDAMENTALS OF SURVEYING

Engr.J.A.Gonzales ABE 48
DEFINITON
AREA - in plane surveying, it is
not the actual area but the projection
upon a horizontal plane; in geodetic
surveying, it is the projection of the
earth’s surface

 units: square meter (m2), square

kilometer (km ), hectare (ha)
2

Engr.J.A.Gonzales ABE 48
METHODS OF AREA DETERMINATION

 by triangles
 by coordinates
 by Double Meridian Distance (DMD)
 by Double Parallel Distance (DPD)
 by trapezoidal formula
 by planimeter
 by counting squares (grid)

Engr.J.A.Gonzales ABE 48
 Area by Triangles

 useful and fairly accurate method of

computing the area of traverses that have only
a few sides

 well suited for determining areas of small

tracts of land and was popularly used before the
engineer’s transit was invented

 the area of the field is the sum of the areas

of the triangles into which the field is
divided
Engr.J.A.Gonzales ABE 48
Area by Triangles

D
A

E
Engr.J.A.Gonzales ABE 48
Area by Triangles
REVIEW OF SURVEY WITH A TAPE EXERCISE!

1. Base – Altitude

2. Three Sides

3. Two Sides and the Included Angle

Engr.J.A.Gonzales ABE 48
Area by Trapezoidal Formula

Engr.J.A.Gonzales ABE 48
 Area by Trapezoidal Formula
Example

Engr.J.A.Gonzales ABE 48
 Area by Coordinates

 useful method for computing the area of any

closed figure bounded by straight lines, and
applicable for calculating areas of either small
or large sizes of land

 the calculation involves determining the

areas of the individual triangles or
trapezoids formed by projecting lines upon a
coordinate axes

Engr.J.A.Gonzales ABE 48
 Area by Coordinates
 done by setting the coordinates (X and Y) for the
stations of the traverse based on the total latitudes
and total departures for the corners of the closed
traverse
 to avoid using negative coordinates,
measure Y coordinates from an X axis passing
through the most southerly station and X
coordinates from a Y axis passing through the
most westerly station

 the sign of the resulting quantity is immaterial

and is disregarded
Engr.J.A.Gonzales ABE 48
 Y
x1 A
a

x2
b B
b'

y1

y2
x3
c C
c'

d x4 y3
y4 D
Engr.J.A.Gonzales ABE 48 X
Area by Coordinates

Engr.J.A.Gonzales ABE 48
 Area by Coordinates
 in surveying, the conventional determinant form is
easier to use

Engr.J.A.Gonzales ABE 48
 Area by Coordinates
EXAMPLE

Engr.J.A.Gonzales ABE 48
 Area by Coordinates
SOLUTION:
1. Get first the coordinates (X and Y) of each points

Engr.J.A.Gonzales ABE 48
 Area by Coordinates
SOLUTION:
2. Tabulate the coordinates (X and Y) of each points

Coordinates
POINT
X (Departure) Y (Latitude)
A 500 500
B 594.9 1067.7
C 1057.8 891.8
D 1535.2 1182.2
E 1621.1 448.7
A 500 500

Engr.J.A.Gonzales ABE 48
 Area by Coordinates
SOLUTION:
3. Get the PLUS and the MINUS Products
Coordinates
POINT
X (Departure) Y (Latitude)
A 500 500
B 594.9 1067.7
C 1057.8 891.8
D 1535.2 1182.2
E 1621.1 448.7
A 500 500

Engr.J.A.Gonzales ABE 48
 Area by Coordinates
SOLUTION:
AREA
PLUS MINUS
533,850.00 297,450.00
530,531.82 1,129,413.06
1,250,531.16 1,369,091.36
688,844.24 1,916,464.42
810,550.00 224,350.00
TOTAL 3,814,307.22 4,936,768.84
Area = ½ ( Total Plus Area – Total Minus Area)
= ½ (3,814,307.22 - 4,936,768.84)
= ½ (-1,122,461.62)
= -561,230.81
= 561, 231 m 2 or 56.1 ha
Engr.J.A.Gonzales ABE 48
Area by Double Meridian Distance (DMD)

The meridian distance of a traverse line

 is equal to the length of a line running east to
west from the midpoint of the traverse line to a
reference meridian.
 the shortest distance from the midpoint of the
traverse line to a reference meridian.

 For convenience, it is customary to use double

meridian distance (DMD) rather than meridian
distance in calculations

double meridian distance (DMD) = meridian distance x 2

Engr.J.A.Gonzales ABE 48
Area by Double Meridian Distance (DMD)

Engr.J.A.Gonzales ABE 48
Area by Double Meridian Distance (DMD)
RULES:
1. The DMD of the first course is equal to the DEP
of the first course
2. DMD (any other course) = DMD of the
preceding course + DEP of the preceding
course + DEP of the course itself
3. The DMD of the last course is numerically equal
to the DEP of last course, but with opposite sign

Engr.J.A.Gonzales ABE 48
Area by Double Meridian Distance (DMD)
EXAMPLE

Engr.J.A.Gonzales ABE 48
Area by Double Meridian Distance (DMD)
EXAMPLE

Engr.J.A.Gonzales ABE 48
Area by Double Meridian Distance (DMD)

Engr.J.A.Gonzales ABE 48
Area by Double Parallel Distance (DPD)

The parallel distance of a traverse line

is the north-to-south distance from the midpoint
of the line to a reference parallel.
The solution for parallel distance is the same as
the one used for meridian distance, except that to
compute parallel distance you use latitude
instead of departure.

You can check the accuracy of the area computation

of DMD by computing the same area from
double parallel distances (DPD)

Engr.J.A.Gonzales ABE 48
Area by Double Parallel Distance (DPD)

Engr.J.A.Gonzales ABE 48
Area by Double Parallel Distance (DPD)
RULES:
1. The DPD of the first course is equal to the LAT of
the first course
2. DPD (any other course) = DPD of the preceding
course + LAT of the preceding course + LAT of
the course itself
3. The DPD of the last course is numerically equal to
the LAT of last course, but with opposite sign

Engr.J.A.Gonzales ABE 48
Area by Planimeter

Engr.J.A.Gonzales ABE 48
Area by Planimeter

Engr.J.A.Gonzales ABE 48
Area by Counting Squares (Grid)

Engr.J.A.Gonzales ABE 48