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Lab Ex 6 Closing The Horizon

The document describes a laboratory exercise on measuring angles using a theodolite by closing the horizon. Students are asked to measure a series of horizontal angles between points around an amphitheater that should sum to 360 degrees. However, the measured angles did not close, so corrections were applied to distribute the error and make the adjusted angles sum to exactly 360 degrees. The purpose is to learn how to accurately measure angles with a theodolite to overcome various sources of error.

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Juan Gilio Suarez
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2K views

Lab Ex 6 Closing The Horizon

The document describes a laboratory exercise on measuring angles using a theodolite by closing the horizon. Students are asked to measure a series of horizontal angles between points around an amphitheater that should sum to 360 degrees. However, the measured angles did not close, so corrections were applied to distribute the error and make the adjusted angles sum to exactly 360 degrees. The purpose is to learn how to accurately measure angles with a theodolite to overcome various sources of error.

Uploaded by

Juan Gilio Suarez
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Visayas State University

College of Engineering
Department of Geodetic Engineering
Visca, Baybay City, 6521-A, Leyte, Philippines

ESci 121n – Fundamentals of Surveying


Laboratory Exercise No. 6

MEASUREMENT OF ANGLES BY CLOSING THE HORIZON

Name: van Steenhuyse, Tylo Junior Date Performed: 07 MARCH 2019 Score: ________
Course and Year: BSABE-1 Date Submitted: 21 MARCH 2019

I. INTRODUCTION

Angles can be measured with a magnetic compass, of course. Unfortunately, the


Earth's magnetic field does not yield the most reliable measurements. The magnetic
poles are not aligned with the planet's axis of rotation (an effect called magnetic
declination), and they tend to change location over time. Local magnetic anomalies
caused by magnetized rocks in the Earth's crust and other geomagnetic fields make
matters worse. For these reasons, land surveyors rely on transits (or their more
modern equivalents, called theodolites) to measure angles. A transit consists of a
telescope for seeing distant target objects, two measurement wheels that work like
protractors for reading horizontal and vertical angles, and bubble levels to ensure
that the angles are true. A theodolite is essentially the same instrument, except that
some mechanical parts are replaced with electronics. (PSU, 2018)
Closing the horizon is measuring the last of a series of horizontal angles, at a
station, such that the sum of the series is a multiple of 360 o. At any station, the sum
of all horizontal angles between adjacent lines should equal 360 o (400g). The
amount by which the sum of the observed angles fails to equal 360 o is the
misclosure. This is distributed as a correction among the observed angles to bring
their sum to exactly 360o. We can conduct a measurement based on distances
only (using tape or EDM) in order to obtain a map of a surveyed area or to establish
BP. Such method is called trilateration. With equipment such is a theodolite; we can
usually get much more accurate description of surveyed area. Theodolite is an
instrument to measure horizontal and/or vertical angles (Stibor, 2013). Errors in
angle measurements in "commercial/high risk" surveys should be no greater than 15
seconds times the square root of the number of angles measured. To achieve this
level of accuracy, surveyors must overcome errors caused by faulty instrument
calibration; wind, temperature, and soft ground; and human errors, including
misplacing the instrument and misreading the measurement wheels. In practice,
surveyors produce accurate data by taking repeated measurements and averaging
the results. (PSU, 2018)

II. LEARNING OUTCOME


At the end of this exercise, student will be able to:
 To learn how to measure horizontal angles with a theodolite or an
engineer’s transit.

III. MATERIALS AND TOOLS NEEDED


Theodolite or engineer’s transit, pegs and hubs, range poles

IV. PROCEDURE
a. Set up and level the theodolite (or transit) at a convenient point and
call this point O. The instructor will assign points around the vicinity of
the instrument. Call these points as A, B, C and so on.
b. In measuring the first angle AOB, release/ open the upper and lower
clamps and adjust the horizontal scales by turning the instrument on its
spindle until the horizontal circle reading is zero (or near zero).
c. Tighten the upper and lower clamps and turn the upper tangent screw
until the index reading is exactly zero. Release/ open the lower clamp
and sight the telescope approximately to point A (telescope in direct
position).
d. Tighten the lower clamp. Then, open the upper clamp and sight to
point B. Clamp the upper clamp and adjust the vertical cross hair using
the upper tangent screw.
e. View the reading microscope of the theodolite (or vernier A of the
transit) and read the horizontal angle to determine the value of angle
AOB. Record this as its measured value. Record this value in you
engineer’s field notebook.
f. Measure the angle twice and determine its mean observed value.
g. Repeat the procedure in measuring the remaining angles.
V. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

ANGLE OBSERVED CORRECTION ADJUSTED


VALUE VALUE
AOB R=240.517 -176.342 64.175
L=119.500
BOC R=119.225 -57.117
L=160.025
COD R=288.808 142.466
L=71.192
DOE R=337.142 160.800
L=22.858
EOA R=256.017 79.675
L=103.983
TOTAL=360.000

The lab exercise was conducted at the upper VSU amphitheatre and the
instrument was stationed in front of the stage. The different points where the
angles were measured were the lamp posts surrounding the amphitheatre.
Although there were more than 5 lamp posts, only 5 angle measurements were
required. The angle between the first lamp post and the second would then be
measured and recorded until a full 360-degree loop was measured. The total
angle in the recording didn’t add up to a full 360 degrees indicating error so a
correction value was added in order for the adjusted value to add up to a full 360
degrees.
One loop going to the right was done first. This was done by measuring
the angles between the first two lamp posts then recording then proceeding to
the next lamp post in a clockwise movement. To check the results, one loop
going to the left was done as well. This was done by measuring the angles
between the first two lamp posts then recording then proceeding to the next lamp
post in a counter-clockwise movement. Both seem to result in errors, however
the error was only small because the results added up to almost 360 degrees.
VI. SKETCH

VI. REFERENCES

a. Measuring angles and directions- Miroslav Stibor, PhD., 2013


b. The Nature of Geographic Information- College of Earth and Mineral
Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, 2018

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