Area of a Closed Traverse - Coordinate Method

Background o Primary Purpose: 1) calculate the area of a closed traverse, 2) calculate the cross-sectional end area, used to determine the volume of cut/fill material in earthwork problems. "When the coordinates of the stations of a closed traverse are known, it is a simple matter to computer the area within the traverse, either by computer or handheld calculator." (Surveying Principles and Applications, 8th Edition by Barry Kavanagh, p. 215)

"Because of the effects of error propagation, it is important to remember that it is better to be conservative when expressing areas, and thus a phrase such as '6.258 acres more or less' is often adopted, especially when writing property descriptions." (Elementary Surveying, 12th Edition by Ghilani and Wolf, p. 309) Area by Coordinates: "The areas of trapezoids are, in effect, being summed with appropriate algebraic signs. The result of the computation is double the area, which must be divided by 2." (Surveying Fundamentals and Practices, 6th Edition by Nathanson, Lanzafama, and Kissam. p. 157-8) "State simply, the double area of a closed traverse is the algebraic sum of each X coordinate multiplied by the difference between the Y coordinates of the adjacent stations. The double area is divided by 2 to determine the final area. This rule applies to a traverse with any number of sides. The final area can result in a positive or negative number, reflecting only the direction of computation (clockwise or counterclockwise). The physical area is, of course, positive; there is no such thing as a negative area." (Surveying Principles and Applications, 8th Edition by Barry Kavanagh, p. 215) Area by Coordinates formula o n = number of vertices in the polygon o xnyn = x0y0 where the first and last vertices are the same o vertices must be ordered clockwise (negative area) or counterclockwise (postive area)

"The subscript n stands for the total number of stations in the traverse. The coordinates for the first station are repeated at the end of the sequence, but it really does not matter which is considered the first station..." (Surveying Fundamentals and Practices, 6th Edition by Nathanson, Lanzafama, and Kissam. p. 157-8)

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Example Problem

Example - Area by Coordinates o see Elementary Surveying by Ghilani and Wolf, Chapter 12.5, p. 305-309

Step 1 - Area of Trapezoid AB

Step 2 - Area of Trapezoid BC

Step 3 - Area of Trapezoid CD

Step 4 - Area of Trapezoid DE

Step 5 - Area of Trapezoid EA

Solution