Visayas State University

College of Engineering

Department of Geodetic Engineering

Visca, Baybay City 6521, Leyte, Philippines

ESci 121n – Fundamentals of Surveying

Laboratory Exercise No. 2

Distance Measurement by Taping

Name: Myles A. Quintero Date Performed: January 28, 2019 Score:_______

Course and Year: BSABE-1 Date Submitted: February 04, 2019

I. INTRODUCTION
One direct method of measuring distances is by the use of a tape. In early days,
this method is more known as chaining. This is because, instead of using tape for
measuring they use a device or instrument which was made of chains.
Taping is the process of directly measuring distances with the use of graduated
tape. The usual procedure of taping will involve the process of aligning the tape,
stretching it, plumbing selected tape marks, marking and recording tape lengths.
It is standard to practice to hold the tape horizontally above ground and to plumb
at one or both ends when taping on sloping and uneven terrain surfaces. This
requires the measurement of shorter distances which are accumulated to total a
full tape length. The procedure is referred to as “breaking tape”

II. LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the laboratory class, the students should be able to:

 Determine the mpv and the standard deviation of measurements.

 Determine the RP of a measurement.

III. MATERIALS AND TOOLS NEEDED

 Tapes
 Markers
 Range Poles
 Plumb Bobs
 Calculator
 Pencil
 Engineers Notebook

IV. PROCEDURE
 Taping over smooth and level ground
1. Know the place assigned to your group. Designate the terminals of the line as point A
and point B.
 2. Two rodmen will hold the range poles vertically at the terminals A & B for alignment
and will remain in their position until the taping is finished.
3. Stretch out on the ground the 50-meter steel tape with the zero-meter end ahead. With
the rear tapeman holding a pin, he will designate a certain tape length, say 10 meter
length.
4. With the 10-meter mark set at point A firmly, the front tapeman align the 0-end mark
with point B.
5. The second tape length is made by repeating procedure 4. The process is repeated
until point B has been reached.
6. In the measurement of the partial tape length from B to the pin marking the end of the
last full tape length measured, the 0-end mark of the tape is held at B as the rear
tapeman pulls the tape out towards the last pin.
7. After the measurement of the whole line is completed, a second measurement should
be made along the opposite direction and it should be done by 5 trials.

 Taping on Sloping Ground Site:

1. The ends of the line on a slope are marked with range poles. Designate the point at
the bottom of the slope as point A and the other as point B.
2. The front tapeman, holding the 0-mark, moves backward along the line while the rear
tapeman raises the end of the tape breast high.
3. When the alignment is all right, the front tapeman drives the pin vertically into the
ground while the rear tapeman plumbs from A to the terminal mark of the tape with a
plumb bob. This is the first tape length measured.
4. The rear tapeman leaves the end of the tape, and moves up the slope holding the end
of the tape over the previous point held by the front tapeman. The second tape length is
measured following the previous procedure. Repeat this procedure until point B is
reached.
5. If a partial tape lengths is to be measured, hold the zero mark of the tape at B.
6. Record the measured lengths.
7. After measuring line AB, measure line BA that is down the slope following the same
procedure as in up the slope.

IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION:

One application of this laboratory exercise, as an Agricultural and Biosystems

Engineering student, to achieve the level of precision a person must learn to adapt a pacing
step that is different from normal walking step because many factors can cause variation in
the length of a person’s pace.

Table 1. Distance Measurement by Taping in Horizontal ground

TRIAL LINE DISTANCE MOST STANDARD

BY PROBABLE RESIDUALS V2 DEVIATION RP
TAPING VALUE (v)
(m) (mpv)
1 AB 42.12 -0.02 0.0004
2 BA 42.10 0 0 1
3 AB 42.10 42.10 m 0 0 0.01
4 BA 42.10 0 0 4210
5 AB 42.10 0 0
 The table 1 shows the acquired data that was tabulated which entails the number of
trials (1- 5) from the line AB vice versa with the corresponding measured distance acquired
with the use of a measuring tape. The summation of the observable values was divided into
the number of trials to get the most probable value (mpv). To get the residuals (v) the
observable value subtracted by the most probable value and in getting the variance the
derived residuals was multiplied by its self. To get the standard deviation the square root
summation of variance divided by total number of trials subtracted.

Table 2. Measurement of Horizontal Distance by Taping in Slope Area

TRIAL LINE DISTANCE MOST RESIDUALS V2 STANDARD RP

BY PROBABLE (v) DEVIATION
TAPING VALUE (ẟ)
(m) (mpv)
1 AB 6.67
BC 3.51 0.06 0.0036
CD 3.96
AD 14.2
2 DC 3.96
CB 3.27 -0.02 0.0004
BA 6.93
DA 14.16
3 AB 6.56 1
BC 3.46 14.14 m 0.08 0.0064 0.0034
CD 4.04 4158.82
AD 14.06
4 DC 3.86
CB 3.42 -0.04 0.0016
BA 6.9
DA 14.18
5 AB 6.82
BC 3.49 0.04 0.0016
CD 3.79
AD 14.1

V. SKETCH
 VI. CONCLUSION

In surveying, the distance between two points is understood to mean the horizontal distance,
regardless of the relative elevation of the two points. The distance measured with a steel
tape is much more precise than the distance obtained by pacing. The precision obtained
depends upon the degree of refinement with which the measurements are taken. In
measuring over smooth and level ground, the effort required to measure the distance
between two points or to set a point ahead of some required distance is very minimal unlike
in measuring in a sloping area; the taping procedure required would be slightly more difficult
than that required for taping on flat ground. Considerable skill and experience is required to
achieve the same level of precision which may be achieved and expected when taping over
level ground. Patience and technique are very important for this type of taping. Thus,
following the respective procedures correctly and setting up the instruments properly to
come up with an acceptable data.

VII. REFERENCES
 https://www.in.gov/indot/files/proced1chapter4.pdf

 file:///D:/Downloads/326613691-Exer6-Taping-Over-Uneven-and-Sloping-Ground.pdf