📘 PART–A : TOPIC-WISE SHORT NOTES
1️⃣ Basics of Surveying
Surveying = art of determining relative position of points on earth.
Principle: Work from whole to part.
Types:
Plane Survey → small areas
Geodetic Survey → large areas (curvature considered)
Methods of locating points:
Radiation, Intersection, Traversing
2️⃣ Chain Survey
Best for small, open, level areas.
Main instruments: Chain, tape, arrows, ranging rods
Lines:
Base line → main line
Tie line → fix interior details
Check line → check accuracy
Offsets:
Perpendicular offsets → more accurate
Errors:
Sag, slope, temperature, incorrect ranging
3️⃣ Compass Survey
Measures bearings of lines.
Bearing systems:
Whole Circle Bearing (0°–360°)
Quadrantal Bearing (N 30° E etc.)
FB – BB difference = 180°
Local attraction: caused by magnetic materials.
Declination: angle between true north & magnetic north.
4️⃣ Levelling
Determines elevations (RLs) of points.
Important terms:
BM → Benchmark
HI → Height of Instrument
Methods:
HI (Collimation) method
Rise & Fall method (more accurate)
Errors: curvature & refraction, parallax.
Types:
Fly levelling, profile levelling, reciprocal levelling.
5️⃣ Theodolite
Measures horizontal & vertical angles.
Temporary adjustments:
Centering, levelling, focusing
Important operations:
Transiting → rotate telescope 180°
Swinging → rotate in horizontal plane
Methods:
Repetition method → improves accuracy
6️⃣ Plane Table Survey
Field work + plotting done simultaneously.
Methods:
Radiation
Intersection
Traversing
Resection
Advantage: quick work
Disadvantage: low accuracy in bad weather
7️⃣ Curves
Used in roads & railways.
Types:
Simple circular curve
Transition curve
Compound curve
Superelevation: provided on curves.
Sharper curve → smaller radius
8️⃣ Tacheometry
Rapid method of measuring distance & elevation.
Uses stadia hairs in telescope.
Distance = KS + C
K = multiplying constant
C = additive constant
9️⃣ Errors & Adjustments
Types of errors:
Instrumental
Personal
Natural
Adjustment principle:
Most probable value minimizes errors.
🔟 Modern Survey
EDM: electronic distance measurement
Total Station: angle + distance + data storage
GPS: satellite based positioning
GIS: spatial data management
Remote sensing: satellite images
LiDAR: laser-based distance measurement
📝 PART–B : 100 MCQs (RRB JE PATTERN)
🔹 BASICS (1–10)
Surveying deals with —
A) Structures
B) Roads
C) Relative positions
D) Materials
Ans: CMain principle of surveying —
A) Part to whole
B) Whole to part
C) Random
D) Trial method
Ans: BLarge area survey is —
A) Plane
B) Chain
C) Geodetic
D) Compass
Ans: CWhich is not a method of locating points?
A) Radiation
B) Traversing
C) Intersection
D) Levelling
Ans: DBenchmark is —
A) Temporary point
B) Random point
C) Permanent reference point
D) Turning point
Ans: CPlane surveying assumes earth is —
A) Spherical
B) Flat
C) Cylindrical
D) Elliptical
Ans: BPrimary objective of survey —
A) Mapping
B) Area
C) Positions
D) Costing
Ans: CWhich survey is for underground work?
A) Geological
B) Mine
C) Hydrographic
D) Astronomical
Ans: BError during calculation is —
A) Personal
B) Instrumental
C) Natural
D) Computational
Ans: DWhich instrument measures angles?
A) Level
B) Chain
C) Theodolite
D) Tape
Ans: C
🔹 CHAIN SURVEY (11–25)
Best suited area — open & small
Metric chain length — 20 m
Check line is for — accuracy
Tie line is for — interior details
Offset is measured at — 90°
Ranging means — aligning points
Largest error — slope
Cross staff used for — perpendicular offset
Best framework — triangle
Arrows are used to — count chain lengths
Chain survey unsuitable for — hilly area
Tape is more accurate than — chain
Sag error occurs in — suspended tape
Oblique offsets are — less accurate
Chain surveying is simple but — low accuracy
🔹 COMPASS SURVEY (26–40)
WCB range — 0°–360°
FB–BB difference — 180°
Local attraction caused by — magnetic material
Declination is angle between — true & magnetic north
More accurate compass — prismatic
Traverse includes — angles & distances
Closed traverse forms — polygon
Open traverse used for — roads
Bearing measured from north — WCB
Dip of needle due to — earth’s magnetism
Compass uses — magnetic meridian
Temporary adjustment includes — centering, levelling, focusing
QB system has — 4 quadrants
BB of 40° FB — 220°
Main error in compass — local attraction
🔹 LEVELLING (41–60)
Levelling finds — elevations
RL means — Reduced Level
HI method also called — collimation method
More accurate method — rise & fall
Turning point is — change point
Back sight taken on — known point
Foresight taken on — unknown point
Fly levelling used to — transfer BM
Reciprocal levelling — across river
Contours join — equal RL
Parallax removed by — focusing eyepiece & objective
Curvature error in — long sights
Best practice — equal sight distances
Profile levelling used in — roads
Inverted staff reading — overhead point
Level book columns — BS, IS, FS
Dumpy level is — rigid
Auto level uses — compensator
Benchmark is — permanent
Staff reading increases when — ground falls
🔹 THEODOLITE (61–75)
Measures — horizontal & vertical angles
Transiting means — rotating telescope 180°
Swinging means — rotation in horizontal plane
Face left — vertical circle left
Least count — 20″
Repetition method improves — accuracy
Temporary adjustment includes — centering, levelling
Plate level makes — axis horizontal
Optical plummet used for — centering
Line of sight is — collimation axis
Telescope has — objective & eyepiece
Traversing needs — angles & distances
Horizontal axis error affects — vertical angles
Vertical angles measured by — theodolite
Permanent adjustments — rarely changed
🔹 CURVES, TACHEO, MODERN SURVEY (76–100)
Simple curve is — circular
Transition curve — smooth change
Superelevation given on — curves
Sharper curve has — smaller radius
Apex of curve — midpoint
Tacheometry used for — rapid survey
Distance formula — KS + C
EDM measures — distance
Total station measures — angle + distance
GPS means — Global Positioning System
DGPS is — more accurate
GIS used for — data management
Remote sensing uses — satellites
LiDAR uses — laser
UAV survey uses — drones
Photogrammetry uses — photos
Trilateration uses — distances
Triangulation uses — angles
Control survey fixes — reference points
Best modern tool — total station
GIS full form — Geographic Information System
GPS segments — 3
RS data is — digital
Superelevation reduces — centrifugal force
Best curve for railways — transition curve