Fieldwork Exercise No.
2
Measurement of Horizontal Distance on Level Surface by Taping
Student’s Name: ________________________ Student Number: _______________________
Date of Performance: ____________________ Instructor’s Name: ______________________
I. Objective
1. To determine the horizontal length of a line over smooth and level ground with the tape
supported throughout its length.
II. Equipment
1. Tape (steel, vinyl, or fiberglass)
2. Range poles
3. Marker/marking pins
III. Procedure
1. Mark both ends of the line to be measured. Designate these points as A and B. Place a range
pole behind each point and also established intermediate points along the line to ensure
unobstructed sight lines.
2. To start the measurement, the rear tapeman holds the steel tape at point A while the head
tapeman takes the zero end of the tape and advances toward the other end of the line to be
measured.
3. When the head tapeman has gone nearly a full tape length, the rear tapeman calls “tape” to
stop the head tapeman. The rear tapeman then holds the 30-m mark at the starting point and
aligns the other end of the tape held by the head tapeman on the range pole set behind the end
point or on any of the intermediate points earlier established along the line.
4. With the 30-m mark at the starting point, the head tapeman align the tape. The rear tapeman
calls “all right” if the tape is already aligned. The head tapeman then pulls the tape tight in the
ground to mark the 0-m end of the tape.
5. The rear tapeman pick up the pin and the head tapeman pulls the tape forward and the process
is repeated for the next full tape length.
6. When the end of the line is almost reached and the last full tape length has been determined,
the remaining partial length is then measured. The rear tapeman holds the tape until he has a
full meter mark at his pin while the head tapeman pulls the tape tight and read the fractional
measurement from the tape.
7. After the measurement of the whole line is completed, a second measurement should be made
along the opposite direction using the previous procedure.
8. Tabulate observed and computed values accordingly.
9. The mean length of the measured line is determined by adding the two measurements and
dividing the sum by two.
10. The discrepancy for the measurement is the difference between the first measurement and the
second measurement.
11. The relative precision of the measurement is determined by dividing the discrepancy by the
mean length, where the numerator is reduced to unity or 1. Relative precision is express in
fractional form and the denominator is rounded to the nearest hundredth.
IV. Calculation
Lengt h AB + Lengt h BA
1. Mean Length¿
2
2. Discrepancy¿|Lengt h AB−Lengt h BA|
Discrepancy
3. Relative Precision=
Mean Lengt h
V. Data and Results
Table 1: Horizontal distance by taping
Trial Line Length Mean Discrepancy Relative
Precision
1 AB 53.5 m
53.35 0.3 0.0056
2 BA 53.2 m
VI. Conclusion/s
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V. Recommendation/s
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