Surveying can be defined as:
The science and art of determining the relative positions of points above, on, or beneath the surface of the earth, or establishing such points.
The first surveyors, back in 1400 BCE, were the Egyptians who used surveying techniques to divide land into plots for taxation purposes. About a thousand years later, the Greeks further developed geometry and also applied their techniques to dividing up land. The Greeks were also the first to develop an actual piece of surveying equipment: the dioptra (which is very similar today’s theodolite, which is also called a transit—an instrument for measuring angles in the vertical or horizontal plane).
The science of surveying and the development of surveying instruments really began in the 1800’s during the Industrial Revolution, where there was increased demand for “exact boundaries” and the there was a pronounced increased in the development of public infrastructure, such as roads, railways and canals. Geodetic Surveying, which takes into account the curvature of the earth, and Plane Surveying, which assumes the survey area is a flat plane, were both developed during this period.
Today, surveying has many real-world applications, including:
• Mapping the earth above and below the sea
• Creating land, sea and air navigational maps
• Establishing public and private property boundaries
• Developing databases for natural resource management
• Developing engineering data for bridge, road and building construction.
Last semester, in the Zoom project, students were introduced to indirect measurement and how the geometric concept of similarity could be applied to obtain measurements that otherwise would be difficult or dangerous to obtain. In this project, students further develop that understanding by learning how triangle angle and distance measurements can be applied to surveying. The project culminates with the students designing, executing and documenting their own survey projects.
The science and art of determining the relative positions of points above, on, or beneath the surface of the earth, or establishing such points.
The first surveyors, back in 1400 BCE, were the Egyptians who used surveying techniques to divide land into plots for taxation purposes. About a thousand years later, the Greeks further developed geometry and also applied their techniques to dividing up land. The Greeks were also the first to develop an actual piece of surveying equipment: the dioptra (which is very similar today’s theodolite, which is also called a transit—an instrument for measuring angles in the vertical or horizontal plane).
The science of surveying and the development of surveying instruments really began in the 1800’s during the Industrial Revolution, where there was increased demand for “exact boundaries” and the there was a pronounced increased in the development of public infrastructure, such as roads, railways and canals. Geodetic Surveying, which takes into account the curvature of the earth, and Plane Surveying, which assumes the survey area is a flat plane, were both developed during this period.
Today, surveying has many real-world applications, including:
• Mapping the earth above and below the sea
• Creating land, sea and air navigational maps
• Establishing public and private property boundaries
• Developing databases for natural resource management
• Developing engineering data for bridge, road and building construction.
Last semester, in the Zoom project, students were introduced to indirect measurement and how the geometric concept of similarity could be applied to obtain measurements that otherwise would be difficult or dangerous to obtain. In this project, students further develop that understanding by learning how triangle angle and distance measurements can be applied to surveying. The project culminates with the students designing, executing and documenting their own survey projects.