Question 1 of 40Boundary concepts · Recall
A tract is described as lying in T 3 N, R 2 W of a principal meridian. What does that designation locate?
Practice · 40 questions
Boundary concepts
Generic, nationally applicable boundary principles — the PLSS as described in the BLM Manual of Surveying Instructions, the hierarchy of calls, retracement, riparian concepts and record research. No state-specific statutes.
What this subject area expects
- Locate an aliquot part from a legal description and subdivide a section
- Apply the order of importance of conflicting title elements
- Distinguish an original survey from a retracement, and follow the footsteps rule
- Explain proportionate measurement, single and double, and when each applies
Topics covered here
PLSS framework · Standard parallels and guide meridians · Section numbering · Section subdivision · Aliquot parts and areas · Government lots · Corner monumentation and accessories · Original survey and retracement · Hierarchy of conflicting title elements · Proportionate measurement · Meander lines and water boundaries · Metes-and-bounds descriptions · Record research and junior/senior rights
Other subject areas
All 7- MathematicsThe algebra, geometry and trigonometry that every other domain assumes — right triangles, the law of sines and cosines, coordinate geometry, areas and volumes.
- Basic sciencesPhysics and applied science a surveyor meets in the field: light and EDM, temperature and tension effects on a tape, statics, hydrology basics and units.
- Geomatics fundamentalsInstruments, field procedures and the data that comes off them: levels, total stations, differential levelling, traverse field work, notes and data reduction.
- Plane surveyingThe computational heart of the exam: traverse computation and adjustment, area, curves both horizontal and vertical, earthwork, and construction staking.
- Geodesy & GNSSDatums, coordinate systems and satellite positioning: the ellipsoid and the geoid, NAD 83 and NAVD 88 and their modernized successors, State Plane, and how GNSS observations are made and processed.
- Measurement analysisError theory as an exam actually tests it: systematic versus random error, standard deviation, propagation through sums and products, weights, and closure tolerances.