FUNDAMENTALS OF SURVEYING

CHAPTER 2 – Part 2
Normal Probability Distribution VARIANCE
Variance of a quantity is expressed as
ERROR TYPES
Gross errors are, in fact, not errors at all, but results of mistakes
that are due to the carelessness of the observer. The gross
errors must be detected and eliminated from the survey
measurements before such measurements can be used.
Systematic errors follow some pattern and can be expressed by
functional relationships based on some deterministic system.
Like gross errors, systematic errors must also be removed from
and is also used as a measure of dispersion or spread of a
the measurements by applying necessary corrections. After all
distribution.
mistakes and systematic errors have been detected and
removed from the measurements, there will still remain some
CONFIDENCE LIMITS
errors in the measurements, called random errors or accidental
After establishing the sample mean as estimate of the true value
errors. The random errors are treated using probability models.
of the quantity, the range of values within which the true value
The theory of errors deals only with such types of observational
should lie for a given probability is required. This range is called
errors.
the confidence interval, its bounds called the confidence limits.
Confidence limits can be established for that stated probability
PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION
from the standard deviation for a set of observations. Statistical
If a large number of measurements have been taken, the
tables are available for this purpose. A figure of 95% frequently
frequency distribution could be considered to be the probability
chosen implies that nineteen times out of twenty the true value
distribution. The statistical analysis of survey observations has
will lie within the computed limits. The presence of a very large
indicated that the survey measurements follow normal
error in a set of normally distributed errors, suggests an
distribution or Gaussian distribution, being expressed by the
occurrence to the contrary and such an observation can be
equation,
rejected if the residual error is larger than three times the
standard deviation.

NORMAL DISTRIBUTION
where dy is the probability that the value will lie between the The expression for the normal distribution is
limits of x1 and (x1 + dx), µ is the true mean of the population,
and σ is the standard deviation.
𝑢−𝑥
STANDARD DEVIATION Taking 𝑢 = , the expression becomes
𝜎
Standard deviation also called the root-mean square (R.M.S.)
error, is a measure of the spread of a distribution and for the
population, assuming the observations are of equal reliability it
is expressed as The above equation is the standardized form of the above
expression, and Fig. 2.1 illustrates the relationship between
dy/du and u is illustrated in Fig. 2.1.
The curve is symmetrical and its total area is 1, the two parts
about u = 0 having areas of 0.5. The shaded area has the value
However, µ cannot be determined from a sample of
observations. Instead, the arithmetic mean 𝑥̅ is accepted as the
most probable value and the population standard deviation is
estimated as and it gives the probability of u being lying between –∞ and +u1.
The unshaded area gives the probability that u will be larger than
+u1. Since the curve is symmetrical, the probability that u takes
up a value outside the range +u1 to –u1 is given by the two areas
indicated in Fig. 2.2

The standard deviation given by the above expression is also

called the standard error. Henceforth in this book the symbol σ
will mean σn−1.
FUNDAMENTALS OF SURVEYING

students are between 63 and 69 inches, what is the standard

deviation?

Problem 5
Engr. Palma who commutes daily from his residence in Manila
to his office finds that the average of his trip one-way takes him
25 min. with a standard deviation of 3.5 min. Assuming the time
to be normally distributed,
a. What is the probability that a trip will take at least half an hour?
b. What is the length of time above which we find the slowest
12% of the trip?
c. What is the probability that a trip will take less than 15
Figure 2.1 minutes?

SEATWORK:
Direction: Answer the following problems neatly and
systematically on a whole sheet of paper. Show all your
solutions. Only your notes, calculator and allowed printed
instructional materials must be seen on your armchair. No
cellphones and other devices allowed. No browsing or surfing
the net to find answers to the problems online. Not following
instructions will constitute to a corresponding deduction of your
score and grade in the midterms and finals.

Figure 2.2 Problem 1

The values of the ordinates of the standardized form of the The IQs of 340 applicants for a managerial position are
expression for the normal distribution, and the corresponding approximately normally distributed with a mean of 115 and a
definite integrals, have been determined for a wide range of u standard deviation of 12. If the company requires an IQ of at
and are available in various publications. least 100, how many of these applicants will be rejected on this
basis?
Sample Problems
Problem 1 Problem 2
The heights of adult men are normally distributed with a mean The average score for a Biology test is 77 and the standard
of 69 inches and a standard deviation of 2.75 inches. If you deviation is scored between 61 and 93 on the test?
randomly choose 3 adult men, what is the probability that all
three are 71.75 inches or taller? Problem 3
The mean grade on a final examination was 70 and the standard
Problem 2 deviation was 9. The top 20% of the students are to receive A’s.
Given: a. What is the maximum score a student must get in order to
μ = 40 (mean) receive an A?
x = 50 b. If the teacher decides to fail the lowest 6% of the students,
σ = 10 (standard deviation) what score must they get in order to pass?
a. What is the probability of more than x?
b. If x is 30, what is the probability of less than x? Problem 4
c. What is the probability between 30 and 50? In a certain town, the mean percent of income saved by families
was 10.34 with a standard deviation of 2.14. What percentage
Problem 3 of the families saved more than 12% of their income?
A smartphone battery manufacturer knows that the battery
lifetime is normally distributed for large quantities, with an Prepared by:
average lifetime of 500 days, and a standard deviation of 61 ENGR. MITchELLE IAN c. DORIA, RcE, RMp
days. What percent of a huge stock of batteries will have
lifetimes longer than 561 days?

Problem 4
The heights of a group of college students are normally
distributed with a mean of 66. If 95.4% of the heights of these