AGR 358

CHAPTER 2

AREA
COMPUTATION
NAAJ
 Triangulation Survey
 Dividing up the field into a network of well connected
triangles

 A triangle is the simplest of all plane figures which are

bounded by straight line and is completely defined if
the length of all its side are known

 The principle – surveying large areas and in

determining inaccessible distance, such as across the
river

 System – one line is measured directly (base line); all

the other lengths are by measuring the angles of all
triangles and calculating the sides by trigonometry
 If one side and two
angles of a triangle are
known, the remaining The side of the triangle
sides can be computed. whose length is
predetermined, is called
the base line.

The lines of triangulation system form a network that ties

together all the triangulation stations
 Measuring areas by triangles

1. Area = ½ ab sin θ

2.
s = ½ (a + b + c)
Example 1
The sides of a traverse inclusive of the base line were
measured and given below. A scale of 1:500 is being used for
the plan. Calculate :
i) The perimeter of traverse ABCDA.
ii) The actual area of the land in hectare.
  Area of Trapezium

d ary
o un
B
C D

Survey Line
A B

 The area enclosed between the two offsets AC and BD will be

equal to:
½ x AB x (AC+BD)
 The truth of this simple can be easily understood if one
imagines the trapezium divided into 2 triangles
C

A B
• AC and BD are two parallel sides and AB the distance
between them
• AB is equal to the length of the perpendicular from the apex to
the base of the two triangles ACB and CBD
• Their areas are therefore are
AB AB AB
CA x and BD x therefore CA + BD x

2 2 2
  Area of Offset
 A chain line is run through the centre of the areas which is
divided into a number of triangles and trapezoids.
 The offset to the boundary are taken in order of their
chainages.
NO FIGURE CHAINAGE(m) OFFSET AREA (m2 )
1 A 1 G 100 50 ½ x 100 x 50 = 2500
2 G 1 3 F 200 50 & 250 ½ x (50 + 250) x 200 = 30
000
3
4
5
6
7
Total area of field = 214 000 m2
  Strips Method
1. Get a piece of transparent paper, such as tracing paper or
light-weight square-ruled millimetric paper. Its size will depend
on the size of the mapped area you need to measure.
2. On this paper, draw a series of strips, by drawing a series of
parallel lines at a regular, fixed interval. Choose this strip width
W to represent a certain number of metres. You can follow the
scale of the plan or map to do this.

Scale: 1: 2000
 Cont…..

Example
Scale 1: 2 000; strip width W = 1 cm = 20 m.
Scale 1: 50 000; strip width W = 1 cm = 500 m.

Note: the smaller the strip width, the more accurate your
estimate of the land area will be.
3. Place the sheet of transparent paper over the plan or map
of the area you need to measure, and attach it securely
with drawing pins or transparent tape
4.For each strip, measure the distance AB in centimetres
along a central line between the boundaries of the area
shown on the map.
5.Calculate the sum of these distances in centimetres.
Then, according to the scale you are using, multiply to
find the equivalent distance in the field, in metres.
 Example
Scale is 1 :2000 and 1 cm = 20 m.
Sum of distances = 13 cm.
Equivalent ground distance: 13 x 20 m = 260 m.

6.Multiply this sum of real distances (in metres) by the equivalent

width of the strip W (in metres) to obtain a rough estimate of the
total area in square metres.

 Example
Sum of equivalent distances is 260 m.
Strip width (1 cm) is equivalent to 20 m.
Land area: 260 m x 20 m = 5 200 m2 or 0.52 ha

7. Repeat this procedure at least once to check on your calculations.

Total area = 260 m x 20 m = 5 200 m2
  Area Computation by Equalization

Calculating area by dividing the plan into triangles and

trapeziums.

A reduction of the lines of the boundary into a straight

line in such manner that the portion excluded are equal
to the areas included.

Inside the framework of straight lines the area can be

divided into triangles, where the side can be scaled.

The sum of whose areas subsequently found will equal to

the area of the property.
 D

B F

E
C
  Area Computation by Squares
Draw on a piece of tracing paper a number of squares,
each representing on the same scale as the plan.

Place the tracing paper over the plan, and count the
number of squares enclosed by its boundaries, ignoring
those squares, which have half, or more than half
enclosed.

Adding all the squares and more than half squares and
multiply it with the scale will equal the area of the
property
 √ √ √
√ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √
√ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √
√ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √
√ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √
√ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √
√ √ √
 Average Ordinate Rule
In this method, the ordinates are drawn and scaled at each of the
points of division of the base line . The average of these ordinates
multiplied by the length of the base line gives the required area.
 Mid Ordinate Rule
In this method, the ordinates are measured at the mid-points of
each division and the area is calculated by the formula,

Area = ( h1 + h2 + h3 +....... hn ) x d
 The Trapezoidal Rule
In this method, the area is divided into a series of trapezoids
  𝑂 1 +𝑂 𝑛
𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 =
2 [ + 𝑂 2 +𝑂 3 +… +𝑂 𝑛− 1 ]

Trapezoidal rule
 If a field is bounded on one side by a straight line and on the other by a curved
boundary, the area may be computed by the use of the trapezoidal rule.
 Along a straight line AB (Fig), perpendicular offsets are drawn and measured at
regular intervals. The area is then computed using the following formula:
example
 Example: In Fig. above, if the offsets from a straight line
AB to the curved boundary DC are 35, 25, 30, 40, and 10,
and are at equal distance of 30, what is the included area
between the curved boundary and the straight line?
 The Simpson’s Rule Rule
The Simpson’s
It states that, sum of first and last ordinates has to be done. Add twice the sum of
remaining odd ordinates and four times the sum of remaining even ordinates.
Multiply to this total sum by 1/3rd of the common distance between the ordinates
which gives the required area.

 This rule is applicable only if ordinates are odd, i.e. even

number of divisions.
 If the number of ordinates are even, the area of last division
maybe calculated separated and added to the result obtained
by applying Simpson’s rule to two remaining ordinates.
 Even if first or last ordinate happens to be zero, they are not to
be omitted from Simpson’s rule.
 The following offsets are taken from a chain line to an irregular
boundary towards right side of the chain line.
 Area =

Where :
d = interval / offset interval
On = last chainage
Oe = even number
Oo = odd number
Example:

Common distance, d = 25m

 Area = d/3[(O1+O7) + 2 (O3+O5)+4(O2+O4+O6)]

 = 25/3[(3.6+4)+2(6.5+7.3)+4(5+5.5+6)]
 Area = 843.33 m2
Trapezoidal Rule Simpson's Rule
The boundary The boundary
between the ordinates between the ordinates
is considered to be is considerd to be arc
straight of a parabola
It gives an It gives more accurate
approximate result result
Example 2
The following perpendicular offsets were taken at 10 m
interval from a survey line to an irregular boundary line:

3.82, 4.37, 6.82, 5.26, 7.59, 8.90, 9.52, 8.42 and 6.43 m.

Calculate the area in m2 enclosed between the survey line,

the triangular boundary line and the first and last offsets
by the application of

(a) Simpson’s rule

(b) Trapezoidal rule
(c ) Average ordinate rule
(d) Mid ordinate rule
Example 3
The following offsets were taken from a survey line to a hedge.

Find the area between the survey line and the hedge using
Trapezoidal, Simpson’s rule and Average ordinate rule.