"To be conscious that you are ignorant is a great step to knowledge." Benjamin Disraeli, British politician (1804 - 1881)

Objective

The purpose of this assignment is twofold: (1) develop a spreadsheet that computes the balanced latitudes and departures of a traverse given the bearings and distances of each side, and (2) compute the bearings of a traverse based on survey data and a reference bearing.

You must submit the cover sheet for the assignment, printouts of your spreadsheet for Parts 1, 2, and 3, adn your hand calculation for Part 4. Also, submit your spreadsheets for Parts 1, 2, and 3 to Canvas. You must follow the Excel format.

Write a spreadsheet that computes corrected latitudes and departures for a traverse where angles are given by their bearings. The figures below show a typical spreadsheet layout for this problem. Your spreadsheet may look different if it provides the same input and parameter definitions. Note that the directions N/S and E/W are in separate cells.  Also, the values for degrees and minutes are in separate cells. Compute the latitudes and departures, closure error, precision of the traverse, latitude and departure corrections, and balanced latitudes and departures. The values listed in the yellow cells are input data and those shown in the green and blue cells are computed.

Click here for an Excel template for this assignment.

Part 1. Compute the corrected latitudes and departures for the data displayed in the example shown above.

Part 2. Use your traverse spreadsheet to compute the corrected and balanced latitudes and departures for the traverse shown below. 

Part 3. A four-sided closed field traverse has the following distances in feet: AB = 636.45; BC = 654.49; CD = 382.85; and DA = 512.77. The interior angles are as follows (measured as angles to the right): A = 81º 23'; B = 72º 33'; C = 89º 40'; and D = 116º 24'. The bearing of AB is S 33º 19' W, and the side BC is in the SE quadrant. Determine the bearings of each side and then use your traverse spreadsheet to compute the corrected and balanced latitudes and departures for the traverse. Show all work for determining the bearing of each side.

Follow the homework format and then scan or combine the images of your work into a single file and upload it to the eCourseware Dropbox).

Part 4. Use the information in the course syllabus to compute your current grade in the class.

Part 5. Read Chapters 17 and 18 in "A Mind for Numbers" by Barbara Oakley.

Requirements

Lastly, a web page describing the CIVL 1112 homework policy is available. Read it before you turn in this assignment.

Cover sheet for homework

This website was originally developed by Charles Camp for CIVL 1112.
This site is maintained by the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Memphis.
Your comments and questions are welcomed.