FS Surveying case studies

FS Surveying · Put your knowledge to work in context.

The Fundamentals of Surveying (FS) exam is the NCEES examination that NCEES describes as generally the first step toward becoming a licensed professional surveyor (P.S.). It is designed for recent graduates and students who are close to finishing an undergraduate surveying degree from an ABET-accredited program. The FS Surveying case studies are 5 cases and about 4,458 words.

"Just Follow the Deed": Certification Pressure on a 12.4-Acre Parcel

A landowner wants you to "certify the boundaries" of a 12.4-acre parcel before listing it. The 1974 deed calls for a 4-inch square concrete monument at the northeast corner and describes the north line as N 12°30' E, 862.4 ft "to an iron pin at a fence corner." Your record search finds a 1998 survey by another firm placing the north line 3.1 ft south of the fence, an unrecorded sketch the owner got from a neighbor, and no monument record for the concrete post.

909 words, about 5 min 2

Traverse That Missed 1:10,000 by a Factor of Two

You are running a 6-point closed traverse to provide control for a plat. Eight legs total 1,850 ft; the total station, prisms, and tribrachs were calibrated last month.

942 words, about 5 min 3

Lot 14, Block 3: Where Does 3.20 Feet of Excess Go?

You are retracing Lot 14, Block 3 of a 1958 recorded subdivision. The plat shows Lot 14 as 50.00 ft wide by 130.00 ft deep and states that bearings and distances are "to the centers of monuments set." You find the original 5/8-inch rebar with the subdivider's cap at both front corners of Lot 14, undisturbed, and original monuments at both front block corners.

890 words, about 4 min 4

Grid, Ground, and 0.16 Feet of Sewer

Your firm is providing layout control for 2,400 ft of 8-inch sanitary sewer in a state plane zone. The design engineer's plan coordinates are state plane grid values, but pipe lengths, slopes, and manhole spacing were computed on the ground.

818 words, about 4 min 5

The Survey That Missed a Gas Main

You performed an ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey for a developer on a 6.2-acre commercial parcel. Your proposal listed Table A items 1, 2, 3, 4, 6(a), and 11 (utilities "as plotted by the utility companies and as observed evidence").

899 words, about 4 min