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MS Land Surveyor practice questions

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Question 1Legal Principles and Boundary Law

Under the general rules for construing a deed, which call controls when a description contains conflicting elements?

  1. The bearing of an adjoiner's line
  2. Courses and distances
  3. Natural monuments Correct answer.
  4. The quantity of acreage stated

Explanation

Courts rank the calls in a description by reliability: natural monuments rank highest, followed by artificial monuments, then courses and distances, and finally area or quantity. A natural monument such as a river, tree, or rock outcrop therefore controls over a conflicting bearing or stated acreage. The stated area is treated as the weakest call and is used only as a check.

Question 2Legal Principles and Boundary Law

Which of the following is an essential element of adverse possession?

  1. Written permission from the record owner
  2. Open and notorious possession Correct answer.
  3. Possession under a recorded deed
  4. Payment of all property taxes in every state

Explanation

The common law requires possession that is actual, open and notorious, exclusive, hostile, and continuous for the statutory period. Open and notorious possession puts the record owner on notice of the claim. Permission from the owner would defeat the hostility element, and a recorded deed is not required in every case.

Question 3Legal Principles and Boundary Law

Land created by the gradual and imperceptible deposit of soil by a river belongs to:

  1. The upland owner Correct answer.
  2. The state
  3. No one; it remains public domain
  4. The owner across the river

Explanation

Accretion is the gradual and imperceptible addition of land by the action of water. The riparian or upland owner whose land is increased takes title to the addition without any deed or payment. This rule reflects the fairness of leaving boundary changes that occur slowly and imperceptibly with the adjoining owner.

Question 4Legal Principles and Boundary Law

When a stream that forms a boundary suddenly changes course during a flood, the boundary between the riparian owners:

  1. Is reestablished by the county surveyor
  2. Moves with the new channel
  3. Is set at the thread of the new channel
  4. Remains at the former channel location Correct answer.

Explanation

A sudden and perceptible change of channel is an avulsion. Under the avulsion rule the boundary stays where the stream ran before the shift, so no owner gains or loses land by the event. Only gradual, imperceptible movement changes a water boundary.

Question 5Legal Principles and Boundary Law

A meander line shown on a government survey along a navigable water body is:

  1. A line run to compute the area of the fractional lot Correct answer.
  2. The thread of the stream
  3. The legal boundary of the upland tract
  4. The ordinary high water mark

Explanation

Meander lines are run along the bank of a body of water to calculate the area of the fractional government lot. They are not boundaries, and title generally extends to the water according to the applicable water boundary rule. A meander line controls only when it is shown that the water has moved so far that the line was intended as the actual boundary.

Question 6Legal Principles and Boundary Law

A quitclaim deed conveys:

  1. Only whatever right, title, or interest the grantor may have Correct answer.
  2. The grantor's entire interest with full warranties
  3. Nothing unless the grantor holds record title
  4. Title free of all encumbrances

Explanation

A quitclaim deed contains no covenant of title and transfers only the interest, if any, that the grantor actually holds. If the grantor owns nothing, the grantee receives nothing. The deed is nonetheless an effective conveyance of whatever interest exists.

Question 7Legal Principles and Boundary Law

A race-notice recording statute protects a subsequent purchaser who:

  1. Records first, regardless of notice
  2. Takes without notice and records before the prior unrecorded conveyance Correct answer.
  3. Takes with actual notice but pays value
  4. Records after receiving written notice

Explanation

A race-notice statute protects a later purchaser who both takes without notice of the prior unrecorded interest and records before that prior interest is recorded. The purchaser must satisfy both conditions. A pure race statute, by contrast, protects whoever records first even with notice.

Question 8Legal Principles and Boundary Law

Reliction occurs when:

  1. Water gradually recedes and permanently exposes former bed Correct answer.
  2. An owner deliberately drains a lake
  3. A stream cuts a new channel in a single flood event
  4. Soil is deposited at the mouth of a river

Explanation

Reliction is the gradual recession of water that leaves formerly submerged land permanently dry. Like accretion, it benefits the adjoining upland owner. A sudden channel change is avulsion, and artificial drainage does not create reliction.

Question 9Legal Principles and Boundary Law

Boundary by acquiescence arises when adjoining owners:

  1. Treat a line as the boundary and recognize it for the statutory period Correct answer.
  2. Obtain a court order relocating the line
  3. Execute a written boundary line agreement
  4. Record a plat showing the line

Explanation

Acquiescence rests on the conduct of the adjoining owners over time rather than on a written instrument. When both owners treat a line as the true boundary for the required period, the law fixes that line. The doctrine prevents unfairness after long reliance on a mutually recognized line.

Question 10Legal Principles and Boundary Law

To establish a boundary by agreement (practical location), the parties must generally show:

  1. That the agreement was recorded before any dispute arose
  2. A written deed describing the agreed line
  3. An uncertainty or dispute about the true line and the parties' agreement to fix it Correct answer.
  4. That the agreed line matches the deed line exactly

Explanation

The agreed boundary doctrine applies where the true line is uncertain or disputed and the adjoining owners agree on a line and treat it as binding. If the true line is known and undisputed, the parties cannot by mere agreement convey land between themselves without a writing satisfying the statute of frauds. The agreement supplies certainty where the deeds do not.

Question 11Legal Principles and Boundary Law

When successive adverse possessors seek to add their periods of possession together, they must show:

  1. Privity between the possessors Correct answer.
  2. A written assignment of the possessory interest
  3. That each possessor paid taxes
  4. That the periods total less than the statutory term

Explanation

Tacking allows successive possessors to combine their periods only when there is privity, meaning a voluntary transfer or connection between them. Privity ensures the possession is continuous rather than a series of unrelated trespasses. A written assignment is not required, though some transfer of the possessory interest must occur.

Question 12Legal Principles and Boundary Law

Color of title is best described as:

  1. A written instrument that appears to convey title but is defective Correct answer.
  2. A deed that is valid in every respect
  3. A judgment quieting title
  4. A recorded lien on the property

Explanation

Color of title is a written instrument that looks like a valid conveyance but has a legal defect, such as a flawed description or an incompetent grantor. It can extend the adverse possessor's claim to the entire parcel described. Good faith is often relevant, depending on the jurisdiction.

Question 13Legal Principles and Boundary Law

To acquire a prescriptive easement, the use must be:

  1. Occasional and sporadic
  2. Exclusive of the owner's use of the entire parcel
  3. Open, adverse, and continuous for the statutory period Correct answer.
  4. Permitted by written license

Explanation

A prescriptive easement requires open, adverse use that is continuous for the statutory period. Unlike adverse possession, exclusivity is not required because the servient owner may continue to use the land. Use by permission is not adverse and cannot ripen into a prescriptive right.

Question 14Legal Principles and Boundary Law

An easement by necessity typically requires:

  1. A severance of unity of ownership that leaves a parcel landlocked Correct answer.
  2. A recorded express grant of a right-of-way
  3. Use of a way for the full prescriptive period
  4. Payment of compensation to the servient owner

Explanation

An easement by necessity arises when common ownership is severed and one parcel becomes landlocked or lacks adequate access. The necessity must exist at the time of severance. The right is implied from the parties' intent and does not depend on a recorded grant or long use.

Question 15Legal Principles and Boundary Law

For a non-navigable stream, the boundary of a riparian tract in most states extends to:

  1. The meander line
  2. The nearest bank
  3. The ordinary high water mark on the far side
  4. The thread (centerline) of the stream Correct answer.

Explanation

Under the common law rule followed in most states, an owner bordering a non-navigable stream owns to the thread or centerline, subject to the public's right to navigate and fish. The bed is divided between the opposite riparian owners. A deed may vary the rule by express description.

Question 16Legal Principles and Boundary Law

Where a tract borders water that is navigable for title purposes, the boundary is generally:

  1. The edge of the adjoining public road
  2. The thread of the stream
  3. The meander line
  4. The ordinary high water mark Correct answer.

Explanation

For water navigable for title purposes, the state holds the bed in trust and the upland owner's boundary is the ordinary high water mark, or the mean high water mark in tidal areas. The upland owner does not own to the centerline. The thread rule applies to non-navigable streams.

Question 17Legal Principles and Boundary Law

When two deeds from a common grantor conflict, the senior conveyance:

  1. Is void because it was recorded last
  2. Controls only if it contains a warranty
  3. Prevails over the later, junior conveyance Correct answer.
  4. Controls only if the junior grantee had notice

Explanation

Under the rule of senior rights, the first conveyance in time is senior and prevails over a later conveyance of the same land by the same grantor. The junior grantee may have a remedy against the grantor, but the senior grantee keeps the land. Recording statutes may alter the outcome where a later purchaser qualifies for protection.

Question 18Legal Principles and Boundary Law

Among the calls in a metes and bounds description, area or quantity is:

  1. The least reliable and used only as a check Correct answer.
  2. Controlling over monuments
  3. Equal in weight to natural monuments
  4. The most reliable call

Explanation

Area is the weakest of the calls because it is a computed result that depends on the accuracy of the lines and bearings. It is used as a check on the other calls and yields to monuments, courses, and distances. A description is not invalid merely because the stated area is inaccurate.

Question 19Legal Principles and Boundary Law

When a deed description contains a latent ambiguity, a court may:

  1. Presume the smallest area controls
  2. Admit extrinsic evidence to show the parties' intent Correct answer.
  3. Declare the deed void automatically
  4. Reform the deed without any evidence

Explanation

A latent ambiguity appears when the description is clear on its face but uncertain when applied to the ground, such as two identical lot numbers. The court may admit extrinsic evidence of the parties' intent to resolve the ambiguity. The deed is not automatically void.

Question 20Legal Principles and Boundary Law

Under common law, dedication of land to public use requires:

  1. A deed to the county
  2. An offer by the owner and acceptance by the public Correct answer.
  3. A recorded plat and payment of a fee
  4. Continuous public use for the prescriptive period

Explanation

Common law dedication requires an intent by the owner to dedicate and an acceptance by the public. No deed or payment is required because dedication transfers no title but instead creates a public easement. Statutory dedication under a plat act follows different procedures.

Question 21Legal Principles and Boundary Law

A river that is a boundary suddenly cuts a new channel through a riparian owner's land during a flood, abandoning its old bed. The boundary between the two owners:

  1. Splits the abandoned bed equally
  2. Follows the new channel
  3. Remains at the old channel Correct answer.
  4. Extends to the center of the new channel

Explanation

This is avulsion, and the settled rule is that a sudden change of channel does not move the boundary. The boundary remains where the stream flowed before the flood. Ownership of the abandoned bed is determined by the rules of the jurisdiction but does not shift the boundary line between the riparian tracts.

Question 22Legal Principles and Boundary Law

A cotenant in possession of jointly owned land can acquire title against the other cotenants by adverse possession only after:

  1. The cotenant pays all property taxes for a single year
  2. An ouster is brought home to the other cotenants Correct answer.
  3. The cotenant records a deed purporting to convey the whole parcel
  4. The statutory period begins to run automatically upon the cotenant's entry

Explanation

A cotenant's possession is presumed to be for the benefit of all cotenants, so it is not hostile as a matter of law. The statute begins to run only when the possessing cotenant clearly repudiates the cotenancy and the other cotenants receive notice of the ouster. Mere entry, tax payment, or recording does not start the clock.

Question 23Legal Principles and Boundary Law

Boundary by estoppel requires that one neighbor:

  1. Recorded a survey of the line
  2. Relied to their detriment on the other's representations or conduct about the line Correct answer.
  3. Obtained a quitclaim deed from the other
  4. Occupied the land for the prescriptive period

Explanation

Boundary by estoppel rests on reliance and detriment: one owner represents or encourages a line, and the other changes position in reliance on it. The doctrine prevents the first owner from later asserting a different line. It does not require the full statutory period of adverse possession.

Question 24Legal Principles and Boundary Law

A deed describes a parcel as bounded 'on the north by the land of Smith.' The true boundary is:

  1. The line shown on the assessor's map
  2. The line described in the grantor's earlier unrecorded deed only
  3. A straight line 100 feet north of the parcel's center
  4. The actual north line of Smith's land as it exists on the ground Correct answer.

Explanation

A call for an adjoiner's land is treated as a monument call that controls over courses, distances, and area. The boundary is therefore the actual line of the adjoining ownership on the ground. An assessor's map or an unrecorded deed is only secondary evidence of that line.

Question 25Legal Principles and Boundary Law

Under the public trust doctrine, a state's title to the beds of navigable waters is held:

  1. As private property the state may sell at will
  2. In trust for public navigation and fishing uses Correct answer.
  3. Subject to the upland owner's right to fill the bed
  4. Only until the adjoining upland parcel is platted

Explanation

The public trust doctrine holds that the state owns the beds of navigable waters in trust for public uses such as navigation, fishing, and commerce. The state generally cannot convey the trust property in a way that substantially impairs those public uses. The trust is not terminated by platting the upland.

Question 26Legal Principles and Boundary Law

Under the Statute of Frauds, a deed conveying an interest in land must be:

  1. recorded within thirty days of delivery
  2. in writing and signed by the grantor Correct answer.
  3. approved by the adjoining landowners
  4. acknowledged before a notary to be valid

Explanation

The Statute of Frauds requires every conveyance of an interest in land to be evidenced by a writing signed by the party to be charged, meaning the grantor. Acknowledgment affects only whether the deed may be recorded, not whether it is enforceable between the parties. Recording statutes protect later purchasers but do not make an unrecorded deed invalid.

Question 27Legal Principles and Boundary Law

Land that borders a lake or pond is described as:

  1. appurtenant
  2. littoral Correct answer.
  3. riparian
  4. alluvial

Explanation

Littoral describes land bordering a lake, pond, or sea, while riparian refers to land bordering a flowing watercourse such as a river or stream. The distinction matters because the rules governing accretion, reliction, and ownership of the bed can differ by water body type.

Question 28Legal Principles and Boundary Law

When a river gradually and imperceptibly deposits soil along a bank so that the waterline moves, the added land belongs to:

  1. the state, which holds all lands beneath water
  2. the owner on the opposite side of the river
  3. the owner of the bank that gained the land Correct answer.
  4. the upland owner only after recording a survey

Explanation

Accretion is the gradual and imperceptible addition of land by natural forces, and the riparian owner whose bank is enlarged gains title to the addition without any deed or payment. The doctrine rests on the unfairness of requiring a new survey each time the waterline shifts slightly.

Question 29Legal Principles and Boundary Law

An easement appurtenant:

  1. ends whenever the dominant estate is sold
  2. benefits the holder personally, not the land
  3. passes with a transfer of the dominant estate Correct answer.
  4. may be transferred only by separate deed

Explanation

An easement appurtenant benefits the dominant estate and burdens the servient estate, so it runs with the land and passes automatically when the dominant parcel is conveyed. No separate instrument is needed to carry it to the new owner.

Question 30Legal Principles and Boundary Law

A woman fences and farms a neighbor's unused strip for the statutory period, believing in good faith that her deed includes it. Her possession is hostile because:

  1. her belief in ownership makes the use permissive
  2. hostility means use without the owner's permission Correct answer.
  3. she made improvements worth more than the land
  4. she knew the strip belonged to her neighbor

Explanation

Hostility in adverse possession means possession without the true owner's permission and under a claim of right; it does not require ill will or knowledge that the land belongs to another. A good-faith mistaken belief that the land is one's own still satisfies the hostility element in most jurisdictions.

Question 31Legal Principles and Boundary Law

Under a pure notice statute, a later purchaser prevails over an earlier unrecorded purchaser if the later purchaser:

  1. records before the earlier purchaser records
  2. has actual knowledge of the earlier conveyance
  3. pays value and has no notice of the prior deed Correct answer.
  4. takes by quitclaim deed from the common grantor

Explanation

A pure notice statute protects a subsequent purchaser who takes for value and without notice of the prior unrecorded conveyance, regardless of whether that purchaser records first. Recording is relevant only under race or race-notice statutes.

Question 32Legal Principles and Boundary Law

A buyer inspects the land and sees a neighbor's fence and cattle crossing a corner of the parcel. The buyer is charged with:

  1. inquiry notice of the neighbor's claim Correct answer.
  2. constructive notice only if the fence is recorded
  3. no notice, because possession is not title
  4. record notice of an easement of record

Explanation

Facts that would prompt a reasonable person to investigate, such as visible use or a fence enclosing part of the parcel, place a purchaser on inquiry notice of whatever the investigation would reveal. The purchaser is then charged with knowledge of the neighbor's claim even if it is unrecorded.

Question 33Legal Principles and Boundary Law

An easement by implication from prior use generally requires:

  1. an order of the court after a public hearing and notice
  2. a written grant signed by both of the owners
  3. payment of compensation to the servient owner
  4. apparent, continuous prior use with reasonable necessity Correct answer.

Explanation

When a single owner uses one part of the land for the benefit of another and then splits the parcel, an implied easement arises if the prior use was apparent, continuous, and reasonably necessary to the enjoyment of the conveyed portion. The implication rests on the parties' presumed intent at the time of severance.

Question 34Legal Principles and Boundary Law

An owner of a 40-acre tract grants a right-of-way across it to an adjoining owner and later buys the adjoining parcel. The easement is terminated by:

  1. estoppel by the grantor
  2. abandonment of the right-of-way
  3. merger of the dominant and servient estates Correct answer.
  4. prescription by a third party

Explanation

When one person acquires ownership of both the dominant and servient estates, the easement is extinguished by merger because an owner cannot hold an easement over land he owns in fee. This is distinct from nonuse, which alone does not terminate an easement.

Question 35Legal Principles and Boundary Law

When a deed describes land as bounded by a public street, the grantee is generally presumed to own to:

  1. the near edge of the dedicated right-of-way
  2. the center line, subject to the public easement Correct answer.
  3. the far edge of the street, free of any public easement
  4. only the land shown by lot and block on the plat map

Explanation

A call bounding a parcel on a street ordinarily carries the boundary to the center line of the street, with the public holding an easement for travel. The grantee thus owns the underlying fee to the middle of the road, subject to that easement.

Question 36Legal Principles and Boundary Law

Under the traditional rule, land owned by the federal government:

  1. cannot be lost to adverse possession unless a statute allows Correct answer.
  2. may be acquired if the possessor pays all taxes
  3. can be acquired by adverse possession after twenty years
  4. is treated the same as private land for limitations purposes

Explanation

The traditional rule is that limitations periods do not run against the federal government, so adverse possession of public land fails unless Congress has expressly authorized it. Payment of taxes or long occupancy does not overcome sovereign immunity.

Question 37Legal Principles and Boundary Law

In western states that follow the doctrine of prior appropriation, the right to use water depends chiefly on:

  1. the size of the riparian tract
  2. ownership of land bordering the stream
  3. the date of appropriation and beneficial use Correct answer.
  4. the natural flow of the stream leaving it undiminished

Explanation

Prior appropriation grants the right to divert water based on the time of appropriation and puts it to beneficial use, and the earliest appropriator generally holds the superior right. It does not depend on owning land along the watercourse, which is the premise of the riparian doctrine.

Question 38Legal Principles and Boundary Law

O conveys to A, who does not record. A conveys to B, who records. O then conveys to C, who has no actual notice of the A-B deed. B's recorded deed generally gives C:

  1. notice only if C searched the grantor index for A's name
  2. constructive notice from the moment it was recorded
  3. notice because recording is effective regardless of the chain
  4. no constructive notice because it lies outside the chain Correct answer.

Explanation

A deed recorded before the grantor obtained record title is outside the chain of title, so a later purchaser examining the records is not charged with constructive notice of it. This is the wild deed problem, and it can cost the earlier grantee priority.

Question 39Legal Principles and Boundary Law

O conveys to A, who does not record. O then conveys to B, who records and pays value without notice. B conveys to C, who knows of A's prior deed. In a race-notice jurisdiction, C's title is:

  1. subject to A's deed, because C had actual notice
  2. void, because the shelter rule applies only to heirs
  3. protected, because C steps into B's protected position Correct answer.
  4. subject to A's deed unless C paid value

Explanation

Under the shelter rule, a transferee takes the protected status of the transferor, so C is sheltered by B's position as a bona fide purchaser and prevails over A. The rule exists so that protected purchasers can freely convey what they bought.

Question 40Legal Principles and Boundary Law

A conveys Blackacre to B by warranty deed before A owns Blackacre. A later acquires title to Blackacre and conveys it to C, a purchaser with notice. Under the doctrine of estoppel by deed, title:

  1. passes to B when A later acquires title Correct answer.
  2. is split between B and C as tenants in common
  3. passes to C, because C's deed is later in time
  4. remains in A, because A had nothing to convey to B

Explanation

Under estoppel by deed, a grantor who conveys by warranty deed an interest he does not yet own is estopped, and the after-acquired title passes automatically to the earlier grantee. The later conveyance to C therefore carries nothing, even if C had no notice.

Question 41Measurement, Computations, and Field Procedures

A survey distance is 1,250.0 ft. Using 1 m = 3.28084 ft, what is the distance in meters?

  1. 304.8 m
  2. 381.0 m Correct answer.
  3. 328.1 m
  4. 410.1 m

Explanation

Convert feet to meters by dividing the number of feet by 3.28084 ft/m. Thus 1,250.0 ÷ 3.28084 = 381.0 m.

Question 42Measurement, Computations, and Field Procedures

A surveyor's average pace is 2.75 ft. A line requires 240 paces. What is the measured length of the line?

  1. 600 ft
  2. 720 ft
  3. 690 ft
  4. 660 ft Correct answer.

Explanation

Multiply the number of paces by the pace length: 240 × 2.75 ft = 660 ft. Pacing gives an approximate distance that depends on the calibrated pace length.

Question 43Measurement, Computations, and Field Procedures

A benchmark has an elevation of 528.42 ft. A backsight of 4.17 ft is taken on the benchmark. What is the height of instrument?

  1. 524.25 ft
  2. 532.59 ft Correct answer.
  3. 536.76 ft
  4. 530.00 ft

Explanation

Height of instrument equals benchmark elevation plus backsight: 528.42 + 4.17 = 532.59 ft. The backsight is added because the instrument is higher than the benchmark.

Question 44Measurement, Computations, and Field Procedures

A line has a bearing of S 42°15′ E. What is its azimuth measured clockwise from north?

  1. 42°15′
  2. 222°15′
  3. 317°45′
  4. 137°45′ Correct answer.

Explanation

In the southeast quadrant, azimuth equals 180° minus the bearing angle. Therefore 180°00′ − 42°15′ = 137°45′.

Question 45Measurement, Computations, and Field Procedures

A closed traverse has a departure misclosure of +0.18 ft and a latitude misclosure of −0.24 ft. What is the linear misclosure?

  1. 0.06 ft
  2. 0.30 ft Correct answer.
  3. 0.21 ft
  4. 0.42 ft

Explanation

Linear misclosure is the vector magnitude of the departure and latitude misclosures: √(0.18² + 0.24²) = 0.30 ft. Departure and latitude combine as perpendicular components.

Question 46Measurement, Computations, and Field Procedures

A 100-ft steel tape standardized at 68°F is used at 95°F to measure 500.00 ft. The coefficient of thermal expansion is 6.5×10⁻⁶ per °F. What is the temperature correction?

  1. +0.044 ft
  2. +0.018 ft
  3. −0.088 ft
  4. +0.088 ft Correct answer.

Explanation

The correction is C = α(T − T₀)L = 6.5×10⁻⁶ × (95 − 68) × 500 = 0.088 ft. Because the tape is warmer than standard, it is longer and the correction is positive.

Question 47Measurement, Computations, and Field Procedures

A 100-ft tape weighs 2.0 lb and is supported only at its ends. It is pulled with a tension of 20 lb. What is the sag correction for the 100-ft span?

  1. 0.0833 ft
  2. 0.0208 ft
  3. 0.0417 ft Correct answer.
  4. 0.0042 ft

Explanation

For an unsupported span, C_s = W²L/(24P²), where W is total weight and P is tension. Thus C_s = (2.0² × 100)/(24 × 20²) = 0.0417 ft. Sag always makes the measured distance too long, so the correction is subtracted.

Question 48Measurement, Computations, and Field Procedures

What is the combined curvature and refraction correction for a horizontal sight of 1,000 ft?

  1. 0.0103 ft
  2. 0.103 ft
  3. 0.206 ft
  4. 0.0206 ft Correct answer.

Explanation

The combined correction is approximately 0.0206D² when D is expressed in thousands of feet. For D = 1.0 thousand ft, the correction is 0.0206 ft.

Question 49Measurement, Computations, and Field Procedures

A total station is set with a prism constant of 0 mm, but the prism actually has a constant of −30 mm. The displayed slope distance is 250.000 m. What is the corrected slope distance?

  1. 249.985 m
  2. 249.970 m Correct answer.
  3. 250.015 m
  4. 250.030 m

Explanation

The instrument should add −30 mm to the measured distance, but it adds 0 mm, so the displayed distance is 30 mm too long. Subtract 0.030 m from 250.000 m to obtain 249.970 m.

Question 50Measurement, Computations, and Field Procedures

A slope distance of 150.00 m is measured with a vertical angle of +5°00′00″ above horizontal. What is the horizontal distance?

  1. 149.43 m Correct answer.
  2. 147.72 m
  3. 149.71 m
  4. 150.57 m

Explanation

Horizontal distance equals slope distance times the cosine of the vertical angle: 150.00 × cos 5° = 149.43 m. The sine function would give the vertical component instead.