PA Land Surveyor flashcards

33 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Priority of calls

Order used to resolve conflicting description elements: natural monuments control over artificial monuments, which control over courses and distances, which control over area.

Adverse possession elements

Actual, open and notorious, exclusive, hostile, and continuous possession for the statutory period, which can vest title in the possessor.

Avulsion vs accretion

Accretion is gradual and imperceptible and moves a water boundary; avulsion is sudden and does not change the boundary line.

Easement by necessity

An implied easement arising when a parcel is landlocked by severance from a larger tract; it ends when the necessity ceases.

Boundary by acquiescence

A doctrine fixing a boundary where adjoining owners have long treated a line as the boundary and relied on it, even if deeds differ.

Junior-senior rights

When a grantor conveys overlapping parcels, the earlier (senior) conveyance controls and the later (junior) grantee takes only the remainder.

Recording act types

Notice, race-notice, and race statutes determine priority among competing conveyances; the applicable type depends on state statute.

Metes and bounds closure

A description must return to its point of beginning; misclosure within stated precision is acceptable, larger errors indicate blunders or ambiguity.

Aliquot parts description

A description using fractional divisions of a section, such as the NE 1/4 of the SW 1/4, interpreted under PLSS subdivision rules.

Chain of title

A chronological record of conveyances tracing ownership from a common source, checked for gaps, wild deeds, and encumbrances.

Township and range

PLSS units: a township is a 6-mile-square block of 36 sections; ranges count east or west from the principal meridian.

Section numbering

Sections are numbered 1 through 36 beginning at the northeast corner and proceeding boustrophedon (serpentine) to section 36 at the southeast corner.

Standard parallel

A correction line run east-west every 24 miles in the PLSS to compensate for convergence of meridians.

Single proportionate measure

Method to restore a lost corner on a line by proportioning record distances between the nearest existing corners along that line.

Double proportionate measure

Method to restore a lost interior section corner by proportioning from the four surrounding section corners in both north-south and east-west directions.

Fractional section

A section along the north or west tier of a township that absorbs excess or deficiency from meridian convergence; it is not a full 640 acres.

Traverse relative precision

Linear misclosure divided by total traverse length, expressed as a ratio such as 1:10,000; compared to the project standard.

Curvature and refraction

Combined correction in differential leveling of about 0.0206 m per km squared, or 0.0675 ft per mile squared, applied to observed differences.

Prism constant

A fixed offset between the prism and its effective optical center; an incorrect setting shifts every measured distance by that amount.

GNSS fixed solution

An RTK ambiguity-resolved solution required for survey-grade positions; float solutions are not acceptable for boundary or control work.

Combined factor

Grid distance equals ground distance multiplied by the combined factor, which is the product of the projection scale factor and the elevation factor.

Elevation factor

Approximately R divided by (R plus ellipsoid height), reducing ground distance to the ellipsoid; R is earth radius.

Geoid height relation

Orthometric height H equals ellipsoid height h minus geoid height N; geoid models such as GEOID18 supply N.

State Plane zones

Transverse Mercator zones suit east-west extents; Lambert conformal conic zones suit north-south extents; scale factor varies within each zone.

Conformal projection

A map projection that preserves local angles and shapes at the expense of area; the State Plane system uses conformal projections.

Horizontal curve tangent

Tangent distance T equals R times the tangent of half the intersection angle delta; used to locate the PC and PT.

Horizontal curve length

Curve length L equals R times delta in radians, or pi times R times delta divided by 180 when delta is in degrees.

Average end area volume

Earthwork volume equals the length between cross sections times the average of the two end areas; prismoidal formula is more precise.

Slope staking

Field procedure locating cut and fill limits by comparing design grade to existing ground and marking the catch point.

Standard of care

The degree of care and skill a reasonably prudent surveyor would exercise under similar circumstances; not a guarantee of perfection.

Professional liability insurance

Errors and omissions coverage protecting against claims of negligent professional services; general liability does not cover professional work.

Written change order

A signed document authorizing additional scope and fee before work proceeds; verbal changes create collection and liability risk.

Seal responsibility

Applying a seal certifies that the licensee performed or directly supervised the work and accepts professional responsibility for it.