Surveying

 


Surveying
BSA Supply No. 35956

While earning this merit badge, Scouts will discover how land is measured and how it is described so that others can know where boundary lines are. They will have a chance to use some fine measuring instruments, apply advanced mathematics, operate computing equipment, and create a survey map.

Requirements

  1. Show that you know first aid for the types of injuries that could occur while surveying, including cuts, scratches, snakebite, insect stings, tick bites, heat and cold reactions, and dehydration. Explain to your counselor why a surveyor should be able to identify the poisonous plants and poisonous animals that are found in your area.
  2. Find and mark the corners of a five-sided lot that has been laid out by your counselor to fit the land available. Set an instrument over each of the corners and record the angle turned between each line and the distance measured between each corner. With the assistance of the counselor, compute the error of closure from the recorded notes. The error of closure must not be more than 5 feet. From the corners, take compass readings or turn angles to trees, shrubs, and rocks, and measure to them. All measurements should be made using instruments, methods, and accuracies consistent with current technology.
  3. From the field notes gathered for requirement 2, draw to scale a map of your survey. Submit a neatly drawn copy.
  4. Write a metes and bounds description for the five-sided lot in requirement 2.
  5. Use one of the corner markers from requirement 2 as a benchmark with an assumed elevation of 100 feet. Using a level and rod, determine the elevation of the other four corner markers.
  6. Get a copy of the deed to your property, or a piece of property assigned by your counselor, from the local courthouse or title agency.
  7. Tell what GPS is; discuss with your counselor the importance of GPS and how it is changing the field of surveying.
  8. Discuss the importance of surveying with a licensed surveyor. Also discuss the various types of surveying and mapping, and applications of surveying technology to other fields. Discuss career opportunities in surveying and related fields. Discuss the qualifications and preparation for such a career.

Resources

Scouting Literature

Architecture, Computers, Drafting, Engineering, Landscape Architecture, and Orienteering merit badge pamphlets.

This merit badge pamphlet touches only briefly on a very complex subject. Most of the details of instruments and methods are left to your merit badge counselor. If you have further interest in surveying, ask your counselor to help you learn more about it or to refer you to books that match your interest and background in mathematics.

Surveying changes so rapidly that most books soon become obsolete. If you borrow a surveying book from a library, check the date of publication. If the book is more than a few years old, portions of it probably are obsolete. After your counselor, other sources of information include your local or state library, college or university department of surveying or civil engineering, a local professional surveyor, a technical or college bookstore, or the ACSM.

Organizations and Web Sites

American Congress on Surveying and Mapping
6 Montgomery Village Avenue, Suite 403
Gaithersburg, MD 20879
Telephone: 240-632-9716
Web site: http://www.acsm.net

National Society of Professional Surveyors
6 Montgomery Village Avenue, Suite 403
Gaithersburg, MD 20879
Telephone: 240-632-9716
Web site: http://www.acsm.net/nsps/contact.html

Topozone.com
Web site: http://www.topozone.com

U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Department of the Interior
12201 Sunrise Valley Drive
Reston, VA 20192
Web site: http://www.usgs.gov