State University of New York at Morrisville

Dr. Walid H. Shayya
School of Agriculture, Business, and Technology



Course Outline of NATR 142 

Fall 2023

Brightspace Access of Course Material On-line (for students enrolled in the course)


INSTRUCTOR:

Dr. Walid H. Shayya

Instructor's Contact Information


GENERAL COURSE DESCRIPTION:

NATR 142 covers the basic concepts of plane surveying as it relates to agriculture and natural resources. Such applications include fieldwork in land drainage, pipeline stakeout, and parcel boundaries. In addition, a review is made of survey planning and associated survey computations, including traverse surveys. Throughout the course, emphasis is placed on the modern land measurement equipment operation, including the automatic level, the theodolite, and the total station and GPS.

Course Format: Lecture (Hybrid), Laboratory (Face to Face)
Meeting Times/Locations: Lecture (Mon. & Wed. @ 9:00-9:50 a.m. in Bicknell 203), Laboratory (Wed. @ 3:00-5:50 p.m. for 01L and 12:00-2:50 p.m. for 02L in Bicknell 115)
Semester Start Date: August 28, 2023
Semester End Date: December 8, 2023

Prerequisite: MAGN 101 or equivalent
3 credits (2 lecture hours, 3 laboratory hours), fall semester


EXPECTED COURSE OUTCOMES:

At the successful completion of NATR 142, the student is expected to have:
  1. Developed an understanding of plane surveying principles.

  2. Understood the basic skills of surveying work including distance and angles measurements.

  3. Developed skills in using plane surveying instrumentation.

  4. Understood how to collect, document, and analyze plane surveying measurements.

  5. Learned how to conduct a variety of surveying exercises (with emphasis on location surveys).

  6. Developed an understanding of applying basic plane surveying techniques in the field.

  7. Demonstrated an understanding of how to perform plane surveying computations, including those involving traverse surveys.


STUDENT HOURS:

The instructor has the following designated student hours per week:

Students are also encouraged to make appointments to see the instructor at other times if necessary.


CONTACT HOURS AND CLASS SCHEDULE:

NATR 142 is a three-credit hour course. It includes five contact hours per week (two for lectures and three for the laboratory). One section of the lecture and two sections of the laboratory are offered during the 2023 Fall semester. The schedule of the offered sections is as follows:


TEXTBOOK(S):

The following represents the textbook and two manuals for NATR 142, which may be purchased from the campus bookstore:
  1. Kavanagh, B.F. and T.B. Mastin. 2014. Surveying Principles and Applications (9th  edition).  Pearson, New York (ISBN: 978-0137009404). Recommended
  2. Shayya, W.H. 2021.  Introductory Surveying Lecture Manual (11th edition).  XanEdu Publishing Inc. (ISBN: 978-1-71145-095-7). Required
  3. Shayya, W.  2022.  Introductory Surveying Laboratory Manual (10th edition).  XanEdu Publishing Inc. (ISBN: 978-1-71148-011-4). Required

REQUIRED MATERIALS:


CLASS POLICIES:


GRADING/EVALUATION OF STUDENT:

Evaluation is a shared responsibility between the teacher and the student. The purpose of the evaluation is to demonstrate how well the professor has taught and the student has learned specific course materials, the principles, concepts, and terms relevant to the covered topics.  Evaluation is also intended to assess the student's ability to utlize the acquired knowledge in problem-solving.

The breakdown of grading in this course will be as follows:

The distribution of grades in this course will be based on the A-F College grading scheme. The letter grades correspond to the following percentage scale: A (90-100%), A- (87-89.9%), B+ (83-86.9%), B (80-82.9%), B- (77-79.9%), C+ (73-76.9%), C (70-72.9%), C- (67-69.9%), D+ (63-66.9%), D (60-62.9%), and F (<60%).


STARFISH EARLY ALERT SYSTEM:

This course participates in the Starfish Early Alert System, an early intervention system designed to enable academic success, student persistence, and graduation. When an instructor observes student behaviors or concerns that may impede academic success, the instructor may raise an alert flag that notifies the student of the matter, requests an individual contact to discuss the issue, and (in most cases) refer the student to the academic advisor. If you receive an email notification of an early alert, you must contact the instructor as soon as possible to discuss the issue. The purpose of the contact is to determine the severity of the issue, accurately assess its potential impact on your academic success, and plan actions to prevent negative consequences and enable academic success. For more information about the Early Alert system, contact your academic advisor. 


OUTLINE OF TOPICS:

Week

Lecture Topic (condensed)*

Date Textbook
Chapter
1 Introduction to NATR 142
Surveying: An Overview
Aug. 28
Aug. 30
Outline
1
2 Surveying: Basic Concepts
Surveying Methods of Measurement (& problems)
Sep. 4
Sep. 6
1 & 3
3
3 Distance Measure and Review of Significant Digits
Taping Techniques 
Sep. 11
Sep. 13
3 & Handout
3
4 Taping Errors and Corrections/Working with Angles
Area Computations/Review of Exam 1 Study Guide
Sep. 18
Sep. 20
3/Handout
Handouts
5    Progress Examination 1
Introduction to Leveling/Review of Exam 1
Sep.  25
Sep. 27

2
6 Differential Leveling
Modified Differential Leveling
Oct. 2
Oct. 4
2
2
7    October Break (no lecture)
Profile Leveling
Oct. 9
Oct. 11

2
8 Profile Leveling App. in Pipeline Construction/X-section Leveling
Angle Measurement
Oct. 16
Oct. 18
2
5 & App. H
9 Field Operations with Theodolites
Topographic Surveys/Review of Exam 2 Study Guide
Oct. 23
Oct. 25
5
8/Handout
10    Progress Examination 2
Review of Exam 2/Basic Trigonometry
Oct. 30
Nov. 1

App. B

11 Trigonometric Leveling
Stadia Principles

Nov. 6
Nov. 8
2
Handout
12 Electronic Distance Measurement (EDM)
EDM and GPS (multimedia presentation)
Nov. 13
Nov. 15
3 & 5
3 & 7
13 Overview of Traverse Surveys
   Thanksgiving Break (no lecture)
Nov. 20
Nov. 22
4 & 6
14 Closed Traverse Surveys
Traverse Survey Computations
Nov. 27
Nov. 29
6
6
15 Review of Lab. Practicum/Exam 3 (Study Guide)
   Laboratory Practicum
Dec. 4
Dec. 6
Handout
16    Progress Examination 3 (scheduled during the finals week)    
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Week/Date

Laboratory Topic (condensed)*

1/Sep. 30 Laboratory Procedure, Note-keeping, Standardization of Length of Pace
2/Sep. 6 Taping on Level Ground (introduction to the 100-foot steel tape)
3/Sep. 13 Horizontal Taping on a Slope (breaking tape)
4/Sep. 20 Taping Survey of a Closed Polygon (area calculations)
5/Sep. 27 Introduction to Leveling (using the dumpy level)
6/Oct. 4 Closed Level Circuit (using the automatic level)
7/Oct. 11 Profile Leveling (using the laser level)
8/Oct. 18 Closing the Horizon (using the repeating optical and digital theodolites)
9/Oct. 25 Prolongation of a Straight Line (using the digital theodolite)
10/Nov. 1 Turning Angles (using the digital theodolite)
11/Nov. 8 Tacheometry and Trigonometric Leveling (using the digital theodolite and the total station)
12/Nov. 15 Locating Points (using the digital theodolite and the total station)
13/Nov. 22    Thanksgiving Break (no laboratory)
14/Nov. 29 Closed Traverse Measurements (using the digital theodolite and the total station)
15/Dec. 6 Finalize Laboratory Exercise#14 (no field laboratory)
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*The topics and corresponding dates listed in the tables above are tentative and may be subject to change during the semester.


COLLEGE-WIDE POLICIES:

To view the College-wide policies page, please click on this link.