Are these Surveying handwritten notes free?

Yes. Fill in the short form on this page and the PDF downloads right away.

Are these official university notes?

No. They are original Uncodemy revision notes written for the Surveying topics common to most B.Tech Civil syllabi. They are not issued or approved by any university, AKTU or otherwise.

Which syllabus do they follow?

They follow the common Indian B.Tech Civil syllabus for Surveying. Unit names and order vary between universities, so check your own syllabus and cover any extra topic from your textbook.

Do the notes cover total station and GPS?

Yes. The modern surveying section covers EDM, total station, GPS and GNSS, GIS, remote sensing and photogrammetry in short.

Is there a separate Surveying important questions PDF?

Yes. Uncodemy also has a Surveying important questions PDF with unit-wise practice questions. Use it after revising these notes.

Can I request notes for another subject?

Yes. Use the handwritten notes request page to ask for a subject that is not in the notes hub yet.

Surveying Handwritten Notes PDF

Key takeaways

Covers Surveying I and II topics in eight sections, from chain survey to curves.
Tables for tape corrections, the two compass types, levelling methods and curve elements.
Worked examples for tape error, levelling, latitude and departure, tacheometry and a simple curve.
Short notes on total station, GPS, GIS, remote sensing and photogrammetry.
Original Uncodemy revision notes based on the common syllabus.

About these Surveying notes

Surveying is a practical subject with a lot of tabular calculation. Marks depend on neat tables, correct signs and the arithmetic check at the end. These notes give each method with its check, so your answers are complete.

These are original Uncodemy revision notes. They follow the topics common to most Indian B.Tech Civil syllabi for Surveying, written in a neat handwritten style with formulas boxed and key numbers highlighted. They are short notes for revision, not a replacement for your textbook or class notes.

What's inside the notes: unit by unit

The PDF starts with basic measurement and builds up to angles, heights, curves and modern tools.

Unit 1: Introduction

Principles: plane and geodetic surveying, working from whole to part.
Scales and errors: representative fraction, shrunk scale and types of errors.

Unit 2: Chain and tape survey

Equipment and ranging: chains, tapes, ranging, offsets and well-conditioned triangles.
Tape corrections: standardisation, temperature, pull, sag and slope, with an example.

Unit 3: Compass survey

Bearings: WCB, quadrantal bearing, back bearing, declination and dip.
Local attraction: how it is found and corrected.
Prismatic versus surveyor compass: a comparison table.

Unit 4: Levelling and contours

Reduction of levels: height of instrument and rise and fall methods with checks, with an example.
Curvature, refraction and reciprocal levelling: corrections and visible horizon.
Contours: characteristics, uses and volume from contours.

Unit 5: Theodolite and traversing

Theodolite: parts, fundamental lines, adjustments, face left and face right.
Angle measurement: repetition and reiteration methods.
Traverse computation: latitude, departure, closing error, Bowditch and transit rules, with an example.

Unit 6: Tacheometry and trigonometric levelling

Stadia method: horizontal and inclined sights and the anallactic lens, with an example.
Trigonometric levelling: heights from vertical angles.

Unit 7: Plane table, triangulation and modern surveying

Plane table: radiation, intersection, traversing, resection and the three-point problem.
Modern tools: triangulation, EDM, total station, GPS and GNSS, GIS and remote sensing.
Photogrammetry: photo scale, relief displacement and overlap.

Unit 8: Curves

Simple curves: degree of curve and curve elements, with an example.
Setting out: Rankine's deflection angle method.
Transition and vertical curves: shift and the types of curve used on roads and railways.

How the PDF is laid out

Each section opens with short definitions in bullet form, followed by tables that compare types, tests or methods. Formulas are written in separate boxes so they stand out when you flip through the pages, and the values that examiners ask most often are highlighted. Short tip boxes point out exam favourites and common traps. Wherever a formula is used in exams, a short solved example shows the steps with real numbers. The last page lists 10 most asked practice questions so you can test yourself after revising.

How to revise Surveying

Practise tables, not just formulas. Levelling and traverse answers need full tables with the check line.
Learn bearing conversion cold. WCB to quadrantal bearing and back is used in compass, traverse and curve questions.
Sketch every set-up. Reciprocal levelling, tacheometry and curves are easier to explain with a labelled sketch.
Keep one formula page. Tape corrections, curvature and refraction, tacheometry and curve elements fit on one sheet.
Link with field work. If you have a surveying lab, match each practical to its section in the notes.

Exam focus: high-weightage topics and numericals

Surveying papers usually have numericals in levelling, traversing and curves. Prepare these:

Principles of surveying and types of errors.
Tape corrections and local attraction.
Levelling methods, curvature and refraction, and reciprocal levelling.
Traverse adjustment by the Bowditch rule.
Tacheometric formulas and simple curve setting.

Typical numericals to practise

Apply tape corrections to a measured length.
Reduce levels by the HI and rise and fall methods with arithmetic checks.
Find closing error and balance a traverse by the Bowditch rule.
Find horizontal distance and elevation by tacheometry on an inclined sight.
Find all elements of a simple circular curve and the deflection angles for setting it out.

A one-week plan with these notes

If your Surveying exam is a week away, this plan covers the whole PDF once and leaves time for practice.

Day 1: Introduction and Chain and tape survey. Read the section, then close the PDF and write the key formulas and tables from memory.
Day 2: Compass survey and Levelling and contours. Read the section, then close the PDF and write the key formulas and tables from memory.
Day 3: Theodolite and traversing and Tacheometry and trigonometric levelling. Read the section, then close the PDF and write the key formulas and tables from memory.
Day 4: Plane table, triangulation and modern surveying and Curves. Read the section, then close the PDF and write the key formulas and tables from memory.
Day 5: redo every solved example in the notes without looking at the steps.
Day 6: answer the 10 practice questions at the end of the PDF under a time limit.
Day 7: solve one recent official paper from your university and revise the topics you got wrong.

Who these notes are for

B.Tech semester exams: covers Surveying I and II, including the numericals of a typical paper.
GATE CE basics: levelling, curvature and refraction, traverse closing error, tacheometry and curve elements are common GATE CE questions.
Site work and interviews: site and highway engineers get quick recall of levelling, total station and curve setting.

Check your own syllabus and the current IS codes

Universities split and order these topics differently, and some leave out units or add extra ones. Match the notes against your own university syllabus and recent official question papers before you plan your revision. This subject depends less on IS codes, but survey work in India uses Survey of India standards, and highway curves follow IRC guidelines. Codes are revised from time to time, so check the current edition and any amendments before you use a value in design work or quote it in an answer. Uncodemy keeps a list of previous year question paper sources if you want official papers to practise with.

Download Surveying Handwritten Notes PDF