FS - Fundamentals of Surveying Geodesy and Coordinate Systems Questions and Answers

Question 1

A surveyor uses a GNSS receiver to determine the height of a benchmark.
The receiver outputs an ellipsoid height (h) of 212.55 meters.
A geoid model for the area indicates that the geoid is 31.15 meters below the ellipsoid.
What is the approximate orthometric height (H) of the benchmark?

Accepted Answer

243.70 m

Answer

181.40 m

Answer

31.15 m

Answer

212.55 m

Question 2

Which of the following is a key characteristic of the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) coordinate system?

Accepted Answer

It applies a scale factor of 0.9996 to the central meridian of each zone.

Answer

It uses a Lambert Conformal Conic projection for each zone.

Answer

It divides the Earth into 120 zones, each 3 degrees of longitude wide.

Answer

The scale is perfectly true (1.0) everywhere within a single zone.

Question 3

A surveyor finds a historical survey monument with published coordinates based on the North American Datum of 1927 (NAD 27). When occupying the same monument with a modern GPS receiver providing coordinates in the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83), a significant difference in coordinate values is observed. What is the primary reason for this difference?

Accepted Answer

NAD 27 is a local datum referenced to a single point on the surface, while NAD 83 is a geocentric datum referenced to the Earth's center of mass.

Answer

Changes in magnetic declination over time.

Answer

The use of different units, such as feet versus meters.

Answer

Progressive accumulation of random errors in the original NAD 27 network.

Question 4

A conformal map projection is specifically designed to preserve which of the following properties at any given point?

Accepted Answer

Local angles and shapes of small features.

Answer

True distance to all other points on the map.

Answer

Equal area for all features across the map.

Answer

True direction from the center point to all other points.

Question 5

When working in a map projection like a State Plane or UTM system, the angular difference between geodetic north (true north) and grid north at a specific point is known as the:

Accepted Answer

Convergence angle

Answer

Magnetic declination

Answer

Geoid separation

Answer

Deflection of the vertical

Question 6

The Global Positioning System (GPS) provides its raw positional calculations and coordinates natively referenced to which geodetic reference system?

Accepted Answer

World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS 84)

Answer

North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)

Answer

International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF)

Answer

North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)