BN1995 Professional Practice Assignment Questions 2026 | UCL

Assessment Pack Contents

Introduction
Submission details
Detailed assignment brief
Teaching into assessment
Sample of successful assignment
Learning outcomes
Marking grid/marking rubric
Appendix

1. Introduction

This “Surveying Assignment” reassessment consists of two exercises detailed in the Appendix to this document, namely a contour mapping, levelling and excavation volume exercise and a total station traverse.

2. Submission Details

The assessment will be equivalent to 1500 words and is worth 40% of the overall mark for this module.

You are to amalgamate all work for each part/submission into one document for the Turnitin submission.  Create a professional document using tables, figures and calculations as required and include a cover page.  Blank copies of tables are provided in the appendix of this brief to help you.  Ensure that the document is referenced correctly where appropriate.

3. Detailed Assignment Brief

There are two parts to this assignment.  Below is given a description of these with further details given in the appendix to this brief.  You need to present the survey information in a structured report.  Tables are provided in the appendix to this assignment brief for you to complete as part of the exercise, which should be copied into your final report.

Part 1: Levels, Volumes & Contouring Exercise (70%)

Full details of the assessment are given in the Appendix.  In brief, you are asked to find a suitable ground level for the construction of two new buildings on a greenfield site.  A contour map of the area is given, for which you are required to estimate the levels and thereby calculate a suitable average ground level and volume of material that will require excavation.

Additionally, for the set of measurements taken during a levelling exercise, you should complete the calculations of rise and fall along with all checks and the closing error of the survey, correcting/adjusting the initial reduced levels to remove the closing error.  In your report, you should explain what has possibly gone wrong in the data, and comment on any levels that appear to be erroneous.

Part 2: Total Station Traverse (30%)

A set of theodolite readings is given in Tables 2a-h.  You should complete the calculations for the closed traverse using these tables, and Table 3.  Explain what has possibly gone wrong, referring to the magnitude of the misclosure error and what could have been done to improve the results.

Remember to provide explanations as to what could have gone wrong for each set of results, or what could have been done to improve each set of results.

4. Teaching into Assessment

The assignment is based on a series of lectures, online exercises and field exercises explaining the operation of a surveyor’s automatic level (which measures height) and a total station (which measures angles and distances).  Each field exercise is supported by technicians and academic staff.  If any of this was missed then a simulated exercise can be arranged (contact Brett McKinley).

An angular measurement lecture is posted online and should be reviewed before the theodolite traverse fieldwork.  This will be used primarily to introduce you to the equipment (total station) and methods of measuring and calculating angles.

5. Sample of successful assignment

Guidance on how to complete the assignment successfully is included in this brief.

6. Learning outcomes

Completing this assignment will meet the following learning outcomes:

LO4. Compile and compute information on areas, levels and volumes using land surveying.

7.  Marking Grid/Marking Rubric

8. Appendix

Part 1: Desk Study Of Levels, Volumes Of Excavation and Contouring

A site has been chosen by a client to construct two new commercial buildings.  The large building is 80m x 195m and the smaller building is 50m x 68m.  Each building and its surrounding paved area are at a different elevation from each other to minimize earthworks.

A plan layout of the site is given Figure 1, complete with approximate contours of the original ground surface from Ordnance Survey topographical data.  The buildings are shaded orange, and the surrounding paved area is pale grey.  A hardcopy scale plan is provided as part of this assignment brief and uploaded to Blackboard should spares be needed.

Figure 1. Plan of site showing location of survey points, OSBM and building locations.

Guidance on how to complete the assessment

You are to determine the average level of ground for each building and indicate this height as an estimated contour on the provided plan, thereby showing the limits of excavation.

Using the plan provided, draw a suitable square grid aligned with the building in question. The size of the grid should be small enough to capture variations in the ground level with reasonable accuracy.
At each corner/intersection of the grid, estimate the level of the ground surface (You can interpolate between the contours). Mark this neatly on the plan (you may need to be quite small with handwriting or label the grid and create a table of the levels).
Tabulate the data in a manner like that given during the lecture on “Volumes of Excavation”.
Calculate the average height of the ground.
By linear interpolation, estimate the location of the contour of the average level on the plan, and indicate which areas require excavation.
Estimate the volume of material that needs to be excavated, again using methods described in the lecture. Annotate the drawing with this volume of excavation.
As part of this assessment, you are also required to complete Table 1 for a set of data recorded during a levelling exercise. You should comment on the accuracy of your measurements relating to the difficulties faced on the day and any feedback received from the technicians/tutor.

Part 2: Total Station Traverse

You conduct a 6-station traverse using a total station with a set of measurements as given in Table2a-f.  At each station, a Swing Right and Swing Left measurement are taken for the internal and external angles of the traverse.

Task 2 (of 2 for this assignment)

You are to complete the calculations for the traverse, adding all the average angles and calculating the misclosure error.  There is no need to adjust the angles.

Hints:

Below is a sample table showing the calculations required.
Complete the blank tables on the following page for your assignment.
Copy the average angles for each station into Table A5b, add them together and find the sum of the internal angles.
Comment on possible errors, expecting that the sum of the internal angles should be close to the theoretical value of 720 degrees for a six-sided traverse.

(continued on next page)

TABLES 2a-f: THEDOLITE TRAVERSE MEASUREMENTS AND CALCULATIONS

TABLE 3: SUMMARY OF TRAVERSE INTERNAL ANGLES AND MISCLOSURE ERROR

N = number of internal angles in the traverse (continued on next page)

Feedback Guidance

Reflecting on Feedback: how to improve.

From the feedback you receive, you should understand:

• The grade you achieved.
• The best features of your work.
• Areas you may not have fully understood.
• Areas you are doing well but could develop your understanding.
• What you can do to improve in the future – feedforward.
• Use the WISER: Academic Skills Development service. WISER can review feedback and help you understand your feedback. You can also use the WISER Feedback Glossary

Next Steps:

• List the steps have you taken to respond to previous feedback.
• Summarise your achievements
• Evaluate where you need to improve here (keep handy for future work.