Taping over Uneven Ground - Lab Report Example

The 50-meter tape is actually a common measuring tool whose design allows measuring a great length and can easily be carried on pockets or toolkit apart from the fact that it permits one to measure around the curves or corners. This equipment is majorly used for measuring short straight distances

Plumb bob

Usually, with a pointed tip on the bottom, that is suspended from a string and used as a vertical reference line or plumb-line. It is essentially the vertical equivalent of a "level”. This equipment was used to accurately locate vertical orientation.

Finishing nails

As can be seen from the picture, the finishing nail is a slender nail having a narrow head being able to be driven easily into the wood surface. It then leaves a small hole that can be filled with putty and smaller compounds. It is normally used in marking the various short distances that have been measured in order to ensure there is the straightness of the tape.

Procedure

• A five-sided traverse was staked in front of the science building.
• Each side of the traverse was labeled as follows: AB, BC, CD, DE, and EA.
• We then sketched the traverse in our field books while at the same time taking notes on the weather conditions.
• Using the 50metre tape, we measured side AE using the braking tape technique.
• This side was divided into two segments and a flag placed between AE. This point was named AE prime.
• We then took the measurement between points A and AE prime and noted it down.
• A member of our team stood from a distance to observe if the tape was sagging to make sure the measurement was accurate. A plumb bob was held over point A. we then measured the distance between points AE prime and E and then added the two measurements taken.

We repeated these steps for each segment and recorded the results in our field book.

AB

BC

CD

DE

EA

Trial 1

11.25

16.37

15.58

13.05

18.05

Trial 2

11.24

16.33

15.63

13.04

18.13

Trial 3

11.29

16.33

15.60

13.65

18.06

Breaking tape

section

Break tape 1

Horizontal distance with no breaks

total

average

AB(1st flag)

3.57

AB(2nd flag)

3.36

AB(3rd flag)

3.62

11.19

10.55

3.52

section

Break tape 1

Horizontal distance with no breaks

total

average

BC(1st flag)

5.38

BC(2nd flag)

5.58

BC(3rd flag)

4.77

16.23

15.73

5.24

section

Break tape 1

Horizontal distance with no breaks

Total

average

EA(1st flag)

5.28

EA(2nd flag)

5.65

EA(3rd flag)

6.47

18.00

17.40

5.8

 Sketch of the transverse showing the points

F.W

         Olin                                                                                                   F.W

      Sciences                                                                                               Olin

                     N                                                                                                   engineering

                                                   Retention area

DISCUSSION

Different segments had different measurement values. In trials 1 to 3, the values are almost close but not exact. The values of the horizontal distances with no breaks also varied with those when using breaking tape.

Some errors were encountered when carrying out the experiment; the errors could have been due to improper reading of the tape or using the equipment. The variation of the end graduations between the horizontal distances was due to the effect of temperature and the weight of the tape. The error could have been reduced by applying greater tension to the tape, personal errors could have been reduced by avoiding parallax when reading the scale.