Free Fundamentals of Surveying (FS) Exam Practice Questions

Sample Practice Questions

Try these 10 sample questions from the Fundamentals of Surveying (FS) Exam practice bank. Each includes the answer and explanation. Continue with the interactive practice above to review the full question set.

1. 1A modern electronic total station is equipped with a dual-axis compensator. During routine observing, what does that compensator do to the instrument output?

   1. A. It automatically corrects both the horizontal and the vertical angles for any deviation of the instrument from the plumb line.
   2. B. It automatically corrects each observed slope distance for the prism constant of the reflector in use.
   3. C. It automatically corrects each observed slope distance for the air temperature and pressure entered by the operator.
   4. D. It automatically reduces each observed slope distance to a horizontal distance using the observed zenith angle.

   Answer: A

   Explanation: Total station instruments "are equipped with a dual-axis compensator, which automatically corrects both horizontal and vertical angles for any deviation in the plumb line." The compensator therefore acts on the angular output. Applying a prism constant, applying an atmospheric scale correction, and reducing a slope distance to horizontal are all real total station functions, but they are distance reductions performed by other parts of the instrument firmware, not by the compensator.

   Reference: Topographic Surveying — EM 1110-1-1005, Chapter 8, paragraph 8-2

2. 2On a published topographic map, some brown contour lines are drawn wider than the rest and carry printed elevation values. What is the function of those wider lines?

   1. A. They are index contours, drawn wider and labeled so the reader can determine elevations.
   2. B. They are supplementary contours, drawn wider where the intermediate interval is too coarse.
   3. C. They are depression contours, drawn wider where the ground falls away inside a closed loop.
   4. D. They are bathymetric contours, drawn wider where they cross from land into a water body.

   Answer: A

   Explanation: "To help the user determine elevations, index contours are wider. Elevation values are printed in several places along these lines." Supplementary contours are described as narrower lines used between index contours to show more detail, and bathymetric contours are shown in blue or black to describe the bottom of a water body rather than the land surface.

   Reference: Topographic Map Symbols — USGS 'Topographic Map Symbols', Reading Topographic Maps

3. 3A client engages a surveyor for an ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey but sends only a copy of the vesting deed. What else must be provided to the surveyor before the survey can be completed?

   1. A. The most recent title commitment or other title evidence satisfactory to the title insurer.
   2. B. The most recent appraisal of the property prepared for the lender financing the purchase.
   3. C. The most recent tax assessment record showing the parcel identification number assigned.
   4. D. The most recent zoning report describing the setback and height limits for the property.

   Answer: A

   Explanation: To complete the survey, the surveyor must be provided with "Complete copies of the most recent title commitment or, if a title commitment is not available, other title evidence satisfactory to the title insurer," along with the record description and specified adjoiner and easement documents. An appraisal is not a record document, tax records are used only for the optional adjoiner names item, and a zoning report is furnished only when a Table A zoning item is selected.

   Reference: 2021_Standards_20201030_FINAL — 2021 Minimum Standard Detail Requirements for ALTA/NSPS Land Title Surveys, Section 4

4. 4A survey extends across a large area and the results must carry a high order of accuracy. What distinguishes the geodetic treatment of that work from a plane survey?

   1. A. Elevations are referred to a level surface and the instrument readings are adjusted for the curvature of the Earth.
   2. B. Elevations are referred to a flat surface and the instrument readings are adjusted for the refraction of the air.
   3. C. Elevations are referred to a level surface and the observed distances are adjusted to the state plane grid.
   4. D. Elevations are referred to a flat surface and the observed distances are adjusted for the slope of the ground.

   Answer: A

   Explanation: "Geodetic surveying measures all elevations from a level surface, and because all instruments use a straight reference plane, this requires all instrument readings to be adjusted for the curvature of the Earth." Plane surveying by contrast "assumes the Earth is flat and all elevations are measured from a flat surface." Refraction, grid reduction, and slope reduction are corrections that arise in both kinds of work.

   Reference: Nrcs Efh Ch 1 Surveying — NRCS National Engineering Handbook, Part 650, Chapter 1, section 650.0107

5. 5At traverse station B the azimuth from B back to A is 212 degrees 14 minutes, and the angle to the right measured from A to C is 97 degrees 38 minutes. What is the azimuth from B to C?

   1. A. 309 degrees 52 minutes.
   2. B. 129 degrees 52 minutes.
   3. C. 114 degrees 36 minutes.
   4. D. 294 degrees 36 minutes.

   Answer: A

   Explanation: "The azimuth for each succeeding leg is then determined by adding the value of the measured angle at the occupied station to the value of the azimuth from the occupied station to the rear station." Here 212 degrees 14 minutes plus 97 degrees 38 minutes gives 309 degrees 52 minutes, which is under 360 degrees and so needs no reduction. Answer B subtracts 180 degrees unnecessarily, and answers C and D subtract the angle instead of adding it.

   Reference: Topographic Surveying — EM 1110-1-1005, Chapter 3, paragraph 3-10b

6. 6A request for a topographic survey arrives with a lump sum budget but no statement of the site conditions or the required accuracy. What does good planning practice call for before a cost is quoted?

   1. A. An advance site visit to assess the actual conditions and support a reliable time and cost estimate.
   2. B. A preliminary control survey to establish the project datum before the scope of work is written.
   3. C. A records search of the adjoining parcels to establish the limits within which work will be done.
   4. D. A photogrammetric flight to obtain an overview of the site before the ground crews are mobilized.

   Answer: A

   Explanation: "In many cases, an advance site visit may be needed in order to assess the actual conditions and provide a reliable budget estimate (time and cost) to the requesting agency." Control, records research, and imagery are all parts of the work being priced rather than the step that makes the price reliable.

   Reference: Topographic Surveying — EM 1110-1-1005, Chapter 6, paragraph 6-2

7. 7In a right triangle the side opposite an interior angle is 150.7 feet and the hypotenuse is 195.9 feet. What is that angle?

   1. A. 50.3 degrees.
   2. B. 39.7 degrees.
   3. C. 52.6 degrees.
   4. D. 37.6 degrees.

   Answer: A

   Explanation: "The primary trigonometric functions used by surveyors are the sine (sin), cosine (cos), and tangent (tan) along with the Pythagorean Theorem," with the sine of an angle equal to the opposite side over the hypotenuse. Here 150.7 divided by 195.9 is 0.7693, whose arcsine is 50.3 degrees. Answer B uses the cosine, which returns the other acute angle, and answers C and D come from taking the ratio of the opposite side to the adjacent side in each direction.

   Reference: Nrcs Efh Ch 1 Surveying — NRCS National Engineering Handbook, Part 650, Chapter 1, section 650.0108

8. 8A survey firm must choose between observing to a retroreflective prism and observing in reflectorless mode for work that demands the highest practical distance accuracy. What explains the accuracy penalty of the reflectorless mode?

   1. A. Accuracy is poorer because the reflecting terrain varies in texture, color, and orientation.
   2. B. Accuracy is poorer because the instrument omits the dual-axis compensator correction.
   3. C. Accuracy is poorer because the instrument reads the vertical circle at a coarser least count.
   4. D. Accuracy is poorer because the instrument omits the atmospheric scale correction.

   Answer: A

   Explanation: "Reflectorless accuracies are not as good as prism accuracies given the variability of the reflecting terrain, and may therefore may not be suitable for more accurate surveys such as FEMA first floor elevation certificates." The degradation comes from the reflecting surface itself. The compensator, the vertical circle resolution, and the atmospheric scale correction are unchanged when the prism is removed.

   Reference: Topographic Surveying — EM 1110-1-1005, Chapter 8, paragraph 8-3c (EDM range and accuracy)

9. 9A reviewer compares two areas of a topographic map. In one area the contour lines are packed tightly together, and in the other they are widely spaced. What does that difference in spacing show?

   1. A. The tightly spaced area is steep and the widely spaced area is relatively level.
   2. B. The tightly spaced area is level and the widely spaced area falls away steeply.
   3. C. The tightly spaced area was mapped at a smaller contour interval than the other area.
   4. D. The tightly spaced area was mapped from field survey and the other from photography.

   Answer: A

   Explanation: "Contours that are very close together represent steep slopes. Widely spaced contours or an absence of contours means that the ground slope is relatively level." A single map carries one contour interval stated in its margin, so the change in spacing reports a change in ground slope and not a change in interval or compilation method.

   Reference: Topographic Map Symbols — USGS 'Topographic Map Symbols', Reading Topographic Maps

10. 10While researching a retracement, a surveyor finds both an old photograph showing the monument in place and a neighbor's recollection of a fence that once ran to it. How are those two classes of evidence weighed?

    1. A. Direct evidence is given more weight than collateral evidence when both are present.
    2. B. Collateral evidence is given more weight than direct evidence when both are present.
    3. C. The two classes are weighed equally, and the more recent of the two prevails.
    4. D. The two classes are weighed equally, and the more detailed of the two prevails.

    Answer: A

    Explanation: "An obliterated corner position can be proven by substantial direct or collateral evidence. When both categories of evidence exist, direct evidence will be given more weight than collateral evidence." Recency and level of detail are not the tests; what matters is whether the evidence speaks to the monument itself or only to circumstances surrounding it.

    Reference: Manual of Surveying Instructions 2009 — Manual of Surveying Instructions 2009, section 6-17