Free Principles and Practice of Surveying (PS) Exam Practice Questions

Sample Practice Questions

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

1. 1A retracement crew computes the record position of a section corner from two recovered original corners on the same line, excavates at that position, and finds nothing. Under the 2009 BLM Manual of Surveying Instructions, how far should the final search for the original monument extend?

   1. A. Over the zone surrounding the one, two, three, or four points determined by connection with known corners
   2. B. Over the zone lying within the limits of closure allowed for the original survey of that township
   3. C. Over the zone lying within the index correction computed for the original survey of that line
   4. D. Over the zone lying within one chain of the single computed record position on that line

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The Manual describes the search zone in terms of connections to known corners: "The final search for a monument should cover the zone surrounding one, two, three, or four points determined by connection with known corners. These corners will ultimately control the relocation in case the corner being searched for is declared lost." Limits of closure (a tolerance for the original survey work) and an index correction (an allowance for demonstrable systematic error in the original measurements) are both real Manual concepts, but neither defines the extent of the search, and the Manual sets no fixed one-chain radius.

   Reference: Manual of Surveying Instructions 2009 — 2009 Manual of Surveying Instructions, sec. 6-12

2. 2The 2021 Minimum Standard Detail Requirements require the surveyor to be provided with certain documents from the public records. How do the standards identify the records that qualify as public records for this purpose?

   1. A. Records established under state statutes for the purpose of imparting constructive notice of matters relating to real property
   2. B. Records maintained by the recorder of the county in which the surveyed property is located and open to inspection by the public
   3. C. Records identified by the title insurer as the records it searched in preparing the commitment furnished to the surveyor
   4. D. Records that are indexed by grantor and grantee and that can be obtained without payment of a search or copying fee

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The standards define the class functionally rather than by which office holds it: the surveyor must be provided with "The following documents from records established under state statutes for the purpose of imparting constructive notice of matters relating to real property (public records)". Whether a particular office is a county recorder, how its indexes are arranged, whether fees apply, and what the insurer happened to search are all incidental to the constructive-notice test the standards use.

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

3. 3On an ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey where physical access is not restricted, within what distance of the boundary lines must walls, buildings, fences and other improvements observed during the fieldwork be located?

   1. A. Within five feet of each side of the boundary lines
   2. B. Within ten feet of each side of the boundary lines
   3. C. Within five feet inside the boundary lines only
   4. D. Within two feet of each side of the boundary lines

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The fieldwork requirement for lines of possession reads: "Unless physical access is restricted, the character and location of all walls, buildings, fences, and other improvements within five feet of each side of the boundary lines observed in the process of conducting the fieldwork." Ten feet is the distance the same standards use for utility poles and related evidence of utilities, and the five-foot band runs on both sides of the line rather than inside it only.

   Reference: 2021_Standards_20201030_FINAL — 2021 Minimum Standard Detail Requirements for ALTA/NSPS Land Title Surveys, Sec. 5.C.ii.

4. 4A survey crew must enter a 6-foot-deep excavation cut in ordinary clay soil to set an offset stake. Under 29 CFR 1926.652, when may employees be in that excavation without a protective system designed under the standard?

   1. A. Never, because the exception applies only to stable rock or excavations less than 5 feet deep examined by a competent person
   2. B. Whenever the sides have been sloped at a ratio determined from the soil type table in the appendix to the standard
   3. C. Whenever the excavation will be open for less than one working shift and is backfilled the same day
   4. D. Whenever a competent person examines the ground and finds no indication of a potential cave-in, at any depth

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The standard requires cave-in protection with two narrow exceptions: "Each employee in an excavation shall be protected from cave-ins by an adequate protective system designed in accordance with paragraph (b) or (c) of this section except when: (i) Excavations are made entirely in stable rock; or (ii) Excavations are less than 5 feet (1.52m) in depth and examination of the ground by a competent person provides no indication of a potential cave-in." Sloping from the appendix tables is itself one of the permitted protective systems rather than an exemption from having one; duration of exposure is not a factor; and the competent-person examination exempts only excavations under five feet.

   Reference: OSHA 1926 Subpart P — 29 CFR 1926.652(a)(1)

5. 5A client selects the Table A zoning item on an ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey and asks the surveyor to research the applicable ordinance and list the current zoning classification, setbacks, height limits and parking requirements. Under the 2021 Minimum Standard Detail Requirements, on what does the surveyor's obligation to list those items depend?

   1. A. That they are set forth in a zoning report or letter provided to the surveyor by the client or the client's representative
   2. B. That they are set forth in the ordinance in force on the date the fieldwork for the survey was completed
   3. C. That they are confirmed in writing by the zoning authority for the jurisdiction in which the property lies
   4. D. That they are disclosed in the title commitment or other title evidence furnished to the surveyor by the insurer

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The optional item conditions the listing on a document supplied to the surveyor: "If the current zoning classification, setback requirements, the height and floor space area restrictions, and parking requirements specific to the surveyed property are set forth in a zoning report or letter provided to the surveyor by the client or the client’s designated representative, list the above items on the plat or map and identify the date and source of the report or letter." The item therefore does not ask the surveyor to interpret the ordinance, obtain confirmation from the authority, or work from the title evidence.

   Reference: 2021_Standards_20201030_FINAL — 2021 Minimum Standard Detail Requirements for ALTA/NSPS Land Title Surveys, Table A, Item 6(a)

6. 6The original field notes for a quarter-section corner call for a marked stone with two bearing trees. The retracement crew is beginning its search for the stone. Under the 2009 BLM Manual of Surveying Instructions, what must that search include?

   1. A. A simultaneous search for the corner accessories called for in the original record
   2. B. A simultaneous search for the closing corners on the nearest standard parallel
   3. C. A simultaneous search for the meander corners established in that section
   4. D. A simultaneous search for the state boundary monuments nearest that section

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The Manual couples the search for a monument with the search for the marks that reference it: "The search for the original monument must include a simultaneous search for its accessories." Bearing trees are corner accessories. Closing corners, meander corners and state boundary monuments are all monuments the Manual treats elsewhere, but none of them is an accessory of the quarter-section corner being sought, and the Manual attaches no simultaneous-search requirement to them.

   Reference: Manual of Surveying Instructions 2009 — 2009 Manual of Surveying Instructions, sec. 6-12

7. 7An ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey adjoins two tracts: one is an unplatted parcel, the other is a lot in a recorded subdivision. Under the 2021 Minimum Standard Detail Requirements, how must each adjoining tract be identified on the plat?

   1. A. The unplatted tract by recording data and, where available, tax parcel number; the platted tract by the recording data of the subdivision plat
   2. B. Both tracts by the recording data of the instrument that last conveyed them, together with the current owner's name from the tax records
   3. C. The unplatted tract by the recording data of the subdivision plat; the platted tract by recording data and, where available, tax parcel number
   4. D. Both tracts by tax parcel number only, since recording data for adjoiners is required only where a gap or overlap is found

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The standards distinguish the two cases: "For non-platted adjoining land, recording data and, where available, tax parcel number, identifying adjoining tracts according to current public records. For platted adjoining land, the recording data of the subdivision plat." Adjoining owners' names from current tax records are a separate optional Table A item rather than part of this requirement, and the two cases are not interchangeable.

   Reference: 2021_Standards_20201030_FINAL — 2021 Minimum Standard Detail Requirements for ALTA/NSPS Land Title Surveys, Sec. 6.C.vi.

8. 8The 2021 Minimum Standard Detail Requirements list four sources of uncertainty in the location of boundary lines and corners established or retraced on an ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey. Which of the four is described as the only controllable one?

   1. A. Relative Positional Precision
   2. B. Ambiguities in the record descriptions or plats
   3. C. Occupation or possession lines differing from title lines
   4. D. The availability, condition, history and integrity of controlling monuments

   Answer: A

   Explanation: After listing the four sources the standards state: "Of these four sources of uncertainty, only Relative Positional Precision is controllable, although, due to the inherent errors in any measurement, it cannot be eliminated. The magnitude of the first three uncertainties can be projected based on evidence; Relative Positional Precision is estimated using statistical means." The other three are the first three of that same list, and the standards treat them as conditions the surveyor must weigh rather than conditions the surveyor can control.

   Reference: 2021_Standards_20201030_FINAL — 2021 Minimum Standard Detail Requirements for ALTA/NSPS Land Title Surveys, Sec. 3.E.ii.

9. 9A utility trench 5 feet deep and 400 feet long is being staked. Under 29 CFR 1926.651, what means of egress must be provided, and how must it be spaced?

   1. A. A stairway, ladder, ramp or other safe means of egress, requiring no more than 25 feet of lateral travel
   2. B. A stairway, ladder, ramp or other safe means of egress, requiring no more than 50 feet of lateral travel
   3. C. A structural ramp designed by a registered professional engineer, at each end of the trench
   4. D. A stairway or ladder at intervals not exceeding the depth of the trench multiplied by ten

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The standard sets both the depth trigger and the travel distance: "A stairway, ladder, ramp or other safe means of egress shall be located in trench excavations that are 4 feet (1.22 m) or more in depth so as to require no more than 25 feet (7.62 m) of lateral travel for employees." Structural ramps used for access or egress by employees must be designed by a competent person rather than necessarily a registered professional engineer, and the standard sets a fixed travel distance rather than a multiple of the depth.

   Reference: OSHA 1926 Subpart P — 29 CFR 1926.651(c)(2)

10. 10A client selects the Table A underground utility item on an ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey and the surveyor places a private utility locate request, but the response received is incomplete. Under the 2021 Minimum Standard Detail Requirements, what must the surveyor do?

    1. A. Note on the plat how the incomplete response affected the assessment of the location of the utilities
    2. B. Note on the plat that the item could not be completed and treat the item as withdrawn by the client
    3. C. Advise the client that excavation is necessary and defer delivery until the locate is completed
    4. D. Rely instead on the observed surface evidence of utilities and omit any reference to the locate

    Answer: A

    Explanation: The note to the Table A utility item anticipates exactly this outcome: "in some jurisdictions, 811 or other similar utility locate requests from surveyors may be ignored or result in an incomplete response, in which case the surveyor shall note on the plat or map how this affected the surveyor’s assessment of the location of the utilities." The same note advises the client that excavation may be necessary where more detailed information is required, but it does not make the item withdrawn, delay delivery, or permit the locate effort to go unmentioned.

    Reference: 2021_Standards_20201030_FINAL — 2021 Minimum Standard Detail Requirements for ALTA/NSPS Land Title Surveys, Table A, Item 11 and the accompanying note