Registered Professional Land Surveyor (RPLS) - Principles and Practice of Surveying (PS) — Questions and Answers

Question 1: During a pre-construction survey project, which document BEST formalizes the agreed-upon scope, schedule, and fee between the surveying firm and the client?

An informal email from the client
A verbal agreement witnessed by a third party
A signed professional services agreement or contract (Correct answer)
A social media message from the client

Correct answer: A signed professional services agreement or contract

A signed professional services agreement is the legally binding document that defines scope, deliverables, timeline, fees, and responsibilities for both parties.

Question 2: When performing a closure check on a traverse, what does a closure ratio of 1:5,000 indicate?

The traverse has 5,000 redundant measurements
For every 5,000 units measured, there is 1 unit of linear error (Correct answer)
The traverse meets first-order accuracy standards
The angular closure error is 5,000 seconds

Correct answer: For every 5,000 units measured, there is 1 unit of linear error

A closure ratio of 1:5,000 means there is one unit of linear misclosure for every 5,000 units of total traverse length.

Question 3: When balancing a traverse by the Compass Rule (Bowditch), corrections are distributed proportionally to what?

The length of each course relative to the total traverse perimeter (Correct answer)
The observed angle at each station
The square of each course length
The departure and latitude of each course equally

Correct answer: The length of each course relative to the total traverse perimeter

The Compass Rule distributes the closure error proportionally to each course's length relative to the total perimeter, assuming errors are random.

Question 4: What is the minimum number of GPS satellites required for a standard 3D position fix?

6
4 (Correct answer)
5
3

Correct answer: 4

Four satellites are required for a 3D position fix because three determine XYZ position and the fourth resolves the receiver clock error.

Question 5: A traverse with a linear closure of 1:10,000 means:

The error of closure is 1 unit for every 10,000 units traversed (Correct answer)
The allowable misclosure is 0.001 feet per station
The traverse closes within 10,000 feet
The angular error is 1 second per 10,000 feet

Correct answer: The error of closure is 1 unit for every 10,000 units traversed

A precision ratio of 1:10,000 indicates that the linear error of closure is 1 unit for every 10,000 units of total traverse length.

Question 6: The FGDC Geospatial Positioning Accuracy Standards define accuracy in terms of:

The standard deviation of all measurements in the survey
The maximum allowable closure ratio for any traverse
The mean positional error relative to a local benchmark
The 95% confidence circle radius of horizontal positions relative to the datum (Correct answer)

Correct answer: The 95% confidence circle radius of horizontal positions relative to the datum

FGDC standards express horizontal accuracy as the radius of a circle centered at the true position within which 95% of tested points fall, referenced to the national datum.

Question 7: Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Subtitle C, which classification best describes waste that is regulated as hazardous?

Radioactive waste from nuclear power plants and medical facilities
All waste generated by facilities subject to EPA industrial stormwater permits
Any solid waste generated by a manufacturing facility regardless of its chemical composition
Waste that is listed by EPA or exhibits ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, or toxicity characteristics (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Waste that is listed by EPA or exhibits ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, or toxicity characteristics

RCRA Subtitle C regulates listed hazardous wastes and characteristic hazardous wastes that exhibit ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, or toxicity.

Question 8: What is the SOAP format used for in documentation?

Categorizing cleaning supplies
Rating patient satisfaction scores
Scheduling staff assignments
Organizing clinical notes into Subjective, Objective, Assessment, and Plan sections (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Organizing clinical notes into Subjective, Objective, Assessment, and Plan sections

SOAP format provides a structured approach to clinical documentation: Subjective data, Objective findings, Assessment, and Plan.

Question 9: A surveyor's professional liability (E&O) insurance is MOST relevant to project management because it:

Covers injuries to field crew members
Pays for equipment replacement
Protects against financial losses from professional errors and omissions in delivered work (Correct answer)
Covers client non-payment disputes

Correct answer: Protects against financial losses from professional errors and omissions in delivered work

E&O insurance specifically covers claims arising from mistakes or omissions in the professional services delivered, protecting the firm from resulting financial damages.

Question 10: A firm employs a licensed RPLS who signs and seals surveys they have not personally supervised. This practice is known as:

Delegation
Responsible charge
Sub-licensing
Plan stamping or rubber-stamping (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Plan stamping or rubber-stamping

Signing and sealing work the licensee did not supervise is called plan stamping and constitutes a serious ethical and legal violation.

Question 11: In a traverse computation, the angular closure error is distributed equally among all angles. This method is called:

Compass rule adjustment
Bowditch adjustment
Equal angular distribution (Correct answer)
Least squares adjustment

Correct answer: Equal angular distribution

Equal angular distribution divides the total angular closure error equally among all measured angles in the traverse.

Question 12: Under the doctrine of acquiescence, neighboring landowners may establish a binding boundary line by:

Filing a joint deed with the county recorder
Obtaining a court order confirming the line
Having a licensed surveyor monument the agreed line
Mutually recognizing and treating a line as the boundary for the statutory period (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Mutually recognizing and treating a line as the boundary for the statutory period

Acquiescence occurs when adjoining owners mutually recognize and treat a line as their common boundary for the period required by state statute.

Question 13: A surveyor re-measures a distance three times and gets 100.02, 100.03, and 100.01 feet. What is the most probable value?

100.025 ft
100.01 ft
100.02 ft (Correct answer)
100.03 ft

Correct answer: 100.02 ft

The arithmetic mean (100.02 + 100.03 + 100.01) / 3 = 100.02 ft is the most probable value for a series of direct measurements.

Question 14: In a standard PLSS township, where is Section 1 located?

Northwest corner
Southeast corner
Northeast corner (Correct answer)
Southwest corner

Correct answer: Northeast corner

Section 1 is always located in the northeast corner of the township, with numbering proceeding westward and then snaking southward in a boustrophedon pattern.

Question 15: Which environmental law requires federal agencies to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for major federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment?

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (Correct answer)
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
Clean Air Act

Correct answer: National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

NEPA requires federal agencies to assess and disclose the environmental impacts of proposed major federal actions through an Environmental Assessment or Environmental Impact Statement.

Question 16: A 'gap' in the public land survey system refers to:

An unintentional space between two adjoining parcels not conveyed to either (Correct answer)
A closing error in a traverse calculation
Land reserved by the federal government
An area of unsurveyed public land

Correct answer: An unintentional space between two adjoining parcels not conveyed to either

A gap is an area of land left between two conveyances that was not included in either deed, creating a parcel with no recorded owner.

Question 17: In photogrammetric ground control, 'check points' differ from 'control points' in that check points are used to:

Tie adjacent flight strips together
Define the exterior orientation of aerial imagery
Establish the vertical datum for the project
Independently verify the accuracy of the adjusted block rather than constrain the adjustment (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Independently verify the accuracy of the adjusted block rather than constrain the adjustment

Check points are withheld from the photogrammetric adjustment and compared against adjusted output to provide an independent accuracy assessment of the final product.

Question 18: According to ALTA/NSPS Standards, a surveyor must report any evidence of recent earth-moving work observed during fieldwork. This requirement relates to which QC principle?

Boundary conflict resolution
Complete and accurate documentation of field observations (Correct answer)
Horizontal accuracy verification
Compliance with local zoning ordinances

Correct answer: Complete and accurate documentation of field observations

ALTA/NSPS requires surveyors to document and report field observations that could affect the survey's reliability, including signs of recent disturbance.

Question 19: In most U.S. jurisdictions, which party bears the burden of proof in a quiet title action?

The defendant must prove superior title
The plaintiff must prove title by a preponderance of the evidence (Correct answer)
The government must certify the chain of title
The surveyor of record must testify as to boundary locations

Correct answer: The plaintiff must prove title by a preponderance of the evidence

A plaintiff in a quiet title action bears the burden of establishing their own title rather than relying solely on weaknesses in the defendant's claim.

Question 20: Which statistical measure describes the spread of repeated observations around their mean value?

Root mean square residual
Mean absolute error
Standard deviation (Correct answer)
Probable error

Correct answer: Standard deviation

Standard deviation (σ) quantifies the dispersion of individual observations about the mean and is the fundamental measure of precision.

Question 21: Which action by a surveyor constitutes improper risk transfer that could expose them to additional liability?

Requiring client indemnification for information provided by third parties
Carrying professional liability insurance
Relying entirely on an unlicensed subcontractor to perform all field observations without oversight (Correct answer)
Including a limitation of liability clause in the contract

Correct answer: Relying entirely on an unlicensed subcontractor to perform all field observations without oversight

Delegating field observation to an unlicensed subcontractor without licensed supervision violates state licensure laws and creates rather than transfers liability.

Question 22: When using a total station, what is the purpose of 'face left' and 'face right' observations?

To calibrate the EDM distance measurement
To measure horizontal angles twice for redundancy
To eliminate systematic instrumental errors by averaging both face readings (Correct answer)
To check that the tribrach is level

Correct answer: To eliminate systematic instrumental errors by averaging both face readings

Observing on both faces (direct and reverse) cancels out collimation, horizontal axis, and other systematic errors in the instrument.

Question 23: Which type of survey document is specifically used to resolve conflicting ownership claims by graphically depicting deed overlaps and gaps?

Boundary retracement survey plat
ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey
Subdivision plat
Gap and overlap analysis exhibit (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Gap and overlap analysis exhibit

A gap and overlap analysis exhibit is prepared to visually illustrate where ownership claims derived from separate deeds conflict, aiding in legal resolution.

Question 24: Under ASPRS Accuracy Standards for Digital Geospatial Data (2014), the Vertical Accuracy Class is defined using which statistical measure?

Maximum absolute error
95th percentile error
RMSEz (Root Mean Square Error of vertical component) (Correct answer)
Standard deviation of the mean

Correct answer: RMSEz (Root Mean Square Error of vertical component)

ASPRS 2014 standards define vertical accuracy classes based on RMSEz, the root mean square error of the vertical component.

Question 25: What is the purpose of the 'check shot' in a control survey network?

A back-azimuth observation to verify instrument orientation
A reading taken at the start of each day to zero the instrument
A foresight taken to the next benchmark in differential leveling
An independent measurement to an already-known point to verify data quality before relying on new control (Correct answer)

Correct answer: An independent measurement to an already-known point to verify data quality before relying on new control

A check shot verifies the survey by measuring to a known point whose coordinates are independently established, confirming no blunders have been introduced.

Question 26: Which methodology uses the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle?

Lean Manufacturing exclusively
Statistical Process Control only
Root Cause Elimination
Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI)

The PDSA cycle is a cornerstone of CQI methodology, providing a structured approach to testing and implementing changes.

Question 27: In the hierarchy of hazard controls, which method offers the highest level of worker protection?

Elimination of the hazard (Correct answer)
Administrative controls
Engineering controls
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Correct answer: Elimination of the hazard

Elimination removes the hazard entirely and is the most effective control; PPE is the last resort and offers the least reliable protection.

Question 28: The term 'color of title' in adverse possession law refers to:

A court judgment establishing possessory rights
A deed that has been recorded in color-coded survey maps
A title insurance policy that covers boundary disputes
A written instrument that appears to convey title but is defective in some legal respect (Correct answer)

Correct answer: A written instrument that appears to convey title but is defective in some legal respect

Color of title is a written instrument — such as a defective deed — that gives the appearance of conveying title even though it is legally insufficient.

Question 29: In the PLSS, 'ranges' are numbered east and west from which reference line?

The guide meridian
The principal meridian (Correct answer)
The standard parallel
The baseline

Correct answer: The principal meridian

Ranges are numbered east and west from the principal meridian, a north-south line that defines the east-west origin of the PLSS grid.

Question 30: A land surveyor discovers during fieldwork that actual conditions differ significantly from the scope assumed in the proposal. The CORRECT action is to:

Notify the client promptly, document changed conditions, and negotiate a scope adjustment (Correct answer)
Continue work silently and hope the client does not notice cost overruns
Stop work immediately and walk off the project without notice
Falsify field notes to match original assumptions

Correct answer: Notify the client promptly, document changed conditions, and negotiate a scope adjustment

Prompt written notification and documented changed conditions allow for transparent renegotiation, maintaining professional and contractual integrity.

Registered Professional Land Surveyor (RPLS) - Principles and Practice of Surveying (PS)

The NCEES Principles and Practice of Surveying (PS) exam is required for professional land surveyor licensure, assessing competency in legal principles, professional survey practice, standards and specifications, business practices, and applied survey methods including boundary, control, construction, and topographic surveys.

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40 min

Time Limit

70%

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