FOREST SURVEYING & MAPPING (FRSC 2235)
Fall 2014
Credit Hours: 4
INSTRUCTOR:
Dr. Renaldo J. Arroyo
Room 124, Yow F/W Bldg. (office hours are posted by
door)
E-Mail: rarroyo@abac.edu
CLASSROOM:
YOW 111
DAYS & TIME:
Lecture MWF 11-11:50
Lab Tuesday or Thursday 10-11:50
PREREQUISITES:
MATH 1001
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
An introduction to land surveying, map preparation and
map interpretation. Topics included are: surveying
terminology, distance and area measurement, surveying
methods and equipment use (including GPS technology),
basic map drafting techniques, coordinate systems, and
rectangular systems for land referencing.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
This is an introductory course in elementary land surveying,
map preparation, and map interpretation.
Upon completion of this course, the student should know
the following:

Specific terminology associated with the disciplines of
land surveying and cartography.

Systems used for land referencing (latitude/longitude,
state plane coordinates, UTM coordinates, land lot/land
district, U.S. Public Land Survey System).

Proper use of woods surveying equipment (hand
compass, GPS units) and basic drafting equipment.

Techniques for distance and area measurement.

An introduction to GIS mapping techniques.
Be comfortable with going into and returning from the
forest to conduct all aspects of forest inventory.
TEXTBOOK:
None
SUPPLIES:
Calculator; highlighter pen; 3-ring binder
GRADES:
Possible Points
Two lecture exams
Final exam
Lab exercises
Total
Grade
A
B
C
D
F
ATTENDANCE:
400
350
250
1000
Points
900-1000
800-899
700-799
600-699
<600
Attendance will be taken on a daily basis. If absent, it is
the student’s responsibility to obtain the information that
was missed. Make-up exams will only be given when an
absence is excused (in advance by the instructor) or when
the absence is due to a documented medical emergency (not
ordinary doctor’s appointments or other personal
obligations). Students are allowed 6 absences throughout
the semester.
The School of Agriculture and Natural Resources
attendance policy is that any student who is late to class is
absent for that class period. Anything beyond that will
result in an “F” for the course.
COURSE TOPICS
_
I.
Introduction
II.
Errors, Precision and Accuracy
III.
Measurement of Distance & Direction
IV.
Land Referencing Systems & Coordinate Systems
V.
Traversing
VI.
Global Positioning System
VII.
Real Estate Law
Additional Lab Topics:
Drafting equipment use
Plotting deed descriptions (traverses)
Measurement of distance, direction, slope %,
and acreage from USGS topographic maps
_________________________________________________________________________
FRSC 2235
Drafting Equipment List
Engineer’s Scale (10, 20, 30, 40, 50, & 60 graduations per inch)
Protractor (semi-circular, 6”, with ½° graduations)
Eraser (soft, white)
Drafting tape
Laboratory Exercises:
Labs are designed to give you practical experience in quantitative methods, field
techniques, and synthesis through report writing. Lab procedures will be handed out. It is
mandatory to read through the procedure prior to the lab period so you know what to do before
arriving in the field. This is necessary in order to have enough time to complete your
measurements.
It is not possible to make-up missed labs. Students can be late for only 1 lab. After 1, late
students will not be allowed to participate in lab for that day. No exceptions!
Labs will be conducted outdoors. Wear appropriate clothing, use bug spray, and be
prepared for adverse weather conditions.
Conduct and Academic Honesty:




No cell phone usage is allowed during class. They must be out of sight during the entire class
period.
Use of tobacco is not allowed in the classrooms or labs.
Drinks may be brought into class as long as the have a lid.
Students are responsible reading ABAC’s academic honesty policies.
The academic honesty policy for this course is ZERO TOLERANCE. Students that cheat on
exams or any assignment will be subject to disciplinary action.
COLLEGE POLICY ON CLASS ATTENDANCE
Courses at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College are provided for the intellectual growth and
development of students. The interaction with instructors and other students is an important element
of the learning process, and a high correlation exists between class attendance and course grades.
Therefore, to attain maximum success, students should attend all their classes, be on time, and attend
all scheduled course activities. Absence from class, for whatever reason, does not excuse a student
from full responsibility for class work or assignments missed. Students must accept this
responsibility.
COLLEGE POLICY ON LEARNING DISABILITIES
The Student Development Center is the official office to provide disability services at ABAC. If
you have a documented disability that may require assistance, contact the Student Development
Center for coordination of any necessary academic accommodations. The Center is located on
the 2nd floor of the J. Lamar Branch Student Center. The phone number is 229-391-5135. The
Center’s web address is www.abac.edu/sdc.
ACADEMIC SUPPORT CENTER
The Academic Support Center, located on the ground floor of the Carlton Center includes
various departments, all of which center around academics at ABAC. The Academic Support
Center consists of the following: Student Development, Tutoring (Math, Writing and Reading),
Academic Testing and Learning Support. In addition, the Center has Academic Support
Counselors available for all current ABAC students’ academic needs, which include but are not
limited to: dropping/adding a class, completing ABAC withdrawals, transient permission, and
supplemental academic advising.
Student Development encompasses Counseling, Career Development Counseling and
Placement, Disability Services, National and Distance Learning Testing, ADA Compliance, and
Undeclared Advising.
Learning Support is a program of courses and advisement to help build the foundational skills
needed for success in college-level courses. COMPASS placement and exit testing is provided,
as well as test preparation programs. The director serves as the central advising resource for all
Learning Support students.
Tutoring services are available at no cost to all ABAC students. Tutoring in Mathematics and
English are provided on a drop-in basis. Students should check each term for tutoring schedules
for all other courses. Writing tutors serve the needs of student writers across the curriculum.
Students receive assistance with all aspects of writing, from developing a thesis to reviewing a
draft. Math tutoring is provided for all levels of math courses from developmental through
calculus.
FOREST RESOURCES POLICY ON PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism, in its broadest sense, is defined as presenting someone else’s words and ideas as your
own, or taking credit for someone else’s work. The most flagrant plagiarism offenses are when a
student simply copies and pastes sentences or paragraphs from another author’s publication
without properly citing or giving credit to that author. Even when a student paraphrases, writes
in their own words, content from an existing publication, failure to properly cite that publication
also constitutes plagiarism. In scientific writing, the definition of plagiarism also includes the
failure of a student to paraphrase the information found in another publication even when that
source is cited.
Technically, direct quotes from a publication can be presented in quotation marks. However, the
use of quotes in an original paper is highly discouraged in scientific writing, since the frequent
use of direct quotes does not constitute a student actually writing their own paper. Writing
assignments are important in the wildlife and forestry programs because they allow the students
to demonstrate their ability to read, comprehend, and compile information in an original and
intelligible manner. Being able to effectively assimilate and communicate knowledge in written
form are essential skills for any job in natural resources. Therefore, it is crucial that any
assignment turned in by a student be completely original and in their own words.
Many of our courses have class and lab projects in which students are working in groups. Even
though data is often collected as a group and shared among group members, unless specifically
stated by the instructor in writing, any written reports resulting from such projects are to be
independently written by each student. This means that any written content, graphs, and tables
should be original and unique for each student. If any of a report’s content is identical or
sufficiently similar, then that would also constitute plagiarism among all of the involved
students, which is why you should never let someone copy an assignment or report.
Plagiarism is a form of cheating, and cheating of any type, including plagiarism and making up data,
will not be tolerated. Any form of plagiarism observed by the instructor, or reported by a classmate
and substantiated by physical evidence, will result in automatic withdrawal from the course and a
grade of F will be assigned. Also, further disciplinary action may follow.