Legal Descriptions- Real Estate Flashcards
An acre of land contains:
a. 640 sections
b. 208.71 square feet.
c. 43,560 square feet
d. 5,280 square feet
c. 43,560 square feet
Correct! An acre of land contains 43,560 square feet. An acre of land does NOT contain 640 sections, but a section does contain 640 acres of land. A section is one-mile square and contains one square mile. A mile is 5,280 feet in length. A square acre of land has 208.71 feet on each side.
Basic methods used in legal descriptions of land include all of the following EXCEPT:
a. Lot and Block
b. Metes and Bounds
c. Aerial Photograph
d. Government Survey
c. Aerial Photograph
Correct! Aerial Photograph or Survey is not an accepted method for legal descriptions of land.
A government check is described by all of the following EXCEPT:
a. Contains 16 townships
b. Corrects the north-south line by 200 feet in each government check.
c. Contains 24 miles
d. Is used as a north-south correction due to the curvature of the earth
c. Contains 24 miles
Correct! A government check is 24 miles square. It contains much more than 24 miles. The other three answer choices properly describe a government check.
A government check is described by all of the following EXCEPT:
a. Contains 24 miles
b. Corrects the north-south line by 200 feet in each government check.
c. Contains 16 townships
d. Is used as a north-south correction due to the curvature of the earth
a. Contains 24 miles
Correct! A government check is 24 miles square. It contains much more than 24 miles. The other three answer choices properly describe a government check.
The S1/2 of NW1/4 of SE1/4 of SW1/4 of NW1/4 of a section contains:
a. 2 1/2 acres
b. 1 1/4 acres
c. 5 acres
d. 10 acres
b. 1 1/4 acres
Correct! Multiply the denominators of the fractions in the legal description and divide 640 acres by the product of the multiplication process (512). The 512 is computed as follows 2 X 4 X 4 X 4 X4 equals 512. 640 acres divided by 512 equals 1 1/2 acres.
A square mile contains how many acres?
a. 640
b. 160
c. 320
d. 43,560
a. 640
Correct! A square mile is a Section and a section contains 640 acres.
A township was divided by a straight line from the NW corner of Section 6 to the SE corner of Section 36; each of the two parcels contains how many acres?
a. 320
b. 23,040
c. 1,320
d. 11,520
d. 11,520
Correct! The line from the NW corner of Section 6 and the SE corner of Section 36 divides the township in half. A section of land contains 640 acres and since the line is dividing the township in half each half has the acreage of 18 sections. There are 36 sections in a township so one half equals 18. The amount of acres is determined by multiplying 18 times 640 resulting in the answer of 11,520.
The shortest distance between Sections 6 and 19 of the same township would be:
a. 5 miles
b. 2 miles
c. 4 miles
d. 3 miles
b. 2 miles
Correct! To be sure that you get the correct answer draw and number the sections in a township. Then remember that each section is one-mile square and count the number of the section between number 9 and 12. You should get two miles.
Correction lines are 24 miles apart and were originated to:
a. Make Township lines even.
b. Overcome surveyor’s mistakes
c. Make the township lines accurate
d. Overcome the effect of the earth’s curvature
d. Overcome the effect of the earth’s curvature
A parcel of land described as the NW1/4 of the SW1/4 of Section 6, Township 3N Range 4E of the G&SRB&M sold for $4,500 an acre. The sales price was:
a. $180,000
b. $720,000
c. $1,440,000
d. $900,000
a. $180,000
Correct! The legal description represents 40 acres of land so the sales price is $180,000 (40 times $4,500).
Horizontal rows of townships are known as:
a. Tiers
b. Parallels
c. Layers
d. Ranges
a. Tiers
Correct! Tiers run east and west (horizontal like the horizon), but they measure north and south from the baseline.
Sections in a regular township include all of the following EXCEPT:
a. Contain 640 acres
b. Contain 6 square miles
c. They are numbered 1 through 36
d. Contain 1 square mile
b. Contain 6 square miles
Correct! Sections contain one square mile. A township is six miles square and contains 36 square miles.
Part of a legal description reads “T6NR3W”. The south boundary of the township so described would be how far north of the baseline?
a. 30 miles
b. 42 miles
c. 36 miles
d. 6 miles
a. 30 miles
Correct! Each tier from the baseline is six miles wide. The south boundary of T6N would be the start of the sixth tier from the base line so the distance would be computed as 5 tiers times six miles or 30 miles from the baseline.
Which sections are contiguous to Section 18 of a township?
a. 5 and 14
b. 13 and 20
c. 7 and 30
d. 5 and 16
b. 13 and 20
Correct! Contiguous means touching another section, even if only at the corner and you must also consider the section number of the bordering township. Therefore, the only answer where both sections given in the answer choice touch Section 18 is answer choice 13 and 20. Section 13 is in the next township to the west of Section 18
A plat map shows all of the following EXCEPT:
a. Water and electric availability
b. Streets
c. Location of the total parcel
d. Lots and lot size
a. Water and electric availability
Correct!
