Unit 6 Review Questions

Question 1

The metes-and-bounds description was established by Congress in 1785 to standardize the description of land.

Answer 1

False. 
Why?
The rectangular survey system was established by Congress in 1785 to standardize the description of land.

Question 2

Township lines and base lines are parallel

Answer 2

True. 
Why?
Lines running east and west, parallel to the base line, and 6 miles apart, are called township lines.

Question 3

Principal meridians run east and west.

Answer 3

False. 
Why?
A principal meridian runs north and south, and base lines run east and west.

Question 4

A datum is a permanent reference point, which is usually found on an embossed brass marker set into a solid concrete or asphalt base.

Answer 4

False. 
Why?
A benchmark is a permanent reference point that is usually found on an embossed brass marker set into a solid concrete or asphalt base. It is used for marking datums, the point, line, or surface from which elevations are measured or indicated.

Question 5

Ranges are strips of land 6 miles wide that run parallel to the base line.

Answer 5

False. 
Why?
Ranges are strips of land 6 miles wide that run parallel to the principal meridian.

Question 6

Which of these MOST accurately describes the dimensions of a quarter-section?

Answer 6

½ mile by ½ mile

Why?

A section is 1 square mile.

Question 7

A man is willing to pay $1,200 per acre. He is planning to buy the SE ¼ of the SE ¼ of the SE ¼ of Section 11. How much will he pay for the land

Answer 7

12,000

Why?

The man paid $12,000:

¼ × 640 = 160

160 × ¼ = 40

40 × ¼ = 10 acres

10 acres × $1,200 = $12,000.

Question 8

For a parcel described under the lot-and-block method, the lot refers to the numerical designation of any particular parcel.

Answer 8

True. 
Why?
The lot-and-block (recorded plat) method of land description, which uses lot and block numbers referred to in a plat map and that indicates the location and boundaries of individual properties, is filed in the public records of the county where the land is located.

Question 9

Section 6 is always in the northeast, or upper-left, corner.

Answer 9

False. Section 6 is always in the northwest or upper-left corner.

Question 10

A man sells 6 acres of prime undeveloped property to a woman for $2.25 per square foot. How much did the woman pay?

Answer 10

The woman paid $588,060:

Why?

43,560 square feet × 6 = 261,360 square feet

261,360 square feet × $2.25 = $588,060

Question 11

Air lots, condominium descriptions, and other vertical measurements may be computed from the U.S. Geological Survey

Answer 11

The U.S. Geological Survey datum is

Why?

defined as the mean sea level at New York Harbor. A surveyor uses the datum to determine the height of a structure or to establish the grade of a street.

Question 12

When preparing a plat map of a new condominium, the surveyor shows the elevations of floor and ceiling surfaces.

Answer 12

True. 
Why?
The condominium laws passed in all states require that a registered land surveyor prepare a plat map that shows the elevations of floor and ceiling surfaces, and the vertical boundaries of each unit with reference to an official

Question 13

The basic units of the rectangular survey system are the

Answer 13

Township squares
Why?
are the basic units of the rectangular survey system. Principal meridians and base lines are the two sets of intersecting lines in the system. Ranges are the 6-mile strips of land on either side of a principal meridian.

Question 14

When the horizontal township lines and the vertical range lines intersect, they form township squares.

Answer 14

True. 
Why?
When the horizontal township lines and the vertical range lines intersect, they form township squares, which are the basic units of the rectangular survey system.

Question 15

The lot-and-block system starts with the preparation of

Answer 15

a subdivision plat.

Why?

The lot-and-block system starts with the preparation of a subdivision plat by a licensed surveyor or an engineer.

Question 16

A metes-and-bounds description is NOT required in rectangular survey system descriptions when

Answer 16

a tract is too large to be described by quarter sections.

Why?

Metes-and-bounds descriptions within the rectangular survey system usually occur when describing an irregular tract, when a tract is too small to be describe by quarter-sections, or when a tract does not follow the lot or block lines of a recorded subdivision or section, quarter-section lines, or other fractional section lines.

Question 17

In the past, a farm was typically a quarter section, or

Answer 17

160 acres.

Why?

A quarter of 640 acres is 160 acres.

Question 18

All of these systems are used to express a legal description EXCEPT

Answer 18

benchmarks.

Why?

A benchmark is a permanent reference point used as a reference for marking datums, not for expressing a legal description.

Question 19

How many acres are contained in a parcel described as follows: The NE ¼ of the NW ¼; the N ½ of the NW ¼, NE ¼, of Section 10?

Answer 19

60 acres

Why?

There are two parcels in this description denoted by the semicolon (;).

The first: ¼ × 640 = 160;

The second: ¼ × 640 = 160;

160 × ¼ = 40;

40 × ½ = 20.

40 + 20 = 60 acres.

Question 20

Every township contains 36 sections of 640 acres each.

Answer 20

True. 
Why?
Townships are 6 miles square and contain 36 square miles. They are further subdivided into 36 sections, each containing 640 acres.

Question 21

Air lots are composed of the airspace within specific boundaries located over a parcel of land.

Answer 21

True. 
Why?
In the same way land may be measured and divided into parcels, the air may also be divided; air lots are composed of the airspace within specific boundaries located over a parcel of land.

Question 22

What is the square footage for this property described by the metes-and-bounds method? Beginning at a point on the southerly side of Smith Street, 200 feet easterly from the corner formed by the intersection of the southerly side of Smith Street and the easterly side of Johnson Street; then east 200 feet; then south 100 feet; then west 200 feet; then north 100 feet to the POB.

Answer 22

20,000 square feet

Why?

The property is 200 × 100 = 20,000 square feet.

Question 23

In the metes-and-bounds method, a monument may be either a natural object or a human-made marker.

Answer 23

True. 
Why?
The oldest type of legal description is metes and bounds, which relies on a property’s physical features to determine the boundaries and measurements of the parcel. It may include natural and artificial landmarks called monuments.

Question 24

Which township section number is directly north of Section 7?

Answer 24

Section 1

Why?

A township is numbered in an S fashion: 1 through 6, right to left; and 7 to 12, left to right. Section 7 is directly south of Section 6.

Question 25

The end of a metes-and-bounds land description is always a

Answer 25

point of beginning.

Why?
A metes-and-bounds description must always begin and end at the point of beginning, thus encircling the described property.