The Elevation Factor equation EF = R/(R+H+N) implies what about distortion at high elevations?

The Elevation Factor equation EF = R/(R+H+N) implies what about distortion at high elevations?

• A. The factor approaches 1 as height increases
• B. The factor decreases as height increases
• C. The factor increases without bound as height increases
• D. The factor remains constant regardless of height

Answer: (A)

Elevation factor tells you how much a measurement is distorted by height and terrain when projecting distances on the curved Earth. The formula EF = R/(R+H+N) uses R as the Earth’s radius and H+N as the vertical components to be added to the radius. Because R is extremely large compared to typical elevations (H) and terrain effects (N), adding H and N hardly changes the value of the ratio from 1. In practical surveying, even as height increases, the denominator grows only a tiny bit relative to R, so EF stays very close to 1. That means distortions due to elevation are effectively minimal at higher elevations within normal surveying ranges. Only if height became an enormous fraction of the Earth’s radius would EF noticeably depart from 1.

Elevation factor tells you how much a measurement is distorted by height and terrain when projecting distances on the curved Earth. The formula EF = R/(R+H+N) uses R as the Earth’s radius and H+N as the vertical components to be added to the radius. Because R is extremely large compared to typical elevations (H) and terrain effects (N), adding H and N hardly changes the value of the ratio from 1. In practical surveying, even as height increases, the denominator grows only a tiny bit relative to R, so EF stays very close to 1. That means distortions due to elevation are effectively minimal at higher elevations within normal surveying ranges. Only if height became an enormous fraction of the Earth’s radius would EF noticeably depart from 1.