For a second-order geodetic control network established by traverse, the position closure after azimuth adjustment should be at least as good as which ratio?

• A. 1:100,000
• B. 1:50,000
• C. 1:20,000
• D. 1:10,000

Answer: (B)

When you adjust a traverse-based geodetic network, the position closure measures how close the computed end position is to the starting point after the adjustment. After azimuths are adjusted, the angular information is integrated into a least-squares solution that distributes errors across the whole network. For a second-order control network, the standard tolerance for this closure is about one part in fifty thousand of the network’s length. This means the remaining misclosure should be no worse than 1/50,000 of the span, keeping propagated position errors within acceptable limits for that order of work.

Stricter tolerances (like 1:10,000 or 1:20,000) would exceed what a second-order network typically requires, while a looser tolerance (like 1:100,000) would be more permissive than standard for this class. Hence, the requirement is 1:50,000.