Assume a nominal township contains 36 sections, each exactly 640 acres. What total acreage follows?
Correct Answer
B) 23,040 acres
Under the explicitly stated model,36×640=23,040 acres. This is nominal survey-system arithmetic, not a guarantee that every actual township or interior section has exact nominal acreage. Use reliable survey and plat information when actual parcel area is required; correction, historical survey and boundary facts can matter.
Why This Is the Correct Answer
Option B is correct because 36 sections × 640 acres per section = 23,040 acres. The question states the nominal model explicitly, so the arithmetic follows directly. Actual townships can vary because of survey corrections, so real parcels rely on survey and plat data.
Why the Other Options Are Wrong
Option A: 640 acres
Option A, 640 acres, is the area of one section, not a whole township. The township total is 36 × 640 = 23,040 acres.
Option C: 5,760 acres
Option C, 5,760 acres, would result from using 160 acres per section (36 × 160), which is the size of a quarter section, or from counting only 9 sections (9 × 640). The correct calculation is 36 × 640 = 23,040 acres.
Option D: 36,000 acres
Option D, 36,000 acres, would result from using 1,000 acres per section (36 × 1,000) instead of 640. The correct calculation is 36 × 640 = 23,040 acres.
Six by six, 640 each
A township is six miles by six miles, giving 36 sections of 640 acres each. Multiply 36 by 640 for the township total.
How to use: Use this to rebuild township and section sizes during the exam.
Exam Tip
Know the chain of units: 1 section = 1 square mile = 640 acres, and 1 township = 36 sections. Distractors often stop at one section or use a quarter-section figure.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- -Reporting one section's 640 acres as a township's area
- -Using 160 acres, a quarter section, as a full section
- -Assuming every actual section contains exactly 640 acres
Concept Deep Dive
Analysis
This question tests rectangular survey system arithmetic. A nominal township has 36 sections, and under the stated model each section is exactly 640 acres. Multiply sections by acres per section to get total acreage.
Background Knowledge
In the rectangular survey system, a township is nominally 6 miles by 6 miles and divided into 36 sections. Each section is approximately one square mile, or 640 acres. Because of the earth's curvature and survey corrections, actual sections and townships may differ from nominal sizes.
Real-World Application
An appraiser working on a large rural assignment reviews a legal description covering an entire nominal township. Using 36 × 640, the appraiser estimates about 23,040 acres. The appraiser then relies on the official plat because actual section sizes can vary.
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