Final answer:
The purpose of a survey is to determine if there are any encroachments and to ascertain the precise boundaries of a property, essential for legal ownership and use.
Step-by-step explanation:
The primary purpose of a survey is a) To determine whether encroachments exist and to determine the boundaries of the property. This is important for several reasons, including establishing legal boundaries for ownership and use. For instance, when farmers decide to sell their land for development, it's crucial to have an accurate property title, which includes the precise dimensions and acreage of the farm.
Surveys help in creating a clear delineation of property lines, which could be challenging with irregular land division systems like metes and bounds. Surveyors use fixed points, rather than moveable objects like trees, to demarcate property lines so they can be recorded and recognized legally.
Surveys are not typically used to establish the history of past ownership (option b) or proof of ownership (option c), nor are they used to insure against financial loss if the title has defects (option d). However, they can be an important part of establishing a clear title and may become relevant in the legal processes related to these purposes.