Logical Reasoning · Micro-test

Direction Sense

Direction sense questions give you a route in words and ask where it ends. They are solved on paper, not in the head: one small sketch with north at the top answers almost all of them.

10 questions · 5 minutes · instant scoring

What this topic actually tests

Every direction question reduces to plotting points on a grid. Fix north at the top of the page, east to the right, and move the pencil exactly as the question says. A right turn is a 90 degree clockwise turn from the direction you are currently facing, not from north, so facing south and turning right leaves you facing west. Once the route is drawn, the final position is read as two numbers: how far east or west of the start, and how far north or south. If only one of them is non-zero the answer is a straight distance in a named direction. If both are non-zero, the shortest distance is the hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle, and the common triples (3-4-5, 6-8-10, 5-12-13) are worth knowing by sight. Shadow questions rest on one fact: the sun is in the east in the morning and in the west in the evening, and a shadow falls on the side away from the sun. So a morning shadow points west and an evening shadow points east. From there, ask which way the person must face for west (or east) to be on the side the question names. Worked example: a man walks 5 km north, turns right and walks 3 km, then turns right and walks 5 km. The two 5 km legs cancel, leaving him 3 km east of where he began.

The common trap on this topic

The commonest error is turning relative to the page instead of relative to the walker. After walking south, 'left' is east, because left and right are always judged from the direction of travel. The second is answering a 'which direction is X from Y' question the wrong way round: the direction of the school from the house is the opposite of the direction of the house from the school, and questions are written to exploit that. The third is in shadow questions, where candidates remember that the sun rises in the east but then place the shadow on the same side as the sun. The shadow always falls away from the sun.

Direction Sense: answers and explanations

A man walks 5 km north, turns right and walks 3 km, then turns right again and walks 5 km. How far is he from his starting point, and in which direction?
Answer: B. 3 km east
The 5 km north and the 5 km south cancel each other. The only net movement is the 3 km walked after the first right turn, which from north is east. He is 3 km east of the start.
Ravi cycles 6 km east and then 8 km north. What is the shortest distance between him and his starting point?
Answer: D. 10 km
The two legs are at right angles, so the shortest distance is the hypotenuse: the square root of 36 + 64 = 100, which is 10 km. Fourteen is the distance travelled, not the distance from the start.
Tara is facing north. She turns right, turns right again, and then turns left. Which direction is she facing now?
Answer: A. East
From north, a right turn faces east; a second right turn faces south. A left turn from south faces east, because left is judged from the direction she is facing.
Soon after sunrise, Meera is standing in a field and her shadow falls exactly to her right. Which direction is she facing?
Answer: B. South
In the morning the sun is in the east, so shadows fall to the west. For west to be on her right, Meera must be facing south.
A is 4 km north of B. C is 3 km east of B. D is 4 km north of C. Where is D with respect to A?
Answer: D. 3 km to the east
Put B at the origin. A is 4 km straight up; C is 3 km to the right; D is 4 km above C. A and D are therefore level with each other, 3 km apart, with D to the east of A.
Imran leaves home and walks 10 m south. He turns left and walks 20 m, turns left and walks 25 m, and turns left again and walks 20 m. Where is he now with respect to his home?
Answer: A. 15 m north
South 10 m; left from south is east, 20 m; left from east is north, 25 m; left from north is west, 20 m. East and west cancel. Net north-south movement is 25 − 10 = 15 m north.
A soldier is facing south-east. He turns 135 degrees clockwise. Which direction is he facing now?
Answer: C. West
Clockwise from south-east, 45 degrees reaches south, 90 degrees reaches south-west and 135 degrees reaches west.
Town P is 12 km due west of town Q. Town R is 5 km due north of town P. In which direction is R from Q?
Answer: B. North-west
From Q, R lies 12 km to the west and 5 km to the north, so it is to the north-west. The question asks for R as seen from Q, not Q as seen from R, which would be south-east.
Shortly before sunset, Arjun and Bina are standing face to face. Arjun's shadow falls exactly to his left. Which direction is Bina facing?
Answer: D. North
In the evening the sun is in the west and shadows fall to the east. For east to be on Arjun's left, he must be facing south. Bina faces him, so she is facing north.
A cyclist rides 9 km west, turns north and rides 12 km, then turns east and rides 4 km. What is the shortest distance between her and her starting point?
Answer: B. 13 km
Net movement west is 9 − 4 = 5 km; net movement north is 12 km. The shortest distance is the square root of 25 + 144 = 169, which is 13 km.

FAQ

Are direction sense questions asked in CLAT?

CLAT's Logical Reasoning section is mostly passage-based critical reasoning, and questions of this kind are now uncommon there. Entrance tests with an analytical reasoning section, such as MH-CET Law, ask them directly. They are quick marks if practised.

How do I find the shortest distance between the start and end points?

Work out the net movement east-west and the net movement north-south separately. If both are non-zero, the shortest distance is the square root of the sum of their squares (Pythagoras).

Which way does a shadow fall in the morning?

To the west. The sun is in the east in the morning, and a shadow falls on the side opposite the sun. In the evening the sun is in the west and shadows fall to the east.

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