Tips and Tricks Direction Sense - General Intelligence and Reasoning

Tips and Tricks for Directional Senses

Directions problems tested in reasoning sections are based on two basic principles:

• Distance
• Direction

There are four main (cardinal) directions - North, South, East, and West - and four intermediate directions - North-East, North-West, South-East, and South-West.

Left and Right Side Movements

• If a person is facing North, a move to their left will make them face West, and a move to their right will make them face East.
• If a person is facing West, a move to their left will make them face South, and a move to their right will make them face North.
• If a person is facing East, a move to their left will make them face North, and a move to their right will make them face South.
• If a person is facing South, a move to their left will make them face East, and a move to their right will make them face West.

From the above points we can summarise the turning direction:

• Every time an individual turns to their left, the movement is in the anticlockwise direction.
• Every time an individual turns to their right, the movement is in the clockwise direction.

Tip: If a question says to move towards left or right, treat that movement as a 90° turn from the current facing direction unless the problem specifies a different angle.

Type 1: Total distance covered or minimum distance between two places

Q1: Nagendra walked 20 m towards north. Then he turned right and walks 30 m. Then he turns right and walks 35 m. Then he turns left and walks 15 m. Finally he turns left and walks 15 m. how many metres is he from the starting position and in which direction?

(a) 15 m West
(b) 30 m East
(c) 30 m West
(d) 45 m East

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• Nagendra's moves can be resolved along the north-south and east-west axes.
• Consider the north-south displacement:
• 20 m north, then later 35 m south (after two right turns from north leads to east then south); net north-south = 20 - 35 = -15 m (15 m south).
• Consider the east-west displacement:
• After first right turn he walks 30 m east; subsequent moves include left and left of south producing eastward steps of 15 m and 15 m which add up as follows: east = 30 + 15 = 45 m.
• Net displacement is 45 m east and 15 m south. The shortest (straight-line) distance from start to final position along the east direction is determined by horizontal component when vertical components cancel out in the diagram used in the image. The given figure shows AF = BC + DE = 45 m and direction is east.

Type 2: Final facing direction, turns by given angles, and position of shadow problems

Q2: A whale swims 20 meter towards East and turns Right, Swims 10 meter and turns to right, Swims 9 meter and again turns to left, swims 5 meter and then turns to left, again dips 12 meter and finally turns to left side and swims 6 meter. Now which in direction whale is facing ?

(a) East
(b) North
(c) West
(d) South

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• Draw the whale's path step by step on paper, marking the direction faced after each turn.
• Start facing East and follow each turn (right = clockwise 90°, left = anticlockwise 90°). After completing the sequence the whale faces North.

Q3: Santosh is facing east. First she turns 70° in clockwise and then 205° in the anticlockwise direction. Which direction Santosh is facing now ?

(a) North-East
(b) North-West
(c) South-West
(d) South-East

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• Santosh starts facing East (0° reference along the east axis).
• She turns 70° clockwise, so her new bearing is 70° clockwise from east (i.e., she faces 70° south of east).
• Then she turns 205° anticlockwise. Anticlockwise 205° from her current bearing is equivalent to net anticlockwise rotation of 205° - 70° = 135° from the original east facing direction.
• Rotating 135° anticlockwise from East points to the North-West direction.

Q4: One morning Rajesh and Prakash are Talking each other Such that they faces each other. The shadow of the Prakash fells exactly right of Rajesh. To which direction was Prakash facing?

(a) East
(b) West
(c) North
(d) Data is inadequate

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• When two people face each other, their front directions are opposite.
• If Prakash's shadow falls exactly to Rajesh's right, the Sun's direction relative to Rajesh is such that the shadow of Prakash is on Rajesh's right side. From the figure and conventional sun-shadow reasoning for morning (sun in east), Prakash must be facing North.

Q5: Reena is facing east. she turns 100° in clockwise direction and then 145° in the anticlockwise direction. Which direction she is facing now ?

(a) North-East
(b) North-West
(c) South-West
(d) South-East

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• Start facing East.
• After 100° clockwise she faces 100° south of east which is slightly beyond south-east direction.
• Then 145° anticlockwise from that position is a net anticlockwise rotation of 145° - 100° = 45° from the original east direction.
• A 45° anticlockwise rotation from East points to North-East.

General tips and shortcuts

• Always draw a rough diagram and mark directions after every move; this is the safest method for accuracy.
• Use axes: treat North-South as the vertical axis and East-West as the horizontal axis; resolve each move into these two components when distance matters.
• For turns given in degrees, take East or the current facing direction as the 0° reference and add/subtract angles keeping track of clockwise (decrease from anticlockwise reference) and anticlockwise (increase) rotations.
• Clockwise turns move you in the direction of a clock's hands; anticlockwise turns move opposite to the clock's hands.
• When two people face each other, their facings are exactly opposite; when back to back they face exactly opposite directions as well.
• For shadow problems, remember sun position conventions: in the morning sun is in the east, at noon roughly south (in the northern hemisphere), and in the evening in the west. Use the relative position of shadow to deduce facing direction carefully.