Direction sense-based questions test our ability to find direction and/or distance of a vehicle/person travelling certain distances in different directions or turning left, right, clockwise or anticlockwise with reference to another object or place.
Some problems are given in terms of direction of shadow, and we are required to find the direction a person is facing depending on the time of the day (position of the sun).
Understanding Directions
- Four Main directions – North, South, East and West.
- Four Cardinal directions – North-West, North-East, South-West and South-East.
- When a person is facing North, East is to his right and West to his left.
- When a person is facing South, East is to his left and West to his right.
From the time of sunrise till 12 in afternoon the Sun is in the East, and shadow will be formed in the west.
At 12:00 noon, Sun is directly above us and no shadow is formed.
From 12 P.M. (noon) till sunset the shadow of an object is always in the East.
- If a person is facing North –
- from sunrise to 12 P.M., shadow is to his left.
- At the time of sunset, from 12 P.M. to the time of Sunset, shadow is to his right.
- If a person is facing South –
- from sunrise to 12 P.M., his shadow will be to his right and from 12 PM to the time of sunset it will be to his left.
Pls Note: Rough fig will help analyze the direction problems more clearly.
Example – When All Moves Are Given in Directions
Starting from his home Aamir walked 40 km towards north, he then turns East and walks 20km. Aamir then turns south and walks 40 km. In which direction is he standing from his home?
- a) North b) South c) East d) West
Solution:
Route followed by Aamir is shown in the fig below.
(Figure Not Drawn to Scale)
Lines representing equal distances should be equal in length.
Lines representing longer distances should be longer than lines representing shorter distances.
Route followed by Aamir is shown in the diagram below.
From starting point 40km towards north ->> Turns East , walks 20km ->>Turns South, walks 40km.
Consider home as reference point and check the direction of final location
with respect to home.
So Aamir is standing in East direction from his home.
When All Moves Are in Angles & Clockwise/Anticlockwise
Example: Samaira is facing south, she then turns 90° clockwise and then 135º anticlockwise. Which direction is she facing now?
a) North b) North West c) North East d) South East
Solution:
Draw the four main directions and the four cardinal directions.
Mark starting point on the direction which Samaira is facing (i.e., South).
Took 1st turn -> 90° clockwise , Samaira is facing West -> turns 135°(90°+45°) anti-clockwise, She is now facing SE which is final position.
she will be facing the South East Direction.
When Direction of Shadow is Given
Example : One morning after sunrise Suzanne walked 5km in the direction of her shadow. She then turned right and walked , turned left and walked some distance.
Then she turned back and started walking in a straight line. Which direction is she walking towards finally ?
a) North b) South c) East d) West
Solution : Suzzane walked West (direction of shadow in morning)->Turned Right (now facing North) and walked 10m -> Turned left (now facing west) –>walked and turned back (now facing East)-> walks in a straight line.
She is finally facing East.
When Movements Are Given In terms of Left or Right
Raima is going North , she turns right and then she turns right again. She then turns left once again. In which direction is she going now?
a) North b) South c) East d) West
Solution: Path followed by Raima
Start -> North-> right (facing East)->right (facing south)->left (facing East)
Raima is finally facing East.
Refer fig below.
