Direction Reasoning

In almost all the Objective Type Multiple Choices Examinations a few questions on Direction Sense Test are asked regularly.

In this type of questions a successive follow-up of directions and/or distance is formulated and on the basis of given information you are required to ascertain the final direction with respect to the starting point or the shortest distance between the starting point and the final point. Sometimes both the final direction and the distance covered are asked.

Thus, in this test, the questions consist of a sort of direction and/or distance puzzle. Obviously, such questions are meant to judge the candidate's ability to trace, follow and perceive the direction, described in somewhat complicated language, correctly. In order to solve such questions correctly you must have the knowledge of directions on the plane of a paper. At the same time, it is necessary to sketch out the directions as per the information provided in the question in proper sequence. An error at any point would alter your answer choice .

The diagram given below shows the four main directions (cardinals) and the four subsidiary directions on a plane paper:

Generally right and left turns are frequently employed in the questions in order to confuse the candidates. Remember that examiner does possess the uncanny knack and he/she may confuse you by making verbose statements also. But, there is nothing to panic. You may note that on the surface of paper, the direction of right turn is always clockwise and that of left turn is anticlockwise. Thus,

Now try to comprehend the following deductions:

(i) A person facing towards North, on taking left turn will face towards West and on taking the right turn towards East.

Left turn means anticlockwise rotation and right turn means clockwise rotation.  Thus,

(ii) A person facing towards South, on taking left turn will face' towards East and on taking right turn towards West.

(iii) A person facing towards East, on taking left turn will face towards North and on taking right turn towards South.

(iv) A person facing towards West, on taking left turn will face towards South and on taking right turn towards North.

(v) A person facing towards North-West, on taking left turn will face towards South-West and on taking right turn will face towards North-East.

(vi) A person facing towards South-West on taking left turn will face towards South-East and on taking right turn towards North-West.

(vii) A person facing towards South-East, on taking left turn will face towards North-East and on taking right turn towards South-West.

(viii) A person facing towards North-East, on taking left turn will face towards North-West and on taking right turn towards South-East.

In order to determine the distance travelled or the shortest straight distance between the two given points, the Pythagoras formula

  2         2            2 

h   = b    +  p    proves to be helpful.

Here,

h = Hypotenuse

p = Perpendicular 

b = Base

Now consider the following examples to understand the nature and pattern of the questions on Distance and Direction Test:

Ex.1. Early morning after sunrise, Rajesh was standing in front of his house in such a way that his shadow was falling exacUy behind him. He starts walking straight and walks 5 metres. He turns to his left and walks 3 metres and again turning to his left walks 2 metres. Now in which direction is he from his   starting point?

Answer : The shadow of Rajesh was falling exactly behind him.  It implies that he was facing towards   East.

Questions with Solutions

1. Sheela walks from A to B which is 2 km. away, turns right at 90° and walks for 3 km. to  point  C, turns right at 90° and walks to D which  is  8 km. away, turns 90° right and goes 3 km. to  point K. Then, once again she turns right,  90°  and  walks 4 km.  to point  F. How far is  it  from  A to  F ?
(1) 2 km. 

(2) 4 km.
(3) 6 km. 
(4) 8 km.

2. Mohan starts from point A and walks 1 km towards south, turns left and walks 1 km. Then he turns left again and walks 1 km. Now he is  facing 

(l) East

(2) West

(3) North

(4) South-west

3. Sohan started from point X and travelled forward 8 km up to point Y, then turned towards right and travelled 5 km up to point Z. then turned right and travelled 7 km up to point A and then turned towards right and travelled 5 km up to B. What is the distance between point B and X ?

(1)  1 km

(2)  2 km

(3)  3 km

(4) 4 km

4. A child is looking for his father. He went 90  metres in the east before turning to his right. He went 20 metres before turning to his right again to look for his father at his uncle's place 30 metres from this point. His father was not there. From here he went 100  metres to his north before meeting his father  in a street. How far did the son meet his father from the starting point?

(1)  90 m

(2) 100 m

(3)  260 m

(4) 140 m

5. K is a place which is located 2 km away in the northwest direction from the capital P. R is another place that is located 2 km away in the south-west direc tion from K. M is another place and that is located 2 km away in the north-west direction from R. T is yet another place that is located 2 km away in the southwest direction from M. In which direction is T located in relation to P ?

(1) South-west

(2) North-west

(3) West

(4) North

6. Vijit walks 10 metres westward, then turns left and walks 10 metres. He then again turns left and walks 10 metres. He takes a 45 degree turn rightwards and walks straight. In which direction is he walking now?

(1) South

(2) West

(3) South-East

(4) South-West

7. Sanmitra walked 8 m towards  the  north.  He turned to his right and walked 16m, then turned to his left and walked 5 m and again he turned to his left and walked 16m. Now how far is he from his starting point ?

(1) 32 m

(2) 23 m

(3) 13 m

(4) 16 m

8. Leela starts from a point and walks 1 km east and then turns left and walks 2 km and turns right and walks 2 km again. She starts towards a point 2 km towards her right, from where again  she  walks  1 km left. How far is she from the starting point?

(1) 3 km

(2) 4 km

(3) 5 km

(4) 2 km

9. Karan facing towards south moved straight  2 km and from there turned to his right 90° and  travelled 2 km. Then he took a 45° turn to his left and travelled 1 km. Where would he be now with respect to the starting point?

(1) South region

(2) South-east region

(3) North-west region

(4) South-west region

10. Raju is Ramu's neighbour and he stays 100 metres away towards southeast. Venu is Raju's neighbour and he stays 100 metres away towards southwest. Khader is Venu's neighbour and he stays 100 metres away towards northwest. Then where is  the  position of Khader's home in relation to Ramu's ?

(1) South-East

(2) South-West

(3) North-West

(4) North

11. Sanmitra walks 4 kms. Towards north, turns right and walks 5 k.m. Then he turns towards south and walks 2 k.m. Again he takes a turn towards west walks 3 km and stops for a while. Then he further walks 2 km. What is the distance of Sanmitra from starting point ?

(1)  16  k.m.

(2)  2 k.m.

(3)  4 k.m.

(4)  3 k.m.