Direction Sense
Direction sense questions describe a walk and ask where it ends: which way the person faces, how far they are from the start, or in which direction. Nothing here is hard, but one turn tracked in your head instead of on paper is enough to lose the mark. Draw every leg and the answer reads off the page.
Updated 11 October 2026 · Typically a short standalone question — quick marks if every leg is drawn.
How to think about direction sense
Fix the compass, then draw every leg
Write N at the top of your rough sheet, E to the right, S below and W to the left. Draw each move as a line with its length written on it, and an arrow for the way the person now faces. Keep the drawing roughly to scale — a wrong turn then looks wrong.
Left and right turn with the person
A right turn is 90° clockwise from the current heading; a left turn is 90° anticlockwise. Facing north, right is east, but facing south, right is west. Update the heading after every turn before drawing the next leg. For turns given in degrees, add the clockwise turns, subtract the anticlockwise ones, and apply the net turn once.
Distance from the start is a straight line
Add all the north-south movement into one number and all the east-west movement into another. The shortest distance back to the start is √(x² + y²). For the direction, read the two signs: a point that is both north and east of the start is called north-east, even when the angle is not exactly 45°. The start, seen from the end point, is the opposite direction.
Shadows point away from the sun
The sun rises in the east and sets in the west, so a morning shadow points west and an evening shadow points east. Mark the shadow's compass direction first, then turn the person until that direction sits on the side the question names. A morning shadow on the left means west is on the left, so the person faces north.
Formulas and shortcuts
- Right turn
90° clockwise: N → E → S → W → N - Left turn
90° anticlockwise: N → W → S → E → N - Turns in degrees
Net turn = clockwise total − anticlockwise totalApply the net turn once. A full 360° brings you back to the same heading.
- Net displacement
x = east − west; y = north − south - Shortest distance from the start
√(x² + y²)Know the triples 3-4-5, 6-8-10, 5-12-13 and 8-15-17 so you can skip the square root.
- Direction from the start
Sign of y gives north or south; sign of x gives east or westThe start, seen from the end point, is the opposite direction: north-east becomes south-west.
- Shadow direction
Morning: shadow points west. Evening: shadow points east.Then turn the person until that direction sits on the side the question names.
Solved examples
Q1. Sita walks 5 km north, turns right and walks 3 km, then turns right again and walks 9 km. How far is she from her starting point, and in which direction?
- Take the start as (0, 0), with east as +x and north as +y.
- 5 km north: she is at (0, 5), facing north.
- A right turn from north faces east. 3 km east: (3, 5).
- A right turn from east faces south. 9 km south: (3, 5 − 9) = (3, −4).
- Shortest distance = √(3² + 4²) = √25 = 5 km.
- x is positive (east) and y is negative (south), so she is south-east of the start.
Answer: 5 km, south-east of the start
The 3-4-5 triple gives 5 at once. She walked 17 km in all — the path length is never the answer to "how far from the start".
Q2. Arjun is facing west. He turns 45° clockwise, then 180° clockwise, then 270° anticlockwise. Which direction is he facing now?
- Add the turns with clockwise as positive: +45 + 180 − 270 = −45.
- So the three turns together equal a single turn of 45° anticlockwise.
- Anticlockwise from west moves towards south, so 45° anticlockwise from west is halfway between west and south.
Answer: South-west
Turn by turn gives the same: west, then 45° clockwise is north-west, then 180° is south-east, then 270° anticlockwise is south-west.
Q3. One evening, Rahul and Meena stand facing each other. Rahul's shadow falls exactly to his right. Which direction is Meena facing?
- In the evening the sun is in the west, so every shadow points east.
- Rahul's shadow is on his right, so east is on his right.
- A person with east on the right is facing north. So Rahul faces north.
- Meena faces Rahul, so she faces the opposite way: south.
Answer: South
Meena's own shadow also points east, which is on her left when she faces south. The picture is consistent.
Practice questions with answers
1. Arun is facing east. He turns left, then left again, then right. Which direction is he facing now?
Answer: C. North — East, then a left turn faces north, another left turn faces west, and a right turn from west faces north.
2. A man walks 6 km east, then turns left and walks 8 km. How far is he from his starting point?
Answer: B. 10 km — A left turn from east faces north. He is 6 km east and 8 km north of the start, so the distance is √(6² + 8²) = √100 = 10 km.
3. Priya walks 10 m south, turns left and walks 15 m, turns left again and walks 10 m, then turns right and walks 5 m. How far is she from her starting point, and in which direction?
Answer: D. 20 m east — Left from south faces east; left from east faces north; right from north faces east. The 10 m south and 10 m north cancel, leaving 15 + 5 = 20 m east.
4. From his house, Kiran walks 4 km west, then 7 km north, then 8 km east, and finally 4 km south. How far is he from his house, and in which direction?
Answer: A. 5 km north-east — East-west: 8 − 4 = 4 km east. North-south: 7 − 4 = 3 km north. Distance = √(4² + 3²) = 5 km, and a point east and north of the start is north-east.
5. A girl is facing south. She turns 90° clockwise, then 135° anticlockwise. Which direction is she facing now?
Answer: C. South-east — Net turn = +90 − 135 = −45, which is 45° anticlockwise. Anticlockwise from south moves towards east, so she faces south-east.
6. Early one morning, Ajay stands with his shadow falling to his left. Which direction is he facing?
Answer: D. North — In the morning the sun is in the east, so the shadow points west. West is on his left, which means he faces north.
7. Mohan walks 5 km north, then turns right and walks 5 km. How far is he from his starting point, and in which direction is the starting point from where he now stands?
Answer: B. 5√2 km, south-west — He ends 5 km north and 5 km east of the start, so the distance is √(5² + 5²) = 5√2 km, about 7.07 km. He is north-east of the start, so the start is south-west of him.
8. In the evening, Leela stands so that her shadow falls directly in front of her. She then turns left and walks. In which direction is she walking?
Answer: A. North — An evening shadow points east, so a shadow in front of her means she faces east. A left turn from east faces north.
Where marks get lost
- Treating "right" as east whatever the person is facing — a right turn while facing south points west.
- Adding up the path length when the question asks for the distance from the start.
- Giving the direction of the end point when the question asks where the start is from the end point.
- Pointing a morning shadow east. Shadows point away from the sun, so morning shadows point west.
Reading is not practising.
Run a timed set on direction sense and see which step you actually lose time on. Free, no card needed.
Start a timed set