Direction and Distance

Direction and Distance

Direction and Distance: Easy Study Material with Emojis, Explanations, and Practice Questions


What is Direction and Distance Reasoning? 🧭

This topic tests your ability to follow and visualize directions and distances, often through puzzles where you must determine the final direction faced or the shortest distance between two points.


Main Directions & Sub-Directions 🗺️

  • Main Directions:
    • North (N) ⬆️
    • South (S) ⬇️
    • East (E) ➡️
    • West (W) ⬅️
  • Sub-Directions:
    • North-East (NE) ↗️ (between North & East)
    • South-East (SE) ↘️
    • South-West (SW) ↙️
    • North-West (NW) ↖️

Types of Direction and Distance Questions 🔄

  1. Direction from Initial or End Point
    • Find which way someone is facing after a series of turns.
  2. Distance Calculation
    • Find total or shortest (straight-line) distance between two points.
  3. Degree-based Questions
    • Turns by certain degrees (clockwise/anticlockwise).
  4. Shadow-based Questions
    • Use position of the sun (morning/evening) to infer direction.

Key Rules and Tricks 🧠

  • Turning Right/Left:
    • Facing North: Right ➡️ East, Left ⬅️ West
    • Facing South: Right ➡️ West, Left ⬅️ East
  • Shortest Distance:
    • Use Pythagoras Theorem:
$$ \text{Distance} = \sqrt{(\text{East-West})^2 + (\text{North-South})^2} $$
  • Shadow Rules:
    • Morning: Shadow falls to the West
    • Evening: Shadow falls to the East

Sample Questions with Detailed Solutions 📝✨

Q1.

Leeta walks 2 km North, turns right, walks 2 km, turns right, walks 2 km. Which direction is she facing? Solution:

  • North → Right (East) → Right (South) Answer: South ⬇️

Q2.

Amitabh walks 15 km South, turns right, walks 10 km, turns right, walks 15 km. How far from the start? Solution:

  • Forms a rectangle: 10 km apart horizontally Answer: 10 km ➡️

Q3.

Mani walks 10 steps West, turns right, walks 5 steps, turns back. Which direction now? Solution:

  • West → Right (North) → Back (South) Answer: South ⬇️

Q4.

Prakash travels 6 km North, turns left, walks 4 km, turns left, walks 6 km. How far from start? Solution:

  • He ends up 4 km West of starting point Answer: 4 km ⬅️

Q5.

Ramesh walks 2 km North, right 4 km, right 4 km, right 4 km. Which direction now? Solution:

  • North → Right (East) → Right (South) → Right (West) Answer: West ⬅️ Distance from start: 2 km

Q6.

Robin walks 2 km East, turns NW 3 km, turns South 5 km, turns West 2 km, turns North 6 km. Which direction from start? Answer: North-West ↖️


Q7.

If South-East becomes North, North-East becomes West, what does East become? Answer: North-West ↖️


Q8.

Atul walks 10 m East, right 8 m, left 150°, 6 m. Which direction now? Answer: North-East ↗️


Q9.

After sunrise, Mohan and Gaurav stand back-to-back. Mohan’s shadow is on his left. Which way does Gaurav face? Solution:

  • Morning shadow is West. If Mohan’s shadow is left, he faces North. Gaurav faces South. Answer: South ⬇️

Q10.

Sumant’s evening shadow is to his right as he starts walking, then he turns and walks in various directions. How far and in which direction from start? Answer: 15 km North-East ↗️


Quick Tips & Tricks 💡

  • Draw diagrams for each movement.
  • Mark each turn (right/left) carefully.
  • For shortest distance, use the Pythagoras theorem.
  • Remember shadow rules for morning/evening.

Emojis for Directions 🧭

DirectionEmoji
North⬆️
South⬇️
East➡️
West⬅️
North-East↗️
South-East↘️
South-West↙️
North-West↖️

Practice drawing paths and using these emojis to quickly visualize and solve direction and distance questions! 🏃‍♂️🧭📝12


  1. DIrection-and-Distance.pdf ↩︎

  2. education.study_materials ↩︎