Direction Sense Quiz: Reasoning Practice

Spoilers! These are the Starter quiz’s answers. Easy, Medium, Hard and Mixed rounds show their own answers when you finish.

1. Starting from point P, Ankit walks 4 m south, turns left and walks 12 m, then turns left again and walks 13 m. How far and in which direction is he now from P?

   • 13 m north-east
   • 15 m north-east
   • 15 m south-east
   • 17 m north-west

   Answer: 15 m north-east. Take P as (0, 0). South 4 m gives (0, -4); a left turn while facing south points east, so (12, -4); a left turn from east points north, so (12, 9). Distance = square root of (12² + 9²) = 15 m, towards the north-east.

2. Early one morning, Meera stood facing a tall pole. The shadow of the pole fell exactly to her right. Which direction was she facing?

   • North
   • East
   • South
   • West

   Answer: South. In the morning the sun is in the east, so shadows fall towards the west. West is on a person's right only when the person faces south.

3. A man is facing north-east. He turns 135° clockwise and then 270° anticlockwise. Which direction is he facing now?

   • West
   • South
   • North-west
   • East

   Answer: West. Net turn = 270° anticlockwise - 135° clockwise = 135° anticlockwise. Measured clockwise from north, north-east is 45°; 45° - 135° = -90°, i.e. 270°, which is west.

4. Point P is 5 m east of point Q. Point R is 5 m north of P. Point S is 3 m west of R. In which direction is S from Q?

   • North
   • North-east
   • North-west
   • East

   Answer: North-east. With Q at (0, 0): P is (5, 0), R is (5, 5) and S is (2, 5). S is 2 m east and 5 m north of Q, so it lies to the north-east of Q.

5. Starting from her house, Anita drives 15 km east, then 8 km north, then 9 km west and finally 16 km south. How far and in which direction is she from her house now?

   • 14 km south-east
   • 10 km north-east
   • 10 km south-west
   • 10 km south-east

   Answer: 10 km south-east. Net east = 15 - 9 = 6 km; net south = 16 - 8 = 8 km. Distance = square root of (6² + 8²) = 10 km, and east plus south means south-east.

6. In a certain code of directions, south-east is called north and north-east is called west. If every other direction is renamed in the same pattern, what is west called?

   • North-west
   • South
   • South-east
   • North-east

   Answer: South-east. South-east (135°) has become north (0°), so every direction is turned 135° anticlockwise; north-east (45°) to west (-90° = 270°) confirms it. West (270°) - 135° = 135°, which is south-east.

7. X and Y start from the same point. X walks 5 m north and then 2 m east. Y walks 3 m south and then 8 m east. What is the straight-line distance between X and Y now?

   • 8 m
   • 10 m
   • 12 m
   • 14 m

   Answer: 10 m. X is at (2, 5) and Y at (8, -3). The gaps are 6 m east–west and 8 m north–south, so the distance is square root of (6² + 8²) = 10 m.

8. From his school, Kabir cycles 3 km north, turns east and cycles 4 km, turns north again and cycles 3 km, and finally turns east and cycles 4 km. In which direction and how far is the school from Kabir now?

   • 10 km north-east
   • 14 km south-west
   • 8 km south-east
   • 10 km south-west

   Answer: 10 km south-west. Kabir ends 8 km east and 6 km north of the school, i.e. 10 km to its north-east. The question asks the reverse — the school's position from Kabir — which is 10 km south-west.

9. At 5 pm, Kunal and Leela stand on a road facing each other. Kunal's shadow falls exactly to his left. Which direction is Leela facing?

   • North
   • South
   • East
   • West

   Answer: North. In the evening the sun is in the west, so shadows fall to the east. East on Kunal's left means he faces south; Leela faces him, so she faces north.

10. House B is 6 km north of house A. House C is 8 km east of B. House D is 10 km south of C. In which direction is D from A?

    • North-east
    • East
    • South-east
    • South

    Answer: South-east. With A at (0, 0): B (0, 6), C (8, 6), D (8, -4). D is east and south of A, so it lies to the south-east.