Direction Sense Cheat Sheet
2 Nov 2026
Quick answer
A quick reasoning revision sheet for direction-sense questions — the compass directions and turns, finding the final direction after left and right turns, the shortest-distance (net displacement) using Pythagoras, and the shadow-direction rule — with a worked example, for fast SSC, Banking and Railway revision.
A direction-sense question traces a path of turns and distances and asks for the final direction or the straight-line distance from the start. Draw the path on paper — do not track it mentally.
The compass
The four main directions are North, East, South, West (clockwise from the top), with NE, SE, SW, NW between them. On paper, North is up, East is right.
Turns
Facing a direction, a right turn is 90° clockwise and a left turn is 90° anticlockwise.
| Facing | Turn right → | Turn left → |
|---|---|---|
| North | East | West |
| East | South | North |
| South | West | East |
| West | North | South |
A turn to the back (about-turn) is 180°: North ↔ South, East ↔ West.
Shortest distance (net displacement)
If a path ends away from the start, the straight-line distance is the hypotenuse of the net east–west and north–south movement:
distance = √(east-west² + north-south²)
Worked example. A man walks 3 km east, then 4 km north. How far is he from the start, and in which direction?
- Net: 3 km east and 4 km north.
- Distance = √(3² + 4²) = √(9 + 16) = √25 = 5 km, to the north-east of the start.
The shadow rule
The sun rises in the east and sets in the west, so:
- In the morning, shadows fall towards the west; in the evening, towards the east.
- At noon the sun is overhead and shadows are negligible.
So if your shadow falls to your right in the morning, you are facing south (sun in the east, on your left).
Quick tips
- Cancel opposite movements first (5 km east then 2 km west = 3 km east) before using Pythagoras.
- Redraw the compass at each turn if the path has many turns; a single mislabelled turn flips the answer.
Revise the full method in the Direction Sense lesson, then practise direction questions or browse more reasoning revision sheets.
How this was made: Drafted with AI assistance; every formula and worked figure recomputed independently; every fact checked against the source it cites.