Direction Sense Test— Concepts, Formulas & Shortcuts
- Always draw with north at the top, east to the right — never solve mentally.
- A right turn is 90° clockwise; a left turn is 90° anticlockwise from the CURRENT facing direction.
- Net displacement: add movements along north–south and east–west separately, then apply Pythagoras.
- Opposite pairs cancel: 20 m north followed later by 20 m south leaves no vertical displacement.
- Morning sun in the east casts shadows to the west; evening sun in the west casts shadows to the east.
- At noon the sun is overhead and shadows are negligible — a favourite trick in exam questions.
Direction Sense Test Practice Questions with Answers
Attempt each question first, then open the explanation. All 18 questions below are free to read and require no signup.
Q1.A man walks 5 km north, turns right and walks 3 km, then turns right and walks 5 km. How far is he from the starting point?
Easy- A3 km
- B5 km
- C8 km
- D13 km
Direction Sense Test question 1 of 18+Show Answer & Explanation
Answer: A. 3 km
Explanation: The 5 km north and 5 km south cancel, leaving only the 3 km travelled east.
Q2.Ravi walks 10 m south, turns left and walks 5 m, then turns left and walks 10 m. How far and in which direction is he from the start?
Easy- A5 m east
- B5 m west
- C10 m north
- D15 m east
Direction Sense Test question 2 of 18+Show Answer & Explanation
Answer: A. 5 m east
Explanation: South then north cancel, leaving 5 m travelled east.
Q3.A person facing north turns 90° clockwise and then 180° anticlockwise. He is now facing:
Moderate- ANorth
- BEast
- CSouth
- DWest
Direction Sense Test question 3 of 18+Show Answer & Explanation
Answer: D. West
Explanation: North → 90° clockwise → East → 180° anticlockwise → West.
Q4.A man walks 4 km east and then 3 km north. His distance from the starting point is:
Easy- A5 km
- B6 km
- C7 km
- D12 km
Direction Sense Test question 4 of 18+Show Answer & Explanation
Answer: A. 5 km
Explanation: √(4² + 3²) = √25 = 5 km — the standard 3-4-5 triangle.
Q5.In the early morning a man's shadow falls exactly to his right. He is facing:
Moderate- ANorth
- BSouth
- CEast
- DWest
Direction Sense Test question 5 of 18+Show Answer & Explanation
Answer: A. North
Explanation: The morning sun is in the east, so the shadow falls west. If west is on his right, he faces north.
Q6.A walks 20 m north, then 30 m east, then 20 m south. How far is he from the start?
Easy- A20 m
- B30 m
- C50 m
- D70 m
Direction Sense Test question 6 of 18+Show Answer & Explanation
Answer: B. 30 m
Explanation: The north and south legs cancel, leaving 30 m east.
Q7.Starting from a point, Sunil walked 12 m north, turned left and walked 5 m. How far is he from the starting point?
Moderate- A7 m
- B13 m
- C15 m
- D17 m
Direction Sense Test question 7 of 18+Show Answer & Explanation
Answer: B. 13 m
Explanation: √(12² + 5²) = √169 = 13 m.
Q8.A man facing south turns 45° clockwise twice and then 90° clockwise once. He is now facing:
Difficult- ANorth
- BNorth-east
- CEast
- DWest
Direction Sense Test question 8 of 18+Show Answer & Explanation
Answer: A. North
Explanation: Two 45° clockwise turns from south give 90° clockwise → west. A further 90° clockwise from west gives north.
Q9.A man walks 10 m east, then 10 m north, then 10 m west. How far is he from the start?
Easy- A10 m
- B20 m
- C30 m
- D0 m
Direction Sense Test question 9 of 18+Show Answer & Explanation
Answer: A. 10 m
Explanation: The east and west legs cancel, leaving 10 m north.
Q10.Facing east, a person turns 180°. He is now facing:
Easy- ANorth
- BSouth
- CEast
- DWest
Direction Sense Test question 10 of 18+Show Answer & Explanation
Answer: D. West
Explanation: A 180° turn reverses direction, so east becomes west.
Q11.A boy walks 12 m north, then 5 m east. His shortest distance from the start is:
Moderate- A7 m
- B13 m
- C15 m
- D17 m
Direction Sense Test question 11 of 18+Show Answer & Explanation
Answer: B. 13 m
Explanation: √(12² + 5²) = √169 = 13 m.
Q12.In the evening, a man's shadow falls towards his left. He is facing:
Difficult- ANorth
- BSouth
- CEast
- DWest
Direction Sense Test question 12 of 18+Show Answer & Explanation
Answer: A. North
Explanation: The evening sun is in the west, so the shadow falls east. If east is on his left, he faces north.
Q13.Facing north, a person turns 90° clockwise, then 90° clockwise again. He is now facing:
Easy- ANorth
- BEast
- CSouth
- DWest
Direction Sense Test question 13 of 18+Show Answer & Explanation
Answer: C. South
Explanation: North → east → south after two clockwise quarter-turns.
Q14.A car travels 8 km south, then 6 km west. Its distance from the starting point is:
Moderate- A8 km
- B10 km
- C12 km
- D14 km
Direction Sense Test question 14 of 18+Show Answer & Explanation
Answer: B. 10 km
Explanation: √(8² + 6²) = √100 = 10 km.
Q15.A man walks 5 km north, turns left and walks 3 km, turns left again and walks 5 km. In which direction is he from the start?
Moderate- AEast
- BWest
- CNorth
- DSouth
Direction Sense Test question 15 of 18+Show Answer & Explanation
Answer: B. West
Explanation: North then west then south leaves him 3 km west of the start.
Q16.Facing south-west, a person turns 90° anticlockwise. He now faces:
Difficult- ANorth-west
- BSouth-east
- CNorth-east
- DEast
Direction Sense Test question 16 of 18+Show Answer & Explanation
Answer: B. South-east
Explanation: Turning anticlockwise from south-west by a quarter turn gives south-east.
Q17.Two friends start from the same point. One walks 4 km north, the other 3 km east. The distance between them is:
Easy- A5 km
- B6 km
- C7 km
- D12 km
Direction Sense Test question 17 of 18+Show Answer & Explanation
Answer: A. 5 km
Explanation: √(4² + 3²) = 5 km.
Q18.At sunrise, a pole's shadow falls towards:
Easy- AEast
- BWest
- CNorth
- DSouth
Direction Sense Test question 18 of 18+Show Answer & Explanation
Answer: B. West
Explanation: The sun rises in the east, so shadows point west at sunrise.
Direction Sense Test — Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find the shortest distance from the start?+
Total the north–south movement and the east–west movement separately. The shortest distance is √(NS² + EW²). Exam numbers are almost always a 3-4-5 or 6-8-10 triangle.
How are shadow questions solved?+
Fix the sun's position from the time of day: east in the morning, west in the evening. The shadow falls in the opposite direction, which tells you the person's facing direction.
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