Directions for SSC GD

Direction questions describe a walk, a set of turns or the position of a few places, and ask where someone ends up. The arithmetic is easy. What goes wrong is the turning: a right turn while facing south is a turn to the west, and many candidates get that backwards when they try to picture it.

So the rule for this type is fixed: draw it. A small sketch with north at the top takes ten seconds and removes almost every mistake. Direction questions come up regularly in the SSC GD reasoning section, and with the sketch habit they are quick marks.

The eight directions

Put north at the top of your sketch, south at the bottom, east on the right and west on the left. The corner directions sit between them: north-east, south-east, south-west and north-west.

It also helps to know each direction as an angle, measured clockwise from north.

Left and right turns

A right turn is a 90° turn clockwise. A left turn is 90° anticlockwise. For a turn in degrees, add the angle for clockwise and subtract it for anticlockwise, using the angle table above.

Distance: total walked and shortest

The question may ask for either of two things.

• Total distance walked is every leg added together.
• Shortest distance from the start is the straight line from start to finish.

For the shortest distance, add up the net north–south movement and the net east–west movement separately. If only one of them is left, that is the answer. If both are left, use Pythagoras: distance = √(a² + b²).

Useful triples: (3, 4, 5), (6, 8, 10), (5, 12, 13), (8, 15, 17).

Shadows

The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. A shadow always falls on the side away from the sun.

• Morning: the sun is in the east, so shadows fall to the west.
• Evening: the sun is in the west, so shadows fall to the east.
• Noon: the sun is nearly overhead, so the shadow is very short. That is why shadow questions are set in the morning or evening.

Solved examples

Example 1 (shortest distance). A candidate walks 4 km north, turns right and walks 3 km. How far is the candidate from the start, and in which direction?

1. North 4 km. Facing north, a right turn faces east. East 3 km.
2. Net: 4 north and 3 east.
3. Distance = √(4² + 3²) = √25 = 5 km, towards the north-east.

Example 2 (net movement). A candidate walks 10 m east, turns left and walks 5 m, turns left and walks 10 m, then turns right and walks 7 m. Where is the candidate now?

1. East 10. Facing east, left is north: north 5. Facing north, left is west: west 10. Facing west, right is north: north 7.
2. East–west: 10 − 10 = 0. North–south: 5 + 7 = 12 north.
3. Answer: 12 m north of the start.

Example 3 (a south-facing turn). A candidate walks 6 km south, turns left and walks 6 km, then turns left again and walks 14 km. How far is the candidate from the start?

1. South 6. Facing south, left is east: east 6. Facing east, left is north: north 14.
2. North–south: 14 − 6 = 8 north. East–west: 6 east.
3. Distance = √(8² + 6²) = √100 = 10 km, towards the north-east.

Example 4 (degree turns). A candidate faces east, turns 90° clockwise, then turns 135° anticlockwise. Which way does the candidate face now?

1. East is 90°. Turning 90° clockwise: 90 + 90 = 180°, which is south.
2. Turning 135° anticlockwise: 180 − 135 = 45°.
3. 45° is north-east.

Example 5 (relative position). Point P is 5 m north of point Q. Point R is 5 m east of Q. In which direction is P from R?

1. Place Q at the centre. P is 5 m up; R is 5 m to the right.
2. To go from R to P, you move 5 m west and 5 m north.
3. Answer: north-west.

Example 6 (shadow). In the morning, a candidate's shadow falls to their right. Which way is the candidate facing?

1. In the morning, shadows fall to the west. So west is on the candidate's right.
2. When west is on your right, you are facing south.
3. Answer: south.

Common mistakes

Practice set

1. A candidate walks 6 km south and then 8 km west. How far are they from the start, and in which direction?
2. Facing east, a candidate turns left. Which way are they facing?
3. A candidate walks 5 km north, turns right and walks 2 km, then turns right and walks 5 km. Where are they from the start?
4. In the evening, a pole's shadow falls towards which direction?
5. Facing south, a candidate turns right and then left. Which way are they facing?
6. Facing west, a candidate turns 90° clockwise and then 180°. Which way are they facing?
7. A candidate walks 8 m north, turns left and walks 6 m. How far are they from the start, and in which direction?
8. Point A is 3 km west of point B. Point C is 4 km south of point B. In which direction is C from A?

Answers:

1. 10 km, south-west. √(6² + 8²) = √100 = 10.
2. North.
3. 2 km east. The 5 km north and 5 km south cancel.
4. East. The sun is in the west.
5. South. South → west → south.
6. South. West (270°) + 90° = 360°, which is north; then 180° more is south.
7. 10 m, north-west. Facing north, left is west. √(8² + 6²) = 10.
8. South-east. From A, go 3 km east to B, then 4 km south to C.

What to do next

• Draw every direction question, with north at the top, for the next two weeks.
• Memorise the turn table, especially the south and west rows.
• Learn the four Pythagoras triples so you never need to calculate a square root.
• Solve 15 direction questions a day, mixing distance, facing and shadow types.
• Move on to blood relations and ranking, which reward the same drawing habit.