Direction & Distance

Direction and Distance is a topic where a person moves in different directions and you have to find either the final direction he is facing or the total distance between the starting point and the ending point. It is a very logical and visual topic.

First - The 8 Directions:

Always remember this compass:

              उत्तर (N)
                  |
पश्चिम (W) -+- पूर्व (E)
                  |
            दक्षिण (S)

And 4 more diagonal directions:

• North-East (NE) - between North and East
• North-West (NW) - between North and West
• South-East (SE) - between South and East
• South-West (SW) - between South and West

Turning Rules - Very Important:

If a person faces North and turns:

• 90° clockwise = faces East
• 90° anti-clockwise = faces West
• 180° = faces South (opposite direction)

If a person faces East and turns:

• 90° clockwise = faces South
• 90° anti-clockwise = faces North
• 180° = faces West

Simple Trick for Turning:

Clockwise order: N - E - S - W - N (Never Eat Stale Wheat) 

Anti-clockwise order: N - W - S - E - N

Types of Direction & Distance Questions:

1. Finding Final Direction A person takes several turns and you have to find which direction he is facing finally.

Example: 

Ravi starts facing North. He turns 90° clockwise, then again 90° clockwise. Which direction is he facing now?

Logic: 

Start: North 

After 1st turn (90° clockwise): East 

After 2nd turn (90° clockwise): South

Answer: South

2. Finding Distance Using Pythagoras A person moves in different directions and you have to find the straight line distance between start and end point.

Example: 

A person walks 6 km North, then 8 km East. How far is he from the starting point?

Logic: 

Draw it on paper - it forms a right angle triangle! 

North = vertical side = 6 km 

East = horizontal side = 8 km 

Distance = √(6² + 8²) = √(36 + 64) = √100 = 10 km

Answer: 10 km

3. Finding Direction from Starting Point After moving in different directions you have to tell in which direction the person is from his starting point.

Example: 

A person starts from Point A, walks 5 km South, then 5 km East. In which direction is he from Point A?

Logic: 

He went South then East - so he is in the South-East direction from starting point A.

Answer: South-East

4. Shadow Based Questions Shadow direction depends on the time of day and position of sun.

Rules to Remember:

• Morning (sunrise) - Sun is in the East, Shadow falls towards West
• Evening (sunset) - Sun is in the West, Shadow falls towards East
• Noon - Sun is overhead, Shadow falls towards North (in India)

Example: 

In the morning a man is standing and his shadow falls behind him. Which direction is he facing?

Logic: 

Morning - Sun in East - Shadow towards West 

Shadow falls behind him means West is behind him. 

So he is facing East.

Answer: East

Pythagoras Triplets - Memorize for Fast Solving:

These are the most common right triangle measurements in SSC:

• 3, 4, 5 (3² + 4² = 5²)
• 5, 12, 13
• 6, 8, 10
• 8, 15, 17
• 7, 24, 25

Whenever you see these numbers in a direction question, directly write the answer!

How to Solve Direction & Distance Questions:

Step 1 - Draw the movements on paper with a starting point. 

Step 2 - Mark each direction with an arrow and write the distance. 

Step 3 - For final direction questions - trace the turns step by step. 

Step 4 - For distance questions - identify the right angle triangle formed. 

Step 5 - Apply Pythagoras theorem to find the straight line distance.

Important Tips:

• Always draw the diagram - never try to solve in your head
• Remember the Pythagoras triplets to save calculation time
• In shadow questions, always think about where the sun is first
• 3 to 4 questions come from this topic in SSC CGL every year
• Practice drawing direction diagrams daily for at least 10 questions