Direction Sense- Concept, Tips & Questions for Practice- Download PDF

Banking aspirants must be preparing well for the upcoming banking exams like SBI PO Mains, IBPS PO Mains, IBPS Clerk Mains etc. Please note that the key to clear these exams is Practice. There are going to be a limited number of vacancies and lakhs of aspirants in your competition. So to stand out from the crowd you need to understand the concepts of different topics and do a lot of practice. This is not a speed-based test and only practice can help you in clearing this exam. Make the most of these times and practice well. In this article, we have come up with a PDF on the concept of direction sense questions. We have also included the tips & questions for practice in this PDF.

📥Free PDF- Direction Sense- Concept, Tips & Questions for Practice

If you notice the previously conducted banking exams, there are normally 3-4 questions of direction sense questions which makes it a scoring topic. What’s important is that this topic is easy to understand and the questions can be answered quickly and with accuracy. If you master this topic and practice a lot of questions you can answer all the direction sense related questions quickly. Let’s get started with the concept of Direction sense.

Direction sense questions are basically based on two principles:

Direction
Distance

There are 4 cardinal directions: North, West, East and South and 4 diagonal directions: North-East, South-East, South-West, and North-West. The below figure makes the positioning clear.

Four cardinal directions:

East
West
North
South

Four diagonal directions:

North-East (N-E)
South-East (S-E)
North-West (N-W)
South-West (S-W)

The most important point to remember while solving these type of questions is that each main direction change undergoes a change of 90 degrees in the direction. For instance, a change between North to East or West will be 90 degrees, however, change between North to North -East is 45 degrees only.

Direction based questions have been asked frequently in banking exams. These questions assess your sense of following the given directions. A prominent example is the usage of Google Maps nowadays. It gives us step by step directions to reach our destinations. If you have ever used it, sentences like “Take a left after XYZ building, then take a right after moving 4.5 kilometres straight.” should be common. Directions based questions are simple; just the fact that you need to practice beforehand. Let’s start with the basic concepts.

Important Points to Note while solving Direction Sense Questions

The angle between two cardinal directions is 90 degrees and that of any two nearest directions will be 45 degrees (for eg. the angle between North and North-East).
The Sun rises in the east and sets in the west. So at sunrise, a shadow would be falling towards the west and at sunset, it would be falling towards the east.
If a person faces north at the time of sunrise, his shadow will be towards his left and if he faces north at the time of sunset, his shadow will be towards his right.
If a person faces south at the time of sunrise, his shadow will be towards his right and if he faces south at the time of sunset, his shadow will be towards his left.
If a person moves right, he moves 90 degrees in the clockwise direction and if the person moves left, he moves 90 degrees in the anticlockwise direction as per this chart.
If it’s not specific, you need not assume that if a person is moving south-east, he will be definitely moving with 45 degrees. Keep a range in your mind.

Please note that the moment you find a question related to direction sense, you should try to draw a diagram and solve the question. Start with the assumption that you are at the center and start following the instructions. Let’s have a look at the examples below.

Direction Sense Examples

Directions: Answer the questions based on the information given below:

Seven persons, A through G are sitting at some distance from each other. A is sitting 2m north to B, who is sitting 3m west to C, who is sitting 4m north to D, who is sitting 6m east to E, who is sitting in the middle of F and G. G is sitting 8m south to F.

Common Solution:

The final arrangement is as follows:

Question 1: What is the shortest distance between C and G?

a.15m

b. 12m

c. 10m

d. 8m

e. None of these

Answer: c

Solution:

The shortest distance between C and G can be calculated by applying Pythagoras theorem,

CG2= 36+64

CG=10m

Hence, option c.

SBI PO 2020 Prelims Free Mock Test

Question 2:

What is the direction of F with respect to B?

a. North west

b. North

c. South west

d. West

e. None of these

Answer: d

Solution:

F is in the west of B.

Hence, option d.

Be ready for New Kinds of Direction Sense Questions

You may also see new kinds of direction sense questions in the upcoming RRB Clerk 2020 Prelims. Please note that these new questions will just be involving multiple concepts and the basic concept of direction sense remains the same. Remember: whatever is new for you, is new for the remaining aspirants as well. Don’t panic and try to understand what the question is asking. Keep taking mock tests as well as at times you can find new types of questions in mock tests.

Tips to Solve Direction Sense Questions

Pythagoras Theorem can be applied in the case of a right-angle triangle.
Right turn directions will be clockwise and left turn directions will be anti-clockwise.
Don’t presume anything. Take each piece of information step by step
Practice a lot of questions to gain mastery on this topic.

Direction Sense Questions for Practice

Directions 1-2: Answer the questions based on the information given below.

Seven persons, P through V are sitting at some distance from each other. P is sitting 2m west to Q, who is sitting in the middle of R and S. T is sitting 4m east to S, who is sitting 6m south to R. T is sitting in the middle of U and V. U is sitting 6m north to V.

Question 1: What is the shortest distance between the person sitting in the south of Q and the person sitting in the north of T?

a. 5m

b. 6m

c. 4m

d. 8m

e. None of these

Answer: For detailed solution, please download the PDF

Question 2: What is the direction of V with respect to Q?

a. South

b. North East

c. South east

d. North West

e. None of these

Answer: For detailed solution, please download the PDF

Directions 3-5: Answer the questions based on the information given below:

Point A is 4m west of point B, which is 5m south of point of C. Point F is 13m north-west of point E and 9m north of point G, which is in north of point A. Point D is 8m east of point C and in 4m south of point E. Point C is in east of point G.

Question 3: What is the shortest distance between G and C?

a. 3m

b. 4m

c. 5m

d. 8m

e. cannot be determined

Answer: For detailed solution, please download the PDF

Question 4: What is the shortest distance between F and D?

a. 9m

b. 12m

c. 15m

d. 17m

e. cannot be determined

Answer: For detailed solution, please download the PDF

Question 5: What is the shortest distance between A and D?

a. 9m

b. 12m

c. 13m

d. 15m

e. cannot be determined

Answer: For detailed solution, please download the PDF

Directions 6-8: Answer the questions based on the information given below.

Eight persons, A through H are sitting at some distance from each other. A is sitting 4m west to B, who is sitting in the middle of C and D. H is sitting 4m south to G, who is sitting 3m west to F, who is sitting 3m south to E, who is sitting 5m east to D. C is sitting 4m north of D.

Question 6: If H moves 2m towards west, then what is the shortest distance between H and C?

a. 11m

b. 12m

c. 13m

d. 15m

e. None of these

Answer: For detailed solution, please download the PDF

Question 7: What is the direction of B with respect to G?

a. North

b. North east

c. South west

d. North west

e. None of these

Answer: For detailed solution, please download the PDF

Question 8: What is the direction of F with respect to D?

a. South east

b. South

c. North East

d. North

e. None of these

Answer: For detailed solution, please download the PDF

Directions 9-10: Answer the following questions based on the information given below:

A person starts walking from point P in east direction. After walking 2m he turns right from point Q. After walking 5m he turns left from point R. After walking 6m he turns right from point S. After walking 4m he turns left from point T. After walking 4m he turns left from point U. After walking 9m he stops at point V.

Question 9: What is the shortest distance between point S and point V?

a. 41m

b. 39m

c. √41m

d. √39m

e. None of these

Answer: c

Solution: For detailed solution, please download the PDF

Question 10: What is the position of V with respect to P?

a. West

b. East

c. North