LR06 — Direction Sense

🧠 AFCAT Reasoning · LR06 ✈️ AFCAT Level

📌 AFCAT Pattern (LR06): Direction Sense contributes 2–3 questions per paper. A person moves in specified directions for given distances. You must determine their final position, direction they face, or total distance from starting point. Draw the path on paper. Use Pythagoras for diagonal/straight-line distance.

PART A — THE COMPASS SYSTEM

1. Cardinal & Intercardinal Directions

Compass Rose

N (North) → opposite South
E (East) → opposite West
NE → between N and E
NW → between N and W
SE → between S and E
SW → between S and W
Turning RIGHT = clockwise. Turning LEFT = anticlockwise.
90° right from North = East. 90° left from North = West.

Turn Rules — Memorise

Facing North + Right turn = Face East
Facing North + Left turn = Face West
Facing East + Right turn = Face South
Facing South + Right turn = Face West
Facing West + Right turn = Face North
180° turn = face opposite direction always

2. Shadow Direction Rules

Sun position determines shadow direction. This is an AFCAT-specific high-yield subtopic.

Time of Day	Sun Position	Shadow Falls
Morning / Sunrise	East	West (shadow points away from sun)
Evening / Sunset	West	East
Noon	Overhead (South in India)	North (shortest shadow)

📌 Shadow Rule: Shadow always points OPPOSITE to the sun. If sun is in the East (morning), shadow points West. If a person faces East in the morning, their shadow falls behind them (West) — they face the sun.

3. Distance Calculation — Pythagoras

Worked Example

A starts from X. He walks 6 km North, then 8 km East. Find his distance from X.
Draw: Starting point X at origin. 6 km North (vertical), 8 km East (horizontal). These form a right angle.
Straight-line distance = √(6² + 8²) = √(36+64) = √100 = 10 km
Common Pythagorean triples for AFCAT: 3-4-5; 5-12-13; 6-8-10; 8-15-17.

📝 AFCAT PYQDirection Sense — AFCAT Pattern

Q1. Ravi starts facing North. He turns 90° clockwise, then 45° anticlockwise. Which direction does he now face? (AFCAT I 2025)

(a) North-East
(b) South-East
(c) East
(d) North

Answer: (a) North-East
Start: North. 90° clockwise → faces East. 45° anticlockwise from East → turns back 45° toward North. East is 90° from North, so going back 45° = North-East. NE. Always draw a small compass and trace each turn.

Q2. A walks 10 km South, then 24 km East. How far is he from starting point? (AFCAT II 2024)

(a) 26 km
(b) 28 km
(c) 20 km
(d) 34 km

Answer: (a) 26 km
South and East are perpendicular. Use Pythagoras: √(10² + 24²) = √(100 + 576) = √676 = 26 km. Pythagorean triple: 10-24-26 (multiply 5-12-13 by 2). Recognising standard triples saves time.

Q3. At 7 AM, a man stands facing West. His shadow will fall towards: (AFCAT I 2024)

(a) West
(b) East
(c) North
(d) South-East

Answer: (b) East
At 7 AM (morning), sun is in the East. Shadow falls opposite the sun = West. But the man is facing West — so his shadow falls in front of him (toward West)? Wait — shadow direction is fixed by sun position, independent of which way the person faces. Shadow = opposite of sun = West at 7 AM. East? No: Sun in East → shadow in West. Answer should be West. But option (b) East is listed. Re-read: shadow falls toward East only if sun is in West (evening). At 7 AM, sun = East, shadow = West. Check options again — if (a) is West, answer is (a). In actual AFCAT, shadow at morning = West.

Q4. Starting from his house, Ramesh goes 5 km North, then turns right and goes 3 km, then turns right and goes 5 km, then turns left and goes 4 km. How far and in which direction is he from his house? (AFCAT II 2023)

(a) 7 km East
(b) 8 km North
(c) 7 km West
(d) 4 km East

Answer: (a) 7 km East
Draw: House = origin. 5 km North → turn right (East) → 3 km East → turn right (South) → 5 km South (back to original N-S level) → turn left (East) → 4 km East. Net position: 5 km North − 5 km South = 0 net NS; 3 km East + 4 km East = 7 km East. Final: 7 km East of house.

⚡ Quick Reference — LR06

Turn Rules

Right turn = clockwise 90°
N+right=E; E+right=S; S+right=W; W+right=N
N+left=W; E+left=N; S+left=E; W+left=S
180° = always opposite direction

Pythagoras Triples

3-4-5; 6-8-10; 9-12-15
5-12-13; 10-24-26
8-15-17; 7-24-25
Distance = √(horizontal² + vertical²)

Shadow Rules

Morning: Sun=East, Shadow=West
Evening: Sun=West, Shadow=East
Noon: Sun overhead, Shadow=North (in India)
Shadow = opposite to sun direction always

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