Tom is facing North. He turns 45 degrees in the clockwise direction and then…
Tom is facing North. He turns 45 degrees in the clockwise direction and then another 180 degrees in the same direction. What direction is he facing now?
Answer: D. SOUTH-WEST — The eight principal compass directions sit 45 degrees apart in clockwise order: North (0 degrees), North-East (45), East (90), South-East (135), South (180),…
- A.
NORTH
- B.
SOUTH
- C.
SOUTH-EAST
- D.
SOUTH-WEST
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Correct answer: D
The eight principal compass directions sit 45 degrees apart in clockwise order: North (0 degrees), North-East (45), East (90), South-East (135), South (180), South-West (225), West (270), North-West (315). Turning clockwise by an angle adds that angle to the current bearing.
Tom starts facing North, a bearing of 0 degrees.
He turns 45 degrees clockwise: new bearing = 0 + 45 = 45 degrees, which is North-East.
He then turns another 180 degrees clockwise from this new heading: new bearing = 45 + 180 = 225 degrees, which is South-West.
Cross-check: the two turns together total 45 + 180 = 225 degrees of clockwise rotation from the original North heading, and 225 degrees is exactly the bearing for South-West, confirming the result independently.
Therefore, Tom is facing South-West after both turns.