I am facing south. I turn right and walk 20m. Then I turn right again and walk…

2022

I am facing south. I turn right and walk 20m. Then I turn right again and walk 10m. Then I turn left and walk 10m and then turning right walks 20m. Then I turn right again and walk 60m. In which direction, am I from the starting point?

  1. A.

    North

  2. B.

    North-West

  3. C.

    East

  4. D.

    North-East

Attempted by 3 students.

Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: D

Concept: In a direction-sense (direction test) problem, plot the walker's path on a compass grid. A right turn rotates the current heading 90° clockwise (North → East → South → West → North) and a left turn rotates it 90° counter-clockwise (North → West → South → East → North). Track each leg's heading and distance, then sum the East–West legs and the North–South legs separately — the net displacement from the start gives the true direction of the finishing point, and equal East and North totals place it exactly north-east (similarly for the other three diagonals).

  1. Start: facing South.

  2. Turn right from South → face West; walk 20 m West.

  3. Turn right again from West → face North; walk 10 m North.

  4. Turn left from North → face West; walk 10 m West.

  5. Turn right from West → face North; walk 20 m North.

  6. Turn right again from North → face East; walk 60 m East.

Netting the East–West legs (20 m west + 10 m west, offset by the final 60 m east) leaves 30 m east of the start, and netting the North–South legs (10 m north + 20 m north) leaves 30 m north of the start. Equal 30 m displacement along both axes places the finishing point exactly north-east of the starting point.

Cross-check: recomputing the two totals independently — East–West as −20 − 10 + 60 = +30 (east) and North–South as +10 + 20 = +30 (north) — reproduces the same (30 m east, 30 m north) endpoint, confirming north-east.

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