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?
- A.
North
- B.
North-West
- C.
East
- 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).
Start: facing South.
Turn right from South → face West; walk 20 m West.
Turn right again from West → face North; walk 10 m North.
Turn left from North → face West; walk 10 m West.
Turn right from West → face North; walk 20 m North.
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.