Direction and Distance
About 7 min · Reasoning Ability · English
Time worked out from the lesson's 487 words at 150 words a minute, plus a minute for each question.
Direction and Distance is a fundamental reasoning topic in IBPS PO Prelims that tests your ability to visualize movement on a two-dimensional plane using compass directions. Questions typically describe a person walking in various directions and ask you to find the final position, shortest distance from the starting point, or the direction they're facing.
Key ideas
- The 8-Point Compass: North (N), South (S), East (E), West (W) are the four cardinal directions. Between them lie Northeast (NE), Northwest (NW), Southeast (SE), and Southwest (SW). North is always drawn pointing upward on your rough sheet.
- Opposite Directions: N↔S and E↔W are opposite pairs. Moving North then South cancels out; same for East-West movements.
- Left and Right Turns: These depend on which direction you're currently facing. Facing North and turning right means you now face East. Facing South and turning left also means East.
- Shortest Distance: The straight-line distance between start and end points—calculated using the Pythagorean theorem when movements form a right-angled path.
- Shadow-Based Direction: At sunrise, shadows fall towards West (sun in East). At sunset, shadows fall towards East (sun in West). If your shadow falls to your right at sunrise, you're facing South.
Watch out for
- Confusing left/right with compass directions → Left/right are relative to where you're facing. Always determine current facing direction before applying the turn, then update the facing direction.
- Forgetting to cancel opposite movements → Many students add all distances. If someone walks 4 km North then 4 km South, displacement is zero in that axis. Identify and cancel before calculating.
- Applying Pythagoras when movements aren't perpendicular → The formula works only when final net movements are at 90°. If the path has diagonal components or multiple same-axis movements, resolve into net horizontal and vertical first.
Quick reference
- Always draw a compass rose on your rough sheet before starting.
- Right turn from North = East; Left turn from North = West.
- Shortest distance = √(net horizontal² + net vertical²).
- Morning shadow falls West; evening shadow falls East.
- Cancel opposite movements before calculating displacement.
Check yourself: 3 questions
1. Priya walks 12 m West from her house, then 9 m South, then 5 m East, and finally 3 m North. How far is she from her starting point?
2. Sunita walks 9 m towards East from point A, then turns left and walks 12 m to point B, then turns left and walks 9 m, and finally turns right and walks 5 m to reach point C. What is the shortest distance between point A and point C, and in which direction is point C with respect to point A?
3. Kavita walks 6 m towards North, then turns right and walks 8 m. She then turns right again and walks 6 m. Finally, she turns left and walks 4 m. How far is she from her starting point?
This lesson is cut from the topic's note, not rewritten. Fact-checked on 21 Oct 2026: an AI-assisted check of this note against cited sources; the errors it found were corrected that day. Some errors may remain. The questions are from Shishya's validated question bank.
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