Simple Techniques to Solve Direction Questions in Direct Sense Test

Directions matter in our daily lives. Be it identifying the closest store or a long route trip, directions are important to reach the desired destination. In competitive exams, logical reasoning is identified by one part known as verbal reasoning. In verbal reasoning, a whole set of questions are dedicated to testing the examinee’s ability to identify direction.

This is known as the direction sense test. The direction sense test is exclusively devoted to testing the examinee’s sense of direction. While the preparation for the test would seem difficult, it is really easy with some simple techniques to solve direction problems. Knowing the basic concepts of direction test questions makes it easier to apply the right method in solving the question.

Prior to knowing the simple methods related to the direction sense test, it is important to know what the direction sense test is. There will be a detailed elaboration on what direction sense test is in the below sections. Further, there will be an explanation of basic concepts and simple techniques to solve direction problems.

What Is A Direction Sense Test?

In competitive examinations, verbal reasoning is one of the important parts. The verbal reasoning consists of questions subjected to a direction sense test. This test is initiated to understand the examinee’s ability to identify the directions.

The test has questions that repetitively change the directions and become complex as they proceed. The questions have the pattern of asking the final direction after previously made direction changes.

The direction sense test analyses the direction preciseness exhibited by the examinee. It identifies how precisely the examiner can define the direction asked for. With this, the clarity of description about the particular direction is also mandatory. The examiner will provide scores on preciseness, clarity, and knowing the right method to identify the directions.

The direction sense test involves memory, visual retention, and right reciprocation. The test examines how well the examinee can remember the chain of changed directions and visually view them when answering. Further, the test also looks into the similar or right reciprocation of the sensed directions as seen and heard before.

Basic Concepts of Direction Questions

The sole purpose of the direction questions in the direction sense test is to test the examinee’s capability to identify the directions. The direction questions keep on changing, and the examinee is then asked to identify the final direction.

So, the main concept involving the direction sense test is “use of directions.” The questions in this test keep on changing the direction repetitively. This tests whether the examinee can remember the train of directional changes that happens throughout a specific question.

Another concept involving the direction sense test is the “use of distance.” The questions involve the examinee finding how much the distance has been covered. This might include identifying the distance after the change of a particular direction. Or the entire distance covered after a series of shifts in the direction.

The direction and distance as the basic concepts of direction questions may cover varied mediums. It is not static in asking questions about distance by walk or road. It covers directions by air, birds, railways, and any mode of transportation.

Simple Techniques to Solve Direction Problems

There are quick, easy, and very simple techniques to solve direction problems. These simple methods aim to simplify the question understanding by the examinee. These simple methods to solve direction problems are mentioned below.

Knowing the Direction Chart

Understanding the direction chart is important to locate and name the directions. The direction chart has 8 common directions to know. These are North, Northeast, Northwest, East, West, South, Southeast, and Southwest.

You must also know how these directions come into existence. When one direction changes at 90 degrees, it becomes a new direction. For directions such as Northeast and Southeast, the change is 45 degrees.

For instance, the direction would be called East if there is a 90-degree shift from North to the East. When North shifts to 45 degrees, the direction becomes Northeast.

Understanding the Left-Right Movement

Knowing left-right movement in some easy steps is another method to solve the directions questions. There are a few statements with directional changes that must be known. These are known as the left-right movement, using the left and right turns. These statements are:

• When we are in the North, turning left is West and turning right is East. 
• When we are in the West, turning left will be South, and turning right will be North. 
• When we are in the East, turning to left will be North, and turning to right will be South. 
• When we are in the South, turning to the left is East and turning to the right is West

Knowing Anti-Clockwise and Clockwise 

Another simple technique to solve direction questions is identifying direction as anticlockwise or clockwise. If we move to the right, the entire direction will be clockwise. So, every right movement will lead to the East, South, and West directions, which are clockwise when starting from the right point, at North.

Similarly, if the movement begins from the left, the entire directions that follow would be anti-clockwise. So, if you turn to the left from North, the directions would be West, South, and East, which are in a reverse pattern.

Some solved examples of direction test questions using these methods are:

Example 1

A man is moving 4km to the East. He then takes a right turn, and 5 km after the right turn, he takes a right turn again. Identify the final direction he has reached.

Answer: The final direction that the man would reach is West. Using the Left-Right movement method, the man first moves to the South and then to the West. 

Example 2

A man walks towards the North and shifts to 45 degrees to the right. He then moves to the right. What will be his direction at 45 degrees?

Answer: By using the method of direction chart, at 45 degrees, the man would be in the Northeast direction.

Conclusion

In the above information, there is an elaboration of how direction is impactful in our daily and academic lives. The direction sense test in competitive exams involves the identification of direction after several changes. There is also an elaboration of the simple techniques to solve direction questions and various examples.