Direction Sense Tricks
Direction Sense Tricks – 2-Minute Revision
1. Core Facts
- Standard Map: North ↑, South ↓, East →, West ←
- Sun Rule: Morning shadow → West; Evening shadow → East
- Clock Rule: 12-noon shadow → North (India, tropic north)
- Pythagoras: Shortest distance = √(x² + y²) when x m East/West & y m North/South
- Opposite pairs: N-S, E-W, NE-SW, NW-SE
- Clockwise order: N → NE → E → SE → S → SW → W → NW → N (remember Never Eat Soggy Waffles)
2. Memory Tricks
| Mnemonic | Use |
|---|---|
| NEWS | Sequence: North-East-West-South (anti-clockwise) |
| Right = East | Face North; your right hand points East |
| Left Hand Rule | Left hand always points West when facing North |
| 3-4-5 Triangle | 3 E, 4 N → 5 m shortest (auto-recall Pythagorean triplet) |
3. Rotation Table (Face → Turn)
| Face | Right | Left | U-Turn |
|---|---|---|---|
| N | E | W | S |
| E | S | N | W |
| S | W | E | N |
| W | N | S | E |
4. Distance Shortcut
- Same direction: Add
- Opposite direction: Subtract
- Perpendicular: Use Pythagoras
BETA
