Study Material — 12 PYQs (2023–2023) · Concept Notes · Shortcuts
SSC CPO Direction & Distance is a frequently tested subtopic — 12 previous year questions from 2023–2023 papers are included below with concept notes, key rules and shortcut tricks.
SSC CPO Direction & Distance — Past Exam Questions
12 questions from actual SSC CPO papers · all shown free · click option to reveal solution
Exam Q 12023Previous Year Pattern
Neha starts at point Q facing West. She walks 12 km, then turns right and walks 9 km. Next, she turns left and walks 5 km. In which direction is she now facing?
Exam Q 22023Previous Year Pattern
Priya starts at point P facing South. She walks 5 km, then turns left and walks 3 km. Next, she turns right and walks 7 km. Finally, she turns left and walks 2 km. What is her final position relative to point P?
Vikram starts at point M facing North. He walks 7 km, then turns right and walks 4 km. After that, he turns right again and walks 3 km. Finally, he turns left and walks 6 km. What is his final position relative to point M?
Exam Q 42023Previous Year Pattern
Rajesh starts from point A facing North. He walks 8 km, then turns right and walks 6 km. After that, he turns left and walks 4 km. In which direction is Rajesh now facing, and how far is he from point A?
Exam Q 52023Previous Year Pattern
Amit starts at point X facing East. He walks 10 km, then turns left and walks 8 km. After that, he turns right and walks 6 km. How far is Amit from point X?
Exam Q 62023Previous Year Pattern
Rajesh starts from point A facing North. He walks 8 km, then turns right and walks 6 km. After that, he turns left and walks 4 km. Finally, he turns right and walks 5 km to reach point B. In which direction is point B with respect to point A, and what is the straight-line distance between them?
Exam Q 72023Previous Year Pattern
Rajesh starts from point A facing North. He walks 8 km, then turns right and walks 6 km. After this, he turns left and walks 4 km. Finally, he turns right and walks 3 km to reach point B. In which direction is point B with respect to point A, and what is the straight-line distance between them?
Exam Q 82023Previous Year Pattern
Kavya starts at point M facing North. She walks 5 km, turns right, walks 3 km, turns right again, walks 5 km, and turns left. She then walks 2 km. In which direction is she now facing, and how far is she from point M?
Exam Q 92023Previous Year Pattern
Amit starts at point X facing East. He walks 12 km, turns 45° to his left, and walks 8 km. Then he turns 45° to his right and walks 6 km. Finally, he turns 90° to his left and walks 4 km to reach point Y. What is the approximate straight-line distance from X to Y?
Exam Q 102023Previous Year Pattern
Neha starts at point A facing North. She walks 7 km, turns 90° right, walks 5 km, turns 90° right again, walks 11 km, turns 90° left, walks 3 km, and finally turns 90° left and walks 4 km to reach point B. In which direction is point B from point A, and what is the distance?
Exam Q 112023Previous Year Pattern
Rajesh starts from point A facing North. He walks 8 km, then turns 90° right and walks 6 km. After this, he turns 90° left and walks 12 km. Finally, he turns 90° right and walks 4 km to reach point B. What is his final direction and how far is he from point A?
Exam Q 122023Previous Year Pattern
Amit starts at point X facing East. He walks 15 km, then turns 90° left and walks 9 km. He then turns 90° right and walks 12 km. Finally, he turns 90° left and walks 7 km to reach point Y. What is the shortest distance between X and Y?
Concept Notes
Direction & Distance— Rules & Concept
💡
Core Concept
Read this first — the foundation of the topic
→Core Concept
You start from a point, follow given directions (North, South, East, West), and determine the final position or shortest distance back to start. The key is visualizing the path and using coordinate geometry or Pythagoras theorem
💡Key Rules
North is positive Y-axis, East is positive X-axis, South is negative Y-axis, West is negative X-axis. Always draw a rough diagram. Right turn means clockwise rotation (N→E→S→W). Left turn means anticlockwise rotation (N→W→S→E).
🔢
Formula Block
Memorise — at least one formula appears in every paper
Shortest Distance = √[(x2-x1)² + (y2-y1)²]
Displacement = Final position - Initial position
Right turn sequence: N→E→S→W→N (clockwise)
Left turn sequence: N→W→S→E→N (anticlockwise)
📊
Exam Patterns
What examiners ask — read before attempting PYQs
SSC asks three main types - (1) Find final position after multiple movements (2) Calculate shortest distance between start and end points (3) Determine direction of final position from starting point. Questions often include multiple turns to confuse students.
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Shortcuts
Use these to save 30–60 seconds per question
✏️Worked Example 1
Ram starts from home, walks 4km North, then 3km East, then 2km South. Find shortest distance to reach home
→Solution
Place home at (0,0)
→After 2km South
Final position = (3,2). Shortest distance = √[(3-0)² + (2-0)²] = √[9+4] = √13 = 3.6km
Worked Example 2: Sita walks 5km East, turns right, walks 12km, turns right again, walks 5km. How far is she from start
→Solution
Start at (0,0). 5km East: (5,0). Turn right (now facing South), walk 12km: (5,-12). Turn right again (now facing West), walk 5km: (0,-12). Distance from start = √[(0-0)² + (-12-0)²] = 12km
Advanced Shortcut: For rectangular paths, if you return to same X or Y coordinate, the distance equals the remaining coordinate value.
In example 2, X-coordinate returned to 0, so distance = Y-coordinate = 12km
⚡Direction Shortcut
Final direction from start can be found using coordinates. If final position is (a,b), then direction is determined by signs: (+,+) = Northeast, (+,-) = Southeast, (-,+) = Northwest, (-,-) = Southwest
⚠️Common Mistake
Students confuse left/right turns with compass directions. Remember that turns are relative to current facing direction, not absolute directions. If facing North and turn right, you face East. If facing East and turn right, you face South.
Always track current facing direction after each turn.
Another major error is calculation mistakes in distance formula. Students forget to square the terms or make errors in square root calculation
→Practice mental calculation of common squares
3²=9, 4²=16, 5²=25, 12²=144, 13²=169
⚡Time-saving tip
Recognize special triangles. 3-4-5 triangle has hypotenuse 5. 5-12-13 triangle has hypotenuse 13. 8-15-17 triangle has hypotenuse 17. If coordinates match these patterns, you can instantly write the answer without calculation.
Key Points to Remember
Always place starting point at origin (0,0) for coordinate method
North = +Y axis, South = -Y axis, East = +X axis, West = -X axis
Distance formula: √[(x2-x1)² + (y2-y1)²]
Right turn sequence: N→E→S→W (clockwise rotation)
Left turn sequence: N→W→S→E (anticlockwise rotation)
Draw rough diagram to visualize the path before calculating
For rectangular paths returning to same coordinate, distance equals remaining coordinate
Track current facing direction after every turn to avoid confusion
Memorize special triangles: 3-4-5, 5-12-13, 8-15-17 for quick calculation
Final direction from start depends on coordinate signs: (+,+)=NE, (+,-)=SE, (-,+)=NW, (-,-)=SW
Exam-Specific Tips
Pythagoras theorem: c² = a² + b² where c is hypotenuse
3-4-5 triangle: sides 3, 4 give hypotenuse 5
5-12-13 triangle: sides 5, 12 give hypotenuse 13
8-15-17 triangle: sides 8, 15 give hypotenuse 17
√2 = 1.414 (for 45-degree movements)
√3 = 1.732 (for 60-degree movements)
Right angle = 90 degrees rotation
Straight angle = 180 degrees rotation
60-Second Revision — Direction & Distance
Remember: Use coordinate method with start point at (0,0)
Formula: Distance = √[(x2-x1)² + (y2-y1)²]
Trap: Track facing direction after each turn, not absolute directions
Shortcut: Recognize 3-4-5, 5-12-13, 8-15-17 triangles for instant answers
Technique: Right turns go N→E→S→W, left turns go N→W→S→E
Quick check: For rectangular paths, final distance often equals one coordinate value