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Maths Quiz - Position (Very Easy) (Questions)

This 11-plus Maths quiz will introduce you to the compass and it will give you some practice in finding your bearings if you are feeling a bit lost.

Before you start, here's a tip: North (N) is at the top of a map; East (E) is on the right hand side (RHS) of a map; South is at the bottom of a map; West is on the left hand side (LHS) of a map. There are 90° between N and E, E and S, S and W, W and N: so a complete circle is 360°. These four points are called the cardinal points of the compass.

This section of quizzes is the easiest of our ones on position, so you should be able to get all ten questions correct. Make sure you do before moving onto the next quiz. It's always a good idea to read the comments after you've answered a question - these are there to give you more information and help you learn. Good luck!

1. If you face West and turn through 180° anticlockwise, what direction will you be facing now?
[ ] West
[ ] North
[ ] South
[ ] East
2. If you face East and turn through 270° anticlockwise, what direction will you be facing now?
[ ] South
[ ] North
[ ] West
[ ] East
3. If you face South and turn through 360°, what direction will you be facing now?
[ ] East
[ ] North
[ ] South
[ ] West
4. If you face North and turn through 540° clockwise, what direction will you be facing now?
[ ] West
[ ] East
[ ] North
[ ] South
5. If you face North, what is the compass point directly behind you?
[ ] East
[ ] South
[ ] West
[ ] You can't tell
6. If you face east, what is the compass point directly behind you?
[ ] You can't tell
[ ] South
[ ] West
[ ] North
7. From which compass directions does the sun rise and set?
[ ] The sun rises in the E and sets in the E
[ ] The sun rises in the E and sets in the N
[ ] The sun rises in the E and sets in the W
[ ] The sun rises in the W and sets in the E
8. If the sun rises in the E and sets in the W, which way does the Earth turn (rotate)?
[ ] The Earth rotates from S to E
[ ] The Earth rotates from W to S
[ ] The Earth rotates from E to W
[ ] The Earth rotates from W to E
9. Karen and Susan are at the same position on the ground. Karen is facing North. Susan is facing East. If Karen turns clockwise through 180° what angle must Susan turn through to face in the same direction as Karen?
[ ] 90° clockwise
[ ] 180° anticlockwise
[ ] 180° clockwise
[ ] 90° anticlockwise
10. Karen and Susan are at the same position on the ground again. Karen is facing north. Susan is facing east. If Karen turns anticlockwise through 180° what angle must Susan turn through to face in the same direction as Karen? This time, Susan is NOT allowed to turn clockwise through 90°.
[ ] 270° clockwise
[ ] 90° anticlockwise
[ ] 270° anticlockwise
[ ] 45° anticlockwise
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Maths Quiz - Position (Very Easy) (Answers)
1. If you face West and turn through 180° anticlockwise, what direction will you be facing now?
[ ] West
[ ] North
[ ] South
[x] East
'Anticlockwise' means that you turn (rotate) in the opposite direction to which the hands of the clock turn: the hands of the clock turn 'clockwise'. 180° = two lots of 90° or a half turn
2. If you face East and turn through 270° anticlockwise, what direction will you be facing now?
[x] South
[ ] North
[ ] West
[ ] East
'Anticlockwise' means that you turn (rotate) in the opposite direction to which the hands of the clock turn: the hands of the clock turn 'clockwise' 270° = three lots of 90° or three-quarters of a turn
3. If you face South and turn through 360°, what direction will you be facing now?
[ ] East
[ ] North
[x] South
[ ] West
If you turn through 360°, you will ALWAYS end up facing the same direction no matter which way you turn
4. If you face North and turn through 540° clockwise, what direction will you be facing now?
[ ] West
[ ] East
[ ] North
[x] South
'Anticlockwise' means that you turn (rotate) in the opposite direction to which the hands of the clock turn: the hands of the clock turn 'clockwise'. 540° = six lots of 90°
5. If you face North, what is the compass point directly behind you?
[ ] East
[x] South
[ ] West
[ ] You can't tell
Make a little drawing and you will see that it is South
6. If you face east, what is the compass point directly behind you?
[ ] You can't tell
[ ] South
[x] West
[ ] North
Make a little drawing and you will see that it is West
7. From which compass directions does the sun rise and set?
[ ] The sun rises in the E and sets in the E
[ ] The sun rises in the E and sets in the N
[x] The sun rises in the E and sets in the W
[ ] The sun rises in the W and sets in the E
Learn this fact
8. If the sun rises in the E and sets in the W, which way does the Earth turn (rotate)?
[ ] The Earth rotates from S to E
[ ] The Earth rotates from W to S
[ ] The Earth rotates from E to W
[x] The Earth rotates from W to E
It must rotate in the opposite direction to the sun
9. Karen and Susan are at the same position on the ground. Karen is facing North. Susan is facing East. If Karen turns clockwise through 180° what angle must Susan turn through to face in the same direction as Karen?
[x] 90° clockwise
[ ] 180° anticlockwise
[ ] 180° clockwise
[ ] 90° anticlockwise
'Anticlockwise' means that you turn (rotate) in the opposite direction to which the hands of the clock turn: the hands of the clock turn 'clockwise'. Karen turns through 180° (= two lots of 90° or half a turn) and ends up facing south. Susan will have to turn clockwise through 90° (quarter of a turn)
10. Karen and Susan are at the same position on the ground again. Karen is facing north. Susan is facing east. If Karen turns anticlockwise through 180° what angle must Susan turn through to face in the same direction as Karen? This time, Susan is NOT allowed to turn clockwise through 90°.
[ ] 270° clockwise
[ ] 90° anticlockwise
[x] 270° anticlockwise
[ ] 45° anticlockwise
Susan must turn in the opposite direction until she faces south again as in question 9. This shows that for every anticlockwise rotation there is also a clockwise rotation that brings you facing in the same direction. Did you notice that Karen turned anticlockwise through 180° this time? She ended up facing the same direction as in question 9: this happened because in both cases she performed a half turn. Note: the anticlockwise angle turned through + the clockwise angle turned through = 360°. This is a good check if you want to make sure that you haven't made a mistake