If you face West and turn 135 degrees clockwise, which direction are you facing?

Explanation

Start from West, which the given solution treats as 270 degrees on the compass circle. A clockwise turn adds to that bearing, so 270 degrees plus 135 degrees gives 405 degrees. Since a compass circle has 360 degrees, subtract 360 degrees to bring the bearing back within one full round: 405 degrees becomes 45 degrees. The National Park Service compass course supports this reading by explaining that 0 or 360 degrees indicates North, 90 degrees indicates East, and the direction halfway between them is Northeast. Therefore, 45 degrees points to North-East, making option A the only matching direction.

Why the other options are wrong

• (B) South-East lies between East and South, but the calculated bearing is 45 degrees, which lies between North and East.
• (C) North-West would require a bearing between North and West, whereas the turn reduces to 45 degrees between North and East.
• (D) South-West is the starting quadrant around West and South, not the final 45-degree bearing after completing the clockwise turn.

Concept

This tests direction sense using angular bearings on a compass circle. RAS reasoning papers use such questions because they check whether candidates can combine rotation, modular arithmetic and standard directions without a diagram.

Source

• National Park Service

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