Compass directions and turns · Usually met around P2
Quarter, half and three-quarter turns
Clockwise: N → E → S → W, a quarter turn a step.
How to do it
Method
Clockwise: N → E → S → W, a quarter turn a step
Facing north, three quarters clockwise → facing west
Another way
Turn the other way
34 clockwise = 14 anticlockwise
In full
A full turn brings you back to where you started. A quarter turn takes you from north to east (clockwise) or from north to west (anticlockwise), like the minute hand moving 15 minutes; a half turn takes you to the opposite way, the same clockwise or anticlockwise; a three-quarter turn is 3 quarter turns. Clockwise is the way clock hands go: north → east → south → west; anticlockwise is the other way round. Or think of it like this: three quarters clockwise ends facing the same way as a quarter anticlockwise.
Worked examples
Have a go first, then open each one for the answer and the working.
Example 1
A clock's minute hand points at 6 and makes a 34 turn clockwise. Which number does it point at now?
Show the answer and working
Answer: 3
A clock face has 12 numbers, so a quarter turn moves 3 of them: a 34 turn clockwise from 6 reaches 3.
Example 2
Tsz-ching faces east, makes a half turn, and then faces west.
True or false?
Show the answer and working
Answer: True
A half turn is 2 quarter turns, to the opposite way: the opposite of east is west, clockwise or anticlockwise.
Example 3
A 14 turn clockwise and a 12 turn anticlockwise end up facing the same way.
True or false?
Show the answer and working
Answer: False
They only end the same way if together they make a full turn (4 quarter turns): 34 clockwise with 14 anticlockwise, or a half turn with a half turn.
Practise it in the game →Compass directions and turns · Free to start, unlimited questions, no download