The four main directions are North (N), South (S), East (E), and West (W). With secondary directions North-East (NE), North-West (NW), South-East (SE), South-West (SW).
To find the main directions, face the direction that the sun rises (East). Then stretch your arms out by your side,Your left hand points North and your right hand points South.
A bearing is a direction of a compass. There are two common methods for giving bearings:
Acute angle with North or South. For example, N30°E, S50°W.
Thre-figure bearing, measured clockwise from the North. For example, 030°, 230°.
Examples
Ibadan is 116 km on a bearing of 027° from Lagos. How far north of Lagos is Ibadan? How far west of Ibadan is Lagos? (Hint: Make a scale drawing of the data)
Scale: 1 cm to 20 km.
K is the point due north of Lagos and due west of Ibadan.
LK represents the distance that Ibadan is north of Lagos.
By measurement, LK = 5.2 cm
The true distance, LK = 5.2 × 20 = 104 km
IK represents the distance that Lagos is west of Ibadan.
By measurement, IK is 2.6 cm.
The true distance IK = 2.6 × 20 = 52 km
Thus, Ibadan is approximately 104 km north of Lagos, and Lagos is approximately 52 km west of Ibadan.
