MEP Y8 Practice Book A

11.3 Bearings
Bearings are a measure of direction, with north taken as a reference. If you are
travelling north, your bearing is 000 ° . N
If you walk from O in the direction shown in the
diagram, you are walking on a bearing of 110 ° .

Bearings are always measured clockwise from north, 110˚

and are given as three figures, for example: O
N
N
N

240˚
60˚
330˚

Bearing 060 ° Bearing 240 ° Bearing 330 °

Example 1 N
On what bearing is a ship sailing if it is heading:
NW NE
(a) E, (b) S,
(c) W, (d) SE, W E
(e) NW ?
SW SE
Solution
S
(a) N (b) N

90˚
E 180˚
Bearing is 090 ° . Bearing is 180 ° .

(c) N

W
270˚
Bearing is 270 ° .
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11.3
N
(d) (e) N

NW

135˚
315˚

Bearing is 315 °
SE

Bearing is 135 °

Example 2
A ship sails from A to B on a bearing of 060 ° . On what bearing must it sail if it
is to return from B to A?

Solution
N
The diagram shows the journey from
A to B. N
Extending the line of the journey allows
an angle of 60 ° to be marked at B.
Bearing of A from B = 60 ° + 180 ° 60˚
B
= 240 °
and this is called a back bearing or a
reciprocal bearing. 60˚
A

Exercises
1. What angle do you turn through if you turn clockwise from:
(a) N to S, (b) E to W,
(c) N to NE, (d) N to SW,
(e) W to NW ?

Direction Bearing
2. Copy and complete the table:
N
NE
W
SW
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3. The map of an island is shown below:

N

Mine Quay

Church Tower

Beach

Lighthouse

What is the bearing from the tower, of each place shown on the map?

4. The diagram shows the positions of two N

ships, A and B.
(a) What is the bearing of ship A from
ship B ?
N
(b) What is the bearing of ship B from
ship A ? A

5. The diagram shows 3 places, A, B and C. B

Find the bearing of: N

(a) A from C,
N
(b) B from A,
(c) C from B,
(d) B from C. B
N
A

6. An aeroplane flies from Newquay to Birmingham on a bearing of 044 ° . On

what bearing should the pilot fly, to return to Newquay from Birmingham?

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11.3
7. On four separate occasions, a plane leaves Exeter airport to fly to a different
destination. The bearings of these destinations from Exeter airport are given
below.
Destination Bearing
London 077 °
Glasgow 356 °

Leeds 036 °

Guernsey 162 °

N
Copy and complete the diagram to show
the direction in which the plane flies to
each destination.
London

Exeter

8. A ship sails NW from a port to take supplies to an oil rig. On what bearing
must it sail to return from the oil rig to the port?

9. If A is north of B, C is southeast of B and on a bearing of 160 ° from A, find

the bearing of:
(a) A from B,
(b) A from C,
(c) C from B,
(d) B from C.

10. If A is on a bearing of 300 ° from O, O is NE of B, and the bearing of B

from A is 210 ° , find the bearing of:
(a) A from B,
(b) O from A,
(c) O from B.

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11.4 Scale Drawings

Using bearings, scale drawings can be constructed to solve problems

Example 1
A ship sails 20 km NE, then 18 km S, and then stops.
(a) How far is it from its starting point when it stops?
(b) On what bearing must it sail to return to its starting point?

Solution
The path of the ship can be drawn using
a scale of 1 cm for every 2 km, as shown A 180˚
in the diagram. Scale: 1 cm = 2 km

20 km

18 km

45˚
O

(a) The distance BO can be measured on the diagram as 7.3 cm which

represents an actual distance of 14.6 km.
(b) The bearing of O from B can be measured as 285 ° .
Note: Remember to always put the scale on the diagram.

Example 2
A man walks 750 m on a bearing of 030 ° . He then walks on a bearing of 315 °
until he is due north of his starting point, and stops.
(a) How far does he walk on the bearing of 315 ° ?
(b) How far is he from his starting point when he stops?

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11.4

Solution
A scale drawing can be produced, using a scale of 1 cm to 100 m.

N
N
B

Scale: 1 cm = 100 m

A
315˚

750 m

30˚

(a) The distance AB can be measured as 5.4 cm, which represents an actual
distance of 530 m.
(b) The distance OB can be measured as 10.2 cm, representing an actual
distance of 1020 m.

Exercises
1. A girl walks 80 m north and then 200 m east.
(a) How far is she from her starting position?
(b) On what bearing should she walk to get back to her starting position?

2. Andrew walks 300 m NW and then walks 500 m south and then stops.
(a) How far is he from his starting position when he stops?
(b) On what bearing could he have walked to go directly from his starting
position to where he stopped?

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3. An aeroplane flies 400 km on a bearing of 055 ° It then flies on a bearing

of 300 ° , until it is due north of its starting position. How far is the
aeroplane from its starting position?

4. A captain wants to sail his ship from port A to

port B, but the journey cannot be made directly.
B
Port B is 50 km north of A.
The ship sails 20 km on a bearing of 075 ° . N
It then sails 20 km on a bearing of 335 ° and then Sea
drops anchor. Land
(a) How far is the ship from port B when it
drops anchor?
A
(b) On what bearing should the captain sail the
ship to arrive at port B?

5. Julie intended to walk 200 m on a bearing of 240 ° . Her compass did not
work properly, so she actually walked 200 m on a bearing of 225 ° . What
distance and on what bearing should she walk to get to the place she
intended to reach?

6. A hot air balloon is blown 5 km NW. The wind then changes direction and
the balloon is blown a further 6 km on a bearing of 300 ° before landing.
How far is the balloon from its starting point when it lands?

7. Robin and Jane set off walking at the same time. When they start, Robin is
6 km NW of Jane. Jane walks 3 km on a bearing of 350 ° and Robin walks
4 km on a bearing of 020 ° . How far apart are they now?

8. An aeroplane flies 200 km on a bearing of 335 ° . It then flies 100 km on a

bearing of 170 ° and 400 km on 280 ° , and then lands.
(a) How far is the aeroplane from its starting point when it lands?
(b) On what bearing could it have flown to complete its journey directly?

9. Brian is sailing on a bearing of 135 ° . After his boat has travelled 20 km, he
realises that he is 1 km north of the port that he wanted to reach.
(a) On what bearing should he have sailed?
(b) How far from his starting point is the port that he wanted to reach?

10. A pilot knows that to fly to another airport he needs to fly 500 km on a
bearing of 200 ° . When he has flown 400 km, he realises that he is 150 km
from the airport.

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(a) On what bearing has the pilot been flying?

(b) On what bearing should he fly to reach the airport?
(Note that there are two answers.)

11. Four planes take off from Exeter airport, each one flying on a different
bearing to another UK airport. The bearings and the distances from Exeter
to these airports are given in the table below.

Destination Bearing Distance

London 077 ° 255 km

Glasgow 356 ° 575 km

Leeds 036 ° 390 km

Guernsey 162 ° 150 km

Using a scale of 1 cm to represent 50 km, draw a map showing the positions

of the five airports.

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