Sun, Shadow & Degree Turns

🎯 Learning Objective

Use the sun's position to fix shadow direction, and combine it with turn logic to find the facing direction.

💡 Concept

• Morning: sun in the East → shadows fall towards the West
• Evening: sun in the West → shadows fall towards the East
• A person facing the sun always has their shadow behind them
• At noon the sun is overhead, so shadows are shortest (treated as negligible)
• Combine with turns: once shadow direction is known, place the person and apply left/right
• Degree turns still follow bearings: N=0°, E=90°, S=180°, W=270°

🧮 Key Formulas

Morning sun East → shadow West

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Evening sun West → shadow East

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Facing the sun → shadow behind you

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Noon → shadow negligible

✏️ Easy Example

Q. Early in the morning, Suresh stands facing the rising sun. In which direction does his shadow fall?

1. The rising sun is in the East, and Suresh faces it (East)
2. The shadow forms opposite the sun, i.e. behind him → West

Answer: West

🇮🇳 Real-Life Example

On a morning walk with the sun on your face, your long shadow stretches out behind you towards the west — the exam just formalises that everyday sight.

📝 Exam-Level Example

Q. One morning after sunrise, a boy stood facing a pole. The shadow of the pole fell exactly to his right. Which direction was he facing?

1. Morning sun is in the East, so the shadow falls towards the West
2. The shadow (West) is to his right → his right hand points West
3. A person whose right hand points West is facing South

Answer: South

📝 Exam-Level Example

Q. In the evening, Meena stood still and her shadow fell to her right. Which direction was she facing?

1. Evening sun is in the West, so the shadow falls towards the East
2. The shadow (East) is to her right → her right hand points East
3. A person whose right hand points East is facing North

Answer: North

📝 Exam-Level Example

Q. A person facing North-East turns 135° clockwise, and then turns 180° clockwise. Which direction is he facing now?

1. North-East = 45°
2. 45° + 135° = 180° = South
3. 180° + 180° = 360° = 0° = North

Answer: North

🪄 Memory Trick

Fix the sun first (East morning / West evening), draw the shadow opposite it, then rotate the little stick-figure for the turns — never guess the shadow side.

⚠️ Common Mistakes

• ❌ Making the shadow fall towards the sun instead of opposite to it
• ❌ Using morning logic (shadow West) for an evening question
• ❌ Mixing up which facing gives right-hand-East vs right-hand-West

🏆 Exam Tips

• ✅ Write 'morning → West shadow, evening → East shadow' at the top of the question
• ✅ For 'shadow to the right/left', place the shadow first, then work out the face

📌 Summary

• Morning sun East → shadow West; evening sun West → shadow East
• Facing the sun puts the shadow behind you
• Noon shadows are negligible
• Fix the shadow, then apply turns using bearings