How to work out Compass Bearings
The four main directions of a compass are known as the cardinal points.
Where the NE, NW, SE and SW would be referred to as the half cardinal points.
The North represents 00 or 3600
The East represents 900
The South represents 1800
The West represents 2700
Here we are looking at conventional bearings;
These are stated as the number of degrees to the East or West of the North / South line.
Therefore the conventional bearing will simpily be referred to as the direction.
Example (i)
Answer
The position of B is 380 East of North.
So the direction is written as N 380 E
Example (ii)
Answer
The position of A is 700 East of South
So the direction is written as S 700 E
Example (iii)
Answer
The position of A is 300 West of South
So the direction is written as S 300 W
Example (iv)
Answer
The position of A is 250 West of North
So the direction is written as N 250 W
Example (v)
In the follow up hub I will be looking at three figure bearings.
(True bearings)
The true bearing of a point is the angle measured in degrees,
in a clockwise direction from the North Line.
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