A person stood alone in a desert on a dark night and wanted to reach his village which was situated 5 km east of the point where he was standing. He had no instruments to find the direction, but he located the polestar. The most convenient way now to reach his village is to walk in the:

1. direction facing the polestar
2. direction opposite to the polestar
3. direction keeping the polestar to his left
4. direction keeping the polestar to his right

Explanation

Option (c) is correct

• A pole star is a star or a star system situated in the direction of the earth’s axis. At present, Polaris or North Star (a system of 3 stars) is the earth’s pole star. It is visible only from the northern hemisphere, and when looked at from earth, it does not appear to move.

• If a person wants to go east, they should move perpendicular to the north-south direction. To move eastward, the north (Polestar) should be on the left, and the south should be on the right. Thus, the person should walk keeping the Polestar to their left to reach the village.

Answer: (c) direction keeping the polestar to his left; Difficulty Level: Easy