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Bearings Question Generator

A bearing is measured clockwise from north and written with three figures, which is two conventions that both differ from how angles are usually handled. Getting either wrong produces an answer that looks plausible and is wrong by ninety degrees or by a sign. Each question here gives a displacement east and north, asks for the bearing, and states the back bearing in the working — because the return journey is the part most often assumed rather than calculated.

What this generator does

Draws a displacement east and north of a starting point and asks for the bearing of the destination. The answer is padded to three figures, and the working gives the back bearing — the bearing of the start from the destination — as a wrapped 180° turn.

How to use this tool

  1. Choose how many bearings you want and how far the points spread.
  2. Work out the angle clockwise from north and write it with three figures.
  3. Reveal the answer to check both the value and the padding.
  4. Show the working for the back bearing as well.

Understanding the controls

How many questions
Between 1 and 20. Eight covers all four quadrants comfortably.
Level
Gentle keeps displacements within six kilometres so the arithmetic is simple; standard and stretch widen the grid, which brings more awkward angles.
Seed
Gives the same displacements again, so a printed sheet can be regenerated.
Show the answers / working
The bearing alone, or the tangent calculation and the back bearing.

Common use cases

  • Practice at the clockwise-from-north convention rather than standard angle measure
  • Getting the three-figure format right, including the leading zeros
  • Covering all four quadrants, including the ones that wrap past 270°
  • Introducing back bearings as an arithmetic step, not a rule to remember
  • Producing a consistent set of bearings questions from a seed

How this generator works

The bearing is the angle from north to the displacement, measured clockwise, which is the arctangent of east over north rather than the usual north over east. The result is wrapped into the range 0° to 359.9° and padded to three figures. The check confirms the value is in range and recomputes it from the displacement.

Randomness and fairness

The displacement is random; the convention is fixed. Seeded question sets reproduce exactly and are therefore explicitly not cryptographically secure. Unseeded sets use the browser's cryptographically secure generator.

For how randomness is produced across the whole site, see how Generate Random works.

Limitations and good to know

  • The displacement is given in words rather than on a map or diagram.
  • Bearings are given to one decimal place, which is finer than a compass reading in practice.
  • Multi-leg journeys, where bearings are combined, are not among the question types.
  • The distance travelled is not asked for, though the displacement gives it.
  • Sets are not stored; seed anything you want to reissue.

Privacy and your data

Displacements and bearings are computed in your browser. No location, seed or answer is transmitted or stored.

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