NCERT Solutions for Class 6th Social Science Chapter 1 Directions on the map of the small city — Let's Explore
Book page 11 Updated on2026-09-19
Q1.
Consider the map of the small city again. Identify the correct and incorrect statements in the list below: 1. The market is north of the hospital.
Fig. 1.1 (page 8) — a map of an imaginary small city.
Answer
Incorrect.
On Fig. 1.1 the hospital stands in the middle of the map and the market lies below it. On a map the top is north and the bottom is south, so:
The market is south of the hospital — not north.
The four cardinal directions (N, E, S, W) and the four intermediate ones (NE, SE, SW, NW). Reading clockwise from the top: North, East, South, West.
Rule to remember: unless a map says otherwise, north is at the top. Turn the page around and the picture still means north at the arrow's head — that is why every map carries an N arrow.
Q2.
2. The museum is southeast of the bank.
Answer
Correct.
The bank is in the eastern half of the map, a little above the middle. The museum lies below it (south) and slightly to the right (east). South + east together give the intermediate direction south-east.
Museum is south-east (SE) of the bank ✔
Tip: when a place is neither exactly below nor exactly to the side, use an intermediate direction. Say the north–south word first — north-east, south-west — the way the compass rose is labelled.
Q3.
3. The railway station is northwest of the hospital.
Answer
Correct.
Stand at the hospital in the middle of the map. The railway station is to your left (west) and a little above (north). West + north = north-west.
Railway station is north-west (NW) of the hospital ✔
And the opposite is also true: the hospital is south-east of the railway station.
Why direction always needs a starting point: “north-west” is meaningless by itself. The station is north-west of the hospital but south-west of the apartments. Always name the place you are measuring from.
Q4.
4. The lake is northwest of the apartment blocks.
Answer
Incorrect.
The apartment blocks are drawn along the top (north) of the map, and the lake lies below and to the left of them.
West + south = south-west
So the lake is south-west of the apartment blocks, not north-west.
Checking the other way round makes it clear: the apartment blocks are north-east of the lake.
Check it yourself: lay a pencil flat on the map from the middle of the apartments to the middle of the lake. It points down-left — towards the bottom-left corner, which is south-west.
Q5.
Taking your school as the starting point, do you know approximately in which cardinal direction your home is located? Discuss with your teacher and your parents.
Answer
This is about your own town, so find it out rather than copy it. How to find the answer:
Stand at the school gate in the morning and face the rising Sun — you are facing roughly east. North is then on your left, south on your right and west behind you.
Now think of the way you walk or ride home. Which of those four directions do you mostly move in?
Confirm it with a compass, or with the compass app on a phone, or by looking up your school and your home on an online map (north is at the top).
If your home is not exactly in one cardinal direction, use an intermediate one — “roughly north-east”.
Sample answer: “My school faces the main road. When I leave school I walk with the afternoon Sun on my face for most of the way, so I am walking towards the west. My home is about 1.5 km west of the school, a little to the north — so I would say west-north-west.”
Why the Sun works: the Sun rises in the eastern sky and sets in the western sky. That single fact has guided Indian travellers, sailors and builders for thousands of years — temples, mosques and even village houses are often aligned using it.