Bearings

  • Bearings are used in mathematics to express the direction of one point relative to another.

  • They are stated in three figures, even when the first figure is zero. For instance, a bearing of 45 degrees must be written as 045 degrees.

  • They are always measured in a clockwise direction from the North line.

  • The North line, from which bearings are measured, is also referred to as the ‘zero bearing.’

  • Whenever solving problems with bearings, you should always draw an appropriate diagram to help visualize the question.

  • Be aware that the problem might not be set up from the north and adjustments will need to be accurately made.

  • The ‘angle on a straight line’ rule (that angles on a straight line always add up to 180 degrees) and ‘angles around a point’ rule (that angles around a point always add up to 360 degrees) are useful for solving bearing problems.

  • The concept of bearings is closely related to other geometric measures such as angles in regular polygons, angles in triangles and quadrilaterals, and angle properties of circles.

  • These concepts are often amalgamated in complex problems, so understanding the fundamentals of each is crucial. For instance, you may need to calculate a missing angle in a triangle before determining a requisite bearing.

  • Reverse bearing is the bearing that you would take to go ‘back’ from a point B to a point A. If the forward bearing (from A to B) is less than 180 degrees, add 180 to get the reverse bearing. If it’s more than 180, subtract 180.

  • When solving bearings question it can sometimes be helpful to think of the North line as the starting point or “baseline” for your problem.

  • While you can expect that the questions about bearings in an assessment will demand precision, it is essential to understand the principles of bearings and not to focus solely on rote learning numerical methods.

  • Try to practice lots of examples to improve your skills and confidence in this area of geometry and measure.

  • In the real world, bearings have lots of practicals applications such as navigation, engineering, and map reading. So understanding them can help enhance your broader mathematical and spatial awareness.