PELLET B Spatial Orientation & Map Reading 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A patrol car travels 4 blocks north, then turns east and travels 3 blocks. What is the straight-line distance from the patrol car's starting point?
- 3 blocks
- 4 blocks
- 5 blocks (Correct answer)
- 7 blocks
Correct answer: 5 blocks
Using the Pythagorean theorem: √(4² + 3²) = √(16 + 9) = √25 = 5 blocks.
Question 2: Officer Chen enters a building facing north. She turns right, then turns right again, then turns left. What direction is she now facing?
- North
- East (Correct answer)
- South
- West
Correct answer: East
North → right → East → right → South → left → East.
Question 3: On a map where north is at the top, a suspect's last known location is marked in the upper-left corner of the map. Which compass direction does this represent?
- Northeast
- Northwest (Correct answer)
- Southeast
- Southwest
Correct answer: Northwest
Upper = north and left = west on a standard map, so the upper-left corner is northwest.
Question 4: A dispatcher tells Officer Kim to drive two blocks north, turn left, drive one block, then turn right. What direction is Officer Kim now heading?
- North (Correct answer)
- East
- South
- West
Correct answer: North
After driving north, a left turn faces west; driving one block west and then turning right faces north again.
Question 5: Officer Torres is facing south. She turns 90° to her left. What direction is she now facing?
- North
- East (Correct answer)
- South
- West
Correct answer: East
When facing south, turning left (counterclockwise) brings you to face east.
Question 6: A crime scene is marked north of 6th Avenue on a city map. If an officer drives south on any north-south street, how does the officer's position change relative to the crime scene?
- The officer moves away from the crime scene (Correct answer)
- The officer moves toward the crime scene
- The officer stays parallel to the crime scene
- The officer's direction is irrelevant to the crime scene location
Correct answer: The officer moves away from the crime scene
Driving south moves you further from an area that is north of 6th Avenue.
Question 7: A patrol officer drives east for 2 blocks, then south for 3 blocks, then west for 2 blocks. In which direction should the officer drive to return directly to the starting point?
- North (Correct answer)
- East
- South
- West
Correct answer: North
The east and west legs cancel out, leaving the officer exactly 3 blocks south of the start, so driving north returns to the origin.
PELLET B Spatial Orientation & Map Reading 2
A patrol car travels 4 blocks north, then turns east and travels 3 blocks.
What is the straight-line distance from the patrol car's starting point?