Angles & movement
Angles, direction and movement
An angle is an amount of turn. Knowing about turns and the compass points helps us describe direction and find our way.
An angle is a turn
An angle is the amount of turn between two lines that meet at a point. It tells us how far something has turned from one position to another.
Right angles and turns
ā¢ A quarter turn in any direction is a right angle. ā¢ Two right angles together make a straight line ā this is a half turn. ā¢ Two half turns in the same direction make a complete circle, a full turn. So a full turn is four right angles.
Bigger and smaller than a right angle
You can use a folded-paper right angle measure to compare angles. Some angles are exactly a right angle, some are greater than a right angle, and some are less than a right angle.
Compass directions
The four cardinal points are north, east, south and west. Going clockwise they follow the order north, east, south, west. Clockwise is the way clock hands move; anticlockwise is the other way. We can also use left, right and forward to describe movement on a grid map.
Worked examples
A right angle from a quarter turn
- Start facing one way.
- Make a quarter turn.
Answer: The amount you turned is a right angle.
Two right angles make a straight line
- Make a right angle (a quarter turn).
- Make another right angle in the same direction.
Answer: Together they make a straight line ā a half turn.
Turning on the compass
- You are facing north.
- Make a quarter turn clockwise. Clockwise goes north, east, south, west.
Answer: You are now facing east.
A full turn
- Make two half turns in the same direction.
- That is four right angles altogether.
Answer: You have made a full turn and face the same way you started.
Where you see this in real life
- Turning a door handle a quarter turn to open a door.
- Using north, east, south and west to give someone directions.
- Following a map to walk from home to school.
- Turning a quarter or half turn in a dance or a game.
Key words
- Angle
- An amount of turn between two lines that meet at a point.
- Right angle
- A quarter turn in any direction.
- Straight line
- Two right angles together ā also a half turn.
- Full turn
- A complete circle, made of four right angles.
- Clockwise
- The direction the hands of a clock move.
- Anticlockwise
- The opposite direction to clockwise.
- Cardinal points
- The four main compass directions: north, east, south and west.