A compass was damaged and its needle turned in such a manner that the pointer, which was showing East, is now showing South. One person went towards West as per above compass. In  which direction did he actually go?

If the compass needle, which was originally pointing East, now points South, it means the needle has been rotated 90° clockwise from its original orientation.

When the person goes West as per the compass (which is now faulty), the actual direction will be relative to the rotated compass.

We can analyze this as:

• Original compass directions: N (0°), E (90°), S (180°), W (270°)
• The needle has turned so what was originally East (90°) is now pointing South (180°).

This means the compass directions have shifted 90° clockwise.

Therefore:

• What the person sees as West (270°) on the faulty compass corresponds to the actual direction 270°−90°=180°270°−90°=180°.

Actual direction = 180° = South.

So, the person actually walked South.