A boy is initially travelling towards the west. He first turns to his right, continues in that new direction, and then again turns to his left. After performing these two turns in sequence, in which cardinal direction is the boy finally facing?

Introduction / Context:
This is a pure direction sense question that focuses only on changes in orientation, not on distances or coordinates. The boy begins by facing west, then performs a right turn followed by a left turn. The problem tests understanding of relative right and left turns from different starting directions and the effect of successive turns.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The boy initially travels towards the west, so he is facing west.
• He then turns to his right once.
• After moving in that new direction, he turns to his left once.
• No specific distances are given or needed because only direction is asked.
• All turns are right angle turns of 90 degrees.

Concept / Approach:
We use cardinal directions and right angle turns. When facing West, a right turn leads to North, and a left turn from West leads to South. When facing North, a left turn leads to West and a right turn leads to East. Since the second turn is taken after the first one, we must track the orientation after each step and not confuse it with the initial facing direction.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: The boy starts facing West. Step 2: He makes a right turn. A right turn from West leads to the North direction, so he now faces North. Step 3: From this new orientation of facing North, he then makes a left turn. A left turn from North leads to West. Step 4: Therefore, after both turns, the boy ends up facing West again.

Verification / Alternative check:
You can visualise this by drawing a cross of four directions: North at the top, South at the bottom, East to the right, and West to the left. Mark the rotation step by step. From West, move to North (right turn), then from North move back to West (left turn). This clearly shows that the final direction matches the initial direction.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
South and East are incorrect because the described sequence of one right turn and one left turn does not lead to them from an initial West direction. North is the intermediate direction after the first right turn, but the second left turn takes the boy away from North and back to West. Hence, only West is consistent with the correct turning sequence.

Common Pitfalls:
A common pitfall is to cancel a right and a left turn mentally and assume the boy continues to face his original direction without checking the order of turns and directions. Another mistake is to apply both turns relative to the starting direction instead of updating the facing direction after the first turn. Practising with simple diagrams helps avoid these errors.

Final Answer:
After turning right once and then turning left once, the boy is facing West.