Blood Relations: Types, Methods and Examples
Blood relations is a reasoning topic in which the relationship between two persons is described through a chain of family relations, and the candidate has to find how they are related. The question may be given as a sentence such as "pointing to a man, a woman said he is the son of my father's only son", or as a set of coded relations using symbols. The candidate must trace the family tree correctly and then answer the question about the relationship. This topic appears regularly in the reasoning and mental-ability papers of APSC, ADRE, Assam Police, SSC, Railway and other competitive examinations of Assam.
The special feature of blood relations is that it does not require any calculation, only clear thinking about family ties. The difficulty lies in the length of the chain and in the possibility of confusion between relations such as brother-in-law and son-in-law. This article gives a complete deep-study revision of blood relations. It explains the basic vocabulary, the main relations of the family, the types of questions, the useful shortcuts, the step-by-step method, the common mistakes and a practical preparation plan, so that the topic becomes a fast and reliable source of marks.
Basic Terms
- Blood relation: a relationship by birth, such as father, son, brother or sister.
- Relation by marriage: a relationship created by marriage, such as husband, wife, father-in-law or brother-in-law.
- Family tree: a diagram that shows the members of a family and their relations.
- Generation: the level of a person in the family, such as grandparent, parent or child.
- Maternal: a relation on the mother's side, such as maternal uncle or maternal grandfather.
- Paternal: a relation on the father's side, such as paternal uncle or paternal grandmother.
- Cousin: the child of one's uncle or aunt.
- Nephew and niece: the son and daughter of one's brother or sister.
- In-law: a relation created by marriage, such as son-in-law, daughter-in-law or sister-in-law.
- Coded relations: a question in which symbols such as plus, minus or star stand for family relations.
- Only son: a person who is the sole male child of his parents.
- Only daughter: a person who is the sole female child of her parents.
Core Concepts and Useful Relations
- Grandfather's son is either a father or an uncle.
- Father's brother is paternal uncle, and mother's brother is maternal uncle.
- Brother's son is nephew, and brother's daughter is niece.
- Husband's or wife's brother is brother-in-law, and their sister is sister-in-law.
- Son's wife is daughter-in-law, and daughter's husband is son-in-law.
- The mother of one's grandparent is great-grandmother.
- In a family tree, males are usually shown in one style and females in another, with a line for marriage and lines for children.
- The key is to fix one person as the reference point and count the generations from that person.
Simple Relationship Questions
In a simple question, a short sentence describes the relation between two persons, and the candidate is asked for the relation. For example, "A is the brother of B, and B is the sister of C" tells that A and C are brothers if C is male, or brother and sister if C is female. Another common question is, "Pointing to a photograph, a man said she is the daughter of my grandfather's only son." The grandfather's only son is the man's father, and the father's daughter is the man's sister, so the person in the photograph is the man's sister. The method is to break the sentence into small links, convert each link into a plain relation, and then join the links one by one until the two persons are connected.
Family Tree Based Questions
In a family tree question, a longer statement describes several persons and their relations, and the candidate must draw the tree and answer one or more questions. For example, "P is the father of Q, Q is the sister of R, and R is the son of S." From this, P and S are the parents of Q and R, Q is female and R is male, and Q and R are brother and sister. Once the tree is drawn, questions such as how S is related to P, or how many males are in the family, can be answered at a glance. Drawing the tree with clear symbols for male, female, marriage and children is the most reliable method, because it removes the need to hold all relations in memory at once.
Coded Relation Questions
In a coded relation question, symbols are used to express family relations. For example, "A + B means A is the father of B, A - B means A is the sister of B, and A * B means A is the son of B." A statement such as "P * Q + R" must be read step by step: P is the son of Q, and Q is the father of R, so P and R are brothers and Q is their father. The candidate should first write down the meaning of each symbol, then decode the statement link by link, and finally answer the question. Substituting the plain relations for the symbols before drawing the tree prevents mistakes, because the symbols themselves carry no meaning until they are translated.
Puzzle and Multiple-Choice Family Questions
Some questions give a paragraph about a family and ask several multiple-choice questions, such as how many children a couple has, or whether a particular person is male or female. In such questions the candidate should list every person named, mark the gender of each person from the clues, and then connect them through the stated relations. Questions about a person being the "only son" or "only daughter" are especially useful, because they remove other possibilities and fix the family structure. The candidate should read the paragraph twice, once to collect the persons and once to connect them, and should avoid assuming a gender unless the statement makes it clear.
Steps to Solve a Blood Relations Question
The method is systematic. First, read the statement carefully and list all the persons mentioned. Second, note the gender of each person wherever it is stated or can be inferred. Third, start from the person whose relation to another is clearly given, and draw that link first. Fourth, add the remaining links one by one, using clear symbols for male, female, marriage and children. Fifth, fix the reference person and count the generations between the two persons in the question. Finally, convert the traced route into a plain relation and check it against the options. This approach solves both short and long questions accurately.
Examination Trends
In competitive examinations, blood relations questions most often use short descriptive statements, family tree puzzles, coded relations and questions based on "only son" or "only daughter". Objective questions usually ask the relationship between two named persons, the gender of a person, or the number of members in a family. Because no calculation is involved, candidates who draw the family tree neatly and read the statement without hurry can answer these questions quickly and correctly. Previous years' papers show that practice with a variety of family structures is the most useful preparation for this topic.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Do not assume the gender of a person unless the statement makes it clear.
- Do not confuse brother-in-law with son-in-law or sister-in-law with daughter-in-law.
- Do not forget the difference between maternal and paternal relations.
- In coded relations, do not read the symbols in the wrong order; follow the statement from left to right.
- Do not skip drawing the family tree when the statement is long, because confusion increases with each unrecorded link.
How to Prepare This Topic
Begin by learning the common family relations in both directions, such as father and son, uncle and nephew, and the in-law relations, and revise the difference between maternal and paternal terms. Then study each type of question separately, solving at least fifteen questions of each type, including short statements, family trees and coded relations. Practise drawing a neat family tree for every long question, marking male and female clearly. Finally, attempt previous years' question papers under timed conditions and review every mistake carefully so that no relation is misunderstood in the examination.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a blood relation in reasoning?
A blood relation is a family relationship by birth, such as father, son, brother or sister. Blood relations questions ask the candidate to trace how two persons are related through a chain of family ties.
How do I solve a blood relations question quickly?
List all persons, note their genders, and draw a family tree with clear symbols for male, female, marriage and children. Then fix a reference person and count the generations to find the relation.
What does "only son" mean in these questions?
"Only son" means a person is the sole male child of his parents. This removes other possibilities and helps fix the family structure, which makes the question easier to solve.
How do I solve coded relation questions?
First write down the meaning of each symbol, then replace the symbols in the statement with the plain relations. Draw the family tree from these plain relations and answer the question from the tree.
What is the difference between maternal and paternal relations?
Maternal relations are on the mother's side, such as maternal uncle or maternal grandfather, while paternal relations are on the father's side, such as paternal uncle or paternal grandmother.