Blood Relations (Logical Reasoning)
1. What It Is
- Blood Relation questions test your ability to understand relationships among family members.
- You are given descriptions or statements, and you have to identify relationship between two persons.
Key Idea:
- Questions are about father, mother, brother, sister, son, daughter, husband, wife, uncle, aunt, etc.
- Often involve paternal/maternal relationships, genders, or generational positions.
Examples:
- Pointing to a person in a photograph, “He is the son of my father’s brother. How is he related to me?”
- Statements like “A is the father of B. B is the mother of C. How is C related to A?”
2. How to Approach
- Read the question carefully – identify who is related to whom.
- Draw a family tree or diagram – mark gender and relationships.
- Follow the statements step by step – build the relationship chain.
- Find the final relation between the two persons asked.
- Verify carefully – some questions have tricky wording like “mother’s brother’s son.”
3. Rules & Key Points
- Father/Mother → Parents
- Son/Daughter → Children
- Brother/Sister → Siblings
- Husband/Wife → Spouse
- Uncle/Aunt → Brother/Sister of parent
- Nephew/Niece → Son/Daughter of sibling
- Grandfather/Grandmother → Parent of parent
Tips:
- Gender matters – “he” or “she” gives clue
- “Brother’s son” = nephew, “Sister’s daughter” = niece
- Sometimes “my father’s brother” = paternal uncle, “mother’s brother” = maternal uncle
4. Tricks & Shortcuts
- Always identify the base person (I, me, or person referred).
- Stepwise approach → parse one relationship at a time.
- Draw family tree diagram – easier for multi-step relations.
- Use short symbols:
- M = Mother
- F = Father
- S = Son
- D = Daughter
- H = Husband
- W = Wife
- For multi-step relations, write the chain: e.g., “my father’s brother’s son” → F → B → S
5. Types of Blood Relation Questions
- Direct Relationship – 2 persons, simple relation
- Stepwise / Multi-Level Relationship – involving 3–4 persons
- Gender-Specific – identify male/female relations
- Puzzle-Based Family Tree – several statements, determine final relation
- Coding / Symbol-Based – sometimes relations are coded
6. Stepwise Solving Strategy
- Identify the person from whose perspective the question is asked.
- Note the gender clues.
- Parse step by step – build relations in order.
- Draw family tree or diagram if complex.
- Determine final relationship between the two persons.
7. Easy Practice Questions
1. Direct Relationship
Question: Pointing to a man, a woman says, “He is the father of my mother.” How is he related to the woman?
Solution:
- He = Mother’s father → Woman’s grandfather ✅
- Answer: Grandfather
2. Stepwise Relationship
Question: A is the father of B. B is the mother of C. How is C related to A?
Solution:
- A → B → C
- B is mother of C → C = grandchild of A ✅
- Answer: Grandchild
3. Sibling Relationship
Question: X is the brother of Y. Y is the mother of Z. How is Z related to X?
Solution:
- X → Y → Z
- X = maternal uncle of Z ✅
- Answer: Uncle
4. Gender-Specific
Question: P is the father of Q. Q is the sister of R. How is P related to R?
Solution:
- P = father of Q
- Q = sister of R → R = sibling → P = father of R ✅
- Answer: Father
5. Multi-Step
Question: A is the son of B. B is the daughter of C. D is the son of C. How is D related to A?
Solution:
- C → B → A (B = daughter of C → A = son of B)
- D = son of C → D = maternal/paternal uncle of A ✅
- Answer: Uncle
8. Difficult Practice Questions
6. Complex Multi-Level
Question: Pointing to a man, a woman says, “He is the brother of my father’s mother.” How is he related to her?
Solution:
- Father’s mother = grandmother
- Her brother → great-uncle ✅
- Answer: Great-uncle
7. Puzzle-Based Family Tree
Question:
- A is married to B.
- B is the mother of C.
- C is the father of D.
- E is the sister of A.
Question: How is D related to E?
Solution:
- A ↔ B → parents of C → C → D → child
- E = sister of A → D = nephew/niece of E ✅
- Answer: Nephew/Niece
8. Stepwise Gender
Question: F is the father of G. H is the mother of I. G is the brother of I. How is F related to H?
Solution:
- G & I = siblings
- F = father of G → father of I too → H = mother of I → F = husband of H ✅
- Answer: Husband
9. Multi-Generational
Question: A is the father of B. B is the father of C. C is the mother of D. How is A related to D?
Solution:
- A → B → C → D
- A = great-grandfather of D ✅
- Answer: Great-grandfather
10. Complicated Chain
Question: X is the son of Y. Y is the brother of Z. Z has a daughter W. How is W related to X?
Solution:
- Y = brother of Z → X = nephew of Z
- W = daughter of Z → X = cousin of W ✅
- Answer: Cousin
✅ Quick Tips
- Draw family tree diagram for multi-step problems.
- Start from known person (I, he, she).
- Use gender clues carefully.
- Convert verbal statements → relationships chain.
Practice common relations: uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, grandfather, grandmother, cousin.