Blood Relations

Blood Relations

Concept

Blood relation questions test your ability to decode complex family descriptions and map them onto a family structure. The challenge isn’t just knowing who is related to whom — it’s understanding how relationship terms nest, combine, and chain together.

The key skill is translation: converting English descriptions into a family diagram. Phrases like “A is B’s only sibling’s mother” or “C is the daughter of D, who is the only son of E” require careful parsing. Each relationship term has a precise meaning, and combining them requires step-by-step logic.

The underlying principle is that every person in a family tree has a specific position. Your job is to find where each person sits relative to others, then answer questions like “how is X related to Y?” or “who is X’s uncle?”

Types & Approach

Type 1: Direct Relationship Description The simplest type. A single statement describes one relationship.

• “A is B’s brother” → A and B share the same parents, A is male.
• Approach: Draw A and B with a sibling line, mark A’s gender.

Type 2: Chained Relationships Multiple relationships linked together. You must solve them step by step.

• “A is B’s sister. B is C’s father.”
• Approach: Start from the known point (B is C’s father), then add A (B’s sister = C’s aunt).

Type 3: Coded Descriptions Language describes relationships indirectly: “A is the only child of B’s mother” or “C is the daughter of D’s only son.”

• Approach: Break into parts. “Only child” means exactly one child. “Only son” means the son is the sole male offspring.

Type 4: Generations and Gender-Based Descriptions Terms like “maternal grandfather,” “paternal grandmother,” “elder sister,” “younger brother.”

• Approach: First identify the generation (how many steps up/down), then gender, then which side (maternal/paternal).

Step-by-Step Example

Q: A is B’s sister. B is C’s mother. D is C’s brother. How is D related to A?

Approach: Step 1 → Draw B at center. B is female (A is B’s sister — same parents, same gender). Step 2 → C is B’s child. Draw C below B. Step 3 → D is C’s brother — so D is also B’s child, male. Step 4 → A is B’s sister — so A is also B’s child, female. Step 5 → A and D are siblings (share same parents — B).

Answer: D is A’s brother. (Or A is D’s sister.)

Common Mistakes

• Confusing “sister” with “brother” when gender isn’t explicitly stated → Fix: Pay attention to pronouns. “He,” “she,” “him,” “her” tell you gender.**
• Misinterpreting “only child” → Fix: “Only child” means the sole child of their parents — no siblings.**
• Treating maternal and paternal relations as interchangeable → Fix: Maternal = mother’s side, paternal = father’s side. They matter when the question specifically asks.**
• Getting confused by relationship chains that loop back → Fix: Take it one step at a time. Don’t try to solve the whole chain mentally — draw it.**