Blood Relations

Blood Relations is the most studied topic of Logical Reasoning and is one of the few topics which has found its importance in almost every entrance exam. This topic tests the analytical skills of the students and how one can approach the solution of logical problems with the help of diagrams instead of calculations.

To explore Logical Reasoning in detail, check at the linked article.

The diagrams play an important role here. The right diagrams come from the right analysis. The following is the list of exams in which the appearance of questions from blood relations are frequent.

To explore other bank exams, check at the linked article.

Here is the list of exams which have Blood Relations as a part of the Reasoning Ability section:

1. SBI PO
2. SBI Clerk
3. SBI SO
4. CAPF
5. Railway Recruitment Board (NTPC)
6. Railway Recruitment Board Assistant Loco Pilot (ALP)
7. Staff Selection Commission (SSC)
8. CISF
9. IBPS PO
10. IBPS Clerk
11. IBPS Regional Rural Banks (RRB)
12. IBPS SO

Blood Relations Questions and Answers PDF:-Download PDF Here

Aspirants can also refer to the video given below with proper explanation regarding the concept of Blood Relations by experts:

Introduction

Any relation in the world which either by birth or by marriage is called a Blood Relation.

Ex: Any relation by birth will be mother, father, son, daughter, etc. and any relation by marriage will be father-in-law, mother-in-law, etc.

To know more about SBI exams, check at the linked article.

Types of Questions on Blood Relation

Over the years, the standard and type of questions which are being asked from the blood relation topic have seen a slight turn. Initially, the questions used to be less complex and statement or dialogue-based, but with the increased competition, the variety of questions being asked have also changed.

Being one of the most common concepts from which questions are asked in exams, given below are the different ways in which the blood relation questions may be asked in the competitive exams, for the assistance of candidates:

• Dialogue/ Conversation Based – In such questions, one person describes his/her relation with another person (this may or may not be related to the person with whom the conversation is being made).
• Based on Puzzles – To make the questions complex, blood relation questions are also being asked in the form of a puzzle. A piece of brief information about multiple people being interrelated is given and sub-questions based on the same may be asked.
• Coding-Decoding – The relationship between two people may be denoted using symbols. This has become a common method of asking blood relation questions in competitive exams, nowadays.

There also are a few things which need to be kept in mind while solving the blood relation questions. Given below are few such important pointers:

• You cannot assume the gender of the person based on the name
• If the statement says X is the son of Y, the gender of Y cannot be determined unless mentioned in the question
• In puzzle based questions, a web of relations can be formed, so do not solve such questions in a haste
• These questions are scoring and easy to solve, so do not panic if the question seems lengthy
• In case of coding-decoding blood relation, use a pictorial description to solve the question. This will make the symbols and relation more clear

To ace the reasoning section, candidates can visit the 3 Sutras to Prepare Reasoning Ability at the linked article.

Let us now move on to solving a few sample questions to get a better understanding of the concept.

Blood Relations Topics

1. Jumbled descriptions
2. Relational puzzle
3. Coded relations
4. Miscellaneous questions

Family Tree

To solve the problems in blood relation, one should know how to draw a family tree.

A family tree is a pictorial representation of genealogical data.

The following points help in drawing a family tree.

1. All the female members of the family are represented by a circle. The name of the person is written inside the circle for convenience.
2. All the male members of the family are represented by a square. The name of the person is written inside the square for convenience.
3. The relation between two members of the family is shown by connecting a double-headed arrow.
4. The spouse relation is represented by the two ends of a double-headed arrow.
5. All the family members of the upper generation are represented above in the family tree. Ex: father, mother, uncle, aunt etc. The logic can be extended by representing the grandparents above the parents in the family tree. Ex: grandfather and grandmother.
6. All the family members of the same generation are represented in the middle of the family tree. Ex: brothers, Sisters, cousins, wife, husband, etc.
7. All the family members of the next generation are represented below in the family tree. Ex: Daughter, son, niece, nephew.

Check out the SBI Syllabus at the linked article.

Here’s a schematic representation of a family tree:

To know more about SSC JE Syllabus, check at the linked article.

Observations from the family tree

1. Akash and Arjun are brothers and Anne is the wife of Arjun.
2. Myra is the daughter of Arjun and Anne.
3. Veena is the mother of Akash and She has three brothers, Vishnu, Ravi and Guru.
4. Lakshmi Narayan is the father of Arjun and the son of Krishna Rao and Radha.
5. Narayan and Shakuntala are husband and wife and are the parents of Veena.

To explore the IBPS Syllabus, check at the linked article.

Topic 1: Decoding the jumbled descriptions

This section provides a description of the relationship between two members of the family in a jumbled manner. One has to decode the jumbled descriptions to find the exact relationship by drawing a family tree.

Question 1: Pointing to a photograph of a boy Mr.Ram said, “He is the son of the only son of my mother.” How is Mr Ram related to that boy?

A. Brother

B. Uncle

C. Cousin

D. Father

Solution:

Step 1: There is a photograph and Mr.Ram. The photograph is of a man and hence two squares are represented. But the relationship of Mr.Ram with the person in the photograph is not known yet.

Step 2: The second line says Mr Ram has a mother. Mr Ram is the only son of his mother and Ram has a son and that photograph belongs to Mr Ram’s son.

To explore RRB NTPC Syllabus, check at the linked article.

Decoded statement:

The boy in the photograph is the only son of the son of Ram’s mother i.e., the son of Ram. Hence, Ram is the father of the boy.

Hence, option D is the correct answer.

To know more about SBI PO Syllabus, check at the linked article.

Question 2: Rita told Mani, “The girl I met yesterday at the beach was the youngest daughter of the brother-in-law of my friend’s mother.” How is the girl related to Rita’s friend?

1. Cousin
2. Daughter
3. Friend
4. Aunt

Step 1: There are two girls in the scenario Rita, and a girl. The gender of the Mani is not known yet (as of now it’s taken as male).

Step 2: The end of the next statement reveals there is also another person in the scenarios i.e. Rita’s friend. Since the statement says “daughter” Rita’s friend is represented with the help of circle.

Step 3: Rita’s friend has a mother who’s brother-in-law is the father of the girl whom she met at the beach yesterday. Hence from the family tree, it is clear that the girl at the beach is a cousin to Rita’s friend. One need not find out the gender of Mani as it is not necessary to solve this question.

Hence, option A is the correct answer.

To know more about SSC CHSL Syllabus, check at the linked article.

Candidates can also check the detailed syllabus for the various other sections, which are included in the syllabus for Government exams in the links given below:

Topic 2: Relational puzzle

Unlike in the previous section, this section will have all the information about the family members in a simple and straightforward manner. The number of family members are more here and many times this section will have a union of two or three families.

One should make use of the family tree to solve the question in the beginning, once the concept is mastered the questions can be answered by looking at information directly.

Question 1: Ravi is a son of Aman’s father’s sister. Sahil is the son of Divya who is the mother of Gaurav and grandmother of Aman. Ashok is the father of Tanya and grandfather of Ravi. Divya is the wife of Ashok.

How is Ravi related to Divya?

1. Nephew
2. Son
3. Grandson
4. Data inadequate

Solution: There is no requirement for drawing a family tree to solve this question. Since Divya is the grandmother of Aman and Aman and Ravi are cousins (from the first statement). Ravi should be a grandson to Divya.

Hence, option C is the correct answer.

Question 1: How is Gaurav’s wife related to Tanya?

1. Niece
2. Sister
3. Sister-in-law
4. Mother

Solution: Since Divya is the wife of Ashok and Ashok is the father of Tanya. We already know the Divya is also the mother of Gaurav and Sahil, Gaurav and Tanya should be siblings. Hence Gaurav’s wife will be sister in law to Tanya.

Think, but don’t blink!!!

Question 2: A blind beggar had a brother who died. What relation was the blind beggar to the brother who died? (Brother is not the answer).

Solution: Sister. The word beggar doesn’t specify any gender, it can be used for either of the genders.

To explore IBPS PO Syllabus in detail, check at the linked article.

Topic 3: Coded relations

In this section, the relationships among the members of the family are represented by certain specific codes or symbols such as +._ $,*,&,#,@,! etc. The answers are obtained by decoded the relationships hidden in the symbols. The only tedious process here is to solve all the options to arrive at the final correct answer.

Example:

Question 1: Read the following instructions:

1. A + B indicates A is the brother of B;
2. A – B indicates A is the sister of B and
3. A x B indicates A is the father of B

Which of the following means that C is the son of M?

1. M – N x C + F
2. F – C + N x M
3. N + M – F x C
4. M x N – C + F

Solution: Option A: According to this option NxC indicates N is the father of c. Hence it is wrong. Option B: According to this option C is the brother of N who is the father of M. Hence it is wrong. Option C: According to this option Fx C indicates F is the father of C. Hence it is wrong. Option D: According to this option M is the father of N who is the sister of C hence C and N are siblings and C is the brother of F so, C is male, Hence C is the son of M.

Option D is the correct answer.

Question 2: Read the following instructions:

1. P $ Q means P is the brother of Q;
2. P # Q means P is the mother of Q;
3. P * Q means P is the daughter of Q

If the code of family is A # B $ C * D, who is the father in them?

1. D
2. B
3. C
4. A

Solution:

1. A # B indicates A is the mother in the family
2. B $ C indicates B is the brother of C.
3. C * D indicates C is the daughter of D.

Since B and C are siblings and A is the mother of B and D is the father of C, D is the father in the family.

Hence, option A is correct.

To explore the RRB JE Syllabus, check at the linked article.

Candidates who wish to get more blood relations questions can refer to the mock test series by BYJU’S:

Topic 4: Miscellaneous questions

This section involves the combination of Blood Relations with Directions and Seating Arrangement. Students need to apply the concepts learnt in the directions and seating arrangement sections to solve the questions.

Question 1:

Directions: Study the following information carefully and answer the questions given beside:

The Mishra family went to the photographer for their family photograph. The photographer arranged them in a straight row facing the North. The family members were Anshu, Rama, Krishna, Deva and Sonu.

1. Anshu was sitting third to the right of his daughter
2. Rama was sitting on the immediate right of Krishna, whose husband was the brother of Rama.
3. Anshu and Sonu were immediate neighbours.
4. Deva was not an immediate neighbour of Anshu’s son.
5. Deva was sitting at the left end and the mother of Deva is Krishna, who was the wife of Anshu.
6. Rama and Anshu were immediate neighbours.

How is Deva related to the person who sits in the middle of the row?

A.Daughter

B.Son

C.Aunt

D.None of these

Solution: Drawing a family tree first will help in seating arrangement as one should know the relations among the members.

Step 1: From statement two it can be concluded that Rama and Anshu are siblings and hence appear at the same level as the family tree. Among them, Rama is the sister and Anshu is the brother.

Step 2: From statement five it can be concluded that deva is the child of Krishna and since Krishna is the wife of Anshu and statement one says Anshu sits third to the right of his daughter, then Deva has to be the daughter of Anshu and Krishna as Rama is the sister of Krishna and Sonu is the son because they are immediate neighbours.

To know more about SSC CGL Syllabus, check at the linked article.

Hence the family members will be Anshu and Krishna are husband and wife or parents of Deva and Sonu, Rama is the sister of Anshu. And the person who can sit in the middle Rama, therefore, Deva should be niece to Rama.

Hence, the answer is option D.

Being one of the most common topics in the reasoning section, emphasis must be given in preparation for this topic. Candidates can get more questions based on the Blood Relations concept in the PDF given below.

Blood Relations Questions and Answers PDF:-Download PDF Here

To get the exam schedule, study material and preparation tips and also to get more information regarding the various other competitive exams, candidates can turn to BYJU’S.

For the continued part of the concept explanation, candidates can check out the video given below: