Blood Relations for CA Foundation Quantitative Aptitude

What this chapter covers

Blood Relations: topics in the order to study them

1. 1Introduction to Blood RelationsYou first need the relation vocabulary (paternal, maternal, in-laws, nephew, niece, cousin) and which terms reveal gender.
2. 2Family Tree and Symbol Notation MethodThis is your core tool, so learn it before attempting any question type.
3. 3Direct Relationship QuestionsThese are the simplest questions and let you practise the tree on short, plain statements.
4. 4Generation-Based and Mixed RelationsLonger chains need you to track levels up and down, which builds on the tree you can already draw.
5. 5Counting Persons and Gender DeterminationThese questions test careful use of the tree: counting people and deciding what the text does and does not tell you.
6. 6Coded Blood RelationsCoded questions add a symbol layer on top of everything else, so attempt them last, once the relations come easily.

How to prepare Blood Relations

1. Make a one-page list of relation terms: father's father, mother's brother, wife's sister and so on. Write the gender each term gives, and note which terms give no gender (cousin, sibling, spouse's sibling, child, parent's sibling's child).
2. Fix your symbols: for example □ for male, ○ for female, = for married couple, a horizontal line for siblings and a vertical line for parent to child. Use the same symbols every time.
3. Practise direct questions first. Read one statement, add it to the tree, then read the next. Do not try to solve the whole chain in your head.
4. Move to generation-based and mixed questions. Mark each person's generation (for example +1 for parents, 0 for your own level, −1 for children) to avoid going in the wrong direction.
5. Practise coded questions by first writing the symbol meanings in a small key, then converting the code into a family tree and answering as usual.
6. In counting and gender questions, mark a person as 'unknown gender' when the statements do not say. Only conclude what the tree forces.
7. Finish with timed sets of 10 mixed questions. Review every mistake and label its cause: misread term, wrong direction, or assumed gender.

Common mistakes in Blood Relations

• Answering from the wrong person's viewpoint

  Fix: Underline the exact question, 'X is what to Y', before you start. After finding the answer, read it back as 'X is ___ of Y'.

• Assuming gender that is not stated

  Fix: Mark such people with a neutral symbol or a question mark on your tree. Choose 'cannot be determined' when the options include it and the gender truly matters.

• Doing the whole chain mentally

  Fix: Draw even for easy-looking questions. Add one statement at a time and place each person at the correct generation level.

• Mixing up paternal and maternal sides

  Fix: Read the chain link by link, starting from the reference person. In "mother's brother", start with the mother and then go to her brother. Draw each link as an arrow on the tree.

• Miscounting people in counting questions

  Fix: Give every person one label and check each new description against the people already on the tree before adding someone new.

• Misreading coded symbols

  Fix: Write a fresh key at the top of your rough work for every coded question and translate one symbol at a time.

Last-day revision: Blood Relations

• ✓Draw a family tree for every question that has more than two statements.
• ✓Use □ for male, ○ for female, = for spouses, a horizontal line for siblings and a vertical line for parent to child.
• ✓Paternal means father's side. Maternal means mother's side.
• ✓Father's or mother's brother is an uncle. Father's or mother's sister is an aunt.
• ✓A sibling's son is a nephew and a sibling's daughter is a niece, from the viewpoint of the uncle or aunt.
• ✓Cousin does not tell you gender. Neither do child, sibling, parent's sibling's child or spouse's sibling.
• ✓Spouse's father and mother are in-laws. Your sibling's spouse and your spouse's sibling are also in-law relations.
• ✓In coded questions, write the key for each symbol before reading the statement.
• ✓Read the question as 'X is what to Y', and make sure you answer from the correct person's viewpoint.
• ✓If the options include 'cannot be determined', check whether a gender or link is really missing.
• ✓Skip a question if the chain is unclear after one careful attempt. A wrong answer loses 0.25 marks.

Blood Relations practice questions

• Meera says about a man, "His mother is the only daughter of my mother." How is the man related to Meera?
• Pointing to a photograph, Meera says, "He is the only son of my mother's father." How is the man in the photograph related to Meera?
• A is the brother of B. B is the sister of C. C is the father of D. E is the mother of A. How is E related to D?
• In a group of four friends—A, B, C, and D—B is the son of A's brother, C is A's daughter, and D is C's brother. What is the relationship bet…
• Pointing to a woman, a man says, 'Her mother is the only daughter of my mother.' How is the woman related to the man?
• Anil introduces Sunita: "Her husband is the only son of my father's father." How is Sunita related to Anil, if Anil is a man?
• Suresh's mother has a brother. That brother's son is Arun. How is Arun related to Suresh?