Below is a comprehensive, organized set of lecture notes on Blood Relations, Types of Questions,

Key Terms, Examples, Diagrams, and Practice Approaches. The transcript has been cleaned up for
clarity (while preserving the content). Whenever the lecture mentioned drawing diagrams, you will
find ASCII-style family trees or symbolic notations included.

1. Introduction to Blood Relations

In reasoning-based exams (like GATE or other competitive tests), Blood Relations is a common topic.
Generally, there are three major types of blood relation questions:

1. Mixed Blood Relations

o A paragraph describing a family, with multiple relationships included.

o We draw a family diagram from the paragraph and answer questions like:

 "How is P related to X?"

 "How many males/females are in the family?"

 "Who is the niece/nephew of whom?"

2. Coded Blood Relations

o Relationships are represented by symbols or codes. For example,

 A + B might mean “A is father of B”,

 A - B might mean “A is wife of B”,

 …etc.

o We decode the statement (e.g., P + Q - R) to build a family tree and answer the
questions.

3. Single-Person (Individual) Blood Relations

o These can be direct (e.g., "Pointing to a photograph, a man says… ") or indirect (two
different statements referencing one person in the middle).

o We parse statements like “He is the only son of my mother’s brother” or “She is the
daughter of the wife of my husband” to figure out relationships.

To answer blood-relation questions, it’s crucial to be comfortable with basic family terminology
(parents, siblings, cousins, in-laws, niece/nephew, aunt/uncle, maternal/paternal, etc.) and to
carefully map generations.

2. Five-Generation Classification

A helpful approach is to think in terms of five generations:

csharp

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 [Great Grandparents]

[Grandparents]

[Parents]

[You / 3rd Gen]

[Children]

[Grandchildren]

[Great Grandchildren]

Typically, most exam questions center on three generations (You, Parents, Children) or at most five
(including Grandparents and Grandchildren).

2.1 Your Generation (3rd Generation)

 You (the person in question)

 Siblings = your brothers and sisters.

 Cousins = the children of your uncle(s) or aunt(s).

o An uncle is a brother of your parent (either father’s brother or mother’s brother).

o An aunt is a sister of your parent.

 Spouse (husband or wife)

o If the speaker is male and says “my spouse,” that spouse is his wife.

o If the speaker is female and says “my spouse,” that spouse is her husband.

 Brother-in-law

1. Spouse’s brother, OR

2. Your sister’s husband.

 Sister-in-law

1. Spouse’s sister, OR

2. Your brother’s wife.

Note: Friends are not considered a “blood relation” in these logic-based questions, so typically
they’re excluded.
2.2 Parent Generation (2nd Generation)

 Parents: Father and Mother.

 Uncle: Father’s brother or Mother’s brother.

 Aunt: Father’s sister or Mother’s sister.

 Father-in-law / Mother-in-law: The parents of your spouse.

2.3 Grandparent Generation (1st Generation)

 Grandfather: Father’s father (paternal grandfather) or Mother’s father (maternal

grandfather).

 Grandmother: Father’s mother (paternal grandmother) or Mother’s mother (maternal

grandmother).

2.4 Lower Generations (Children, Grandchildren, Great Grandchildren)

 Children (4th Generation from your perspective).

o Son

o Daughter

 Niece: The daughter of your sibling (or sibling-in-law).

 Nephew: The son of your sibling (or sibling-in-law).

 Son-in-law: The husband of your daughter.

 Daughter-in-law: The wife of your son.

2.5 Maternal vs. Paternal

 Paternal = from the father’s side. Example: “Paternal uncle” = uncle on father’s side.

 Maternal = from the mother’s side. Example: “Maternal grandfather” = mother’s father.

3. Mixed Blood Relations

In Mixed Blood Relations, a paragraph describes multiple people in a family. We must:

1. Parse the statements (e.g., “P is married to R”, “Q is son of R”, etc.).

2. Draw a family diagram systematically.

3. Use the standard notations to keep track of who is father, mother, daughter, son, or
unknown.

4. Answer the question about how certain individuals are related.

3.1 Example 1

Data: A family has 6 members: P,Q,R,X,Y,ZP, Q, R, X, Y, ZP,Q,R,X,Y,Z.

 QQQ is the son of RRR.

  RRR is not the mother of QQQ (so RRR is the father).

 PPP and RRR are a married couple.

 YYY is brother of RRR.

 XXX is daughter of PPP.

 ZZZ is brother of PPP.

Step-by-Step Diagram Construction

1. QQQ is son of RRR & RRR is not mother

o So RRR is father (male).

o QQQ is male (son).

2. PPP and RRR are married

o Since RRR is male, PPP is female.

o QQQ is effectively the son of both PPP and RRR.

3. YYY is brother of RRR

o YYY is the same generation as RRR (both siblings).

4. XXX is daughter of PPP

o If PPP and RRR are a couple, XXX is also daughter of RRR.

o So QQQ and XXX are siblings.

5. ZZZ is brother of PPP

o ZZZ is the same generation as PPP.

Diagram (ASCII Representation)

(Z) (Y)

| |

| |

P (female) = R (male) --+

| \

(X) (Q)

(X is daughter, Q is son)

We have 6 family members: P,Q,R,X,Y,ZP, Q, R, X, Y, ZP,Q,R,X,Y,Z.

Possible Questions

 How many males/females?

o Males: R,Q,Y,ZR, Q, Y, ZR,Q,Y,Z → 4

 o Females: P,XP, XP,X → 2

 How is PPP related to YYY?

o RRR and YYY are brothers. PPP is RRR’s wife → Sister-in-law to YYY.

 How is YYY related to PPP?

o From PPP’s perspective, YYY is her husband’s brother → Brother-in-law.

 How is XXX related to YYY?

o XXX is the daughter of RRR. RRR and YYY are brothers → XXX is YYY’s niece.

 How is QQQ related to ZZZ?

o QQQ is the son of PPP. ZZZ is the brother of PPP → QQQ is ZZZ’s nephew.

3.2 Example 2

Data: MMM is mother of BBB. AAA is husband of MMM. NNN is the only brother of BBB. CCC is
married to NNN. QQQ is the only child of CCC. NNN has no sister, JJJ is father of AAA. AAA does not
have any grandson.

Step-by-Step Diagram Construction

1. MMM is mother of BBB

o MMM is female. BBB gender unknown initially.

2. AAA is husband of MMM

o AAA is male; AAA and MMM are married.

3. NNN is the only brother of BBB

o BBB must also be male (because NNN has no sister, so BBB cannot be female). Both
BBB and NNN are sons of MMM and AAA.

4. CCC is married to NNN

o NNN is male, so CCC is female.

5. QQQ is only child of CCC (and NNN), so QQQ is NNN and CCC’s child.

6. AAA does not have any grandson

o This means QQQ must be female (granddaughter of AAA), since a grandson is ruled
out.

7. JJJ is father of AAA

o So JJJ is one generation above AAA.

Diagram

(J) (male)
 |

A (male) = M (female)

| \

| \

B (male) N (male) = C (female)

Q (female)

Possible Questions

 How many females? → M,C,QM, C, QM,C,Q → 3

 How is AAA related to NNN? → AAA is the father of NNN.

 How is CCC related to MMM? → Daughter-in-law (wife of MMM’s son).

 How is AAA related to CCC? → Father-in-law.

 How is JJJ related to BBB? → Grandfather.

 How is QQQ related to MMM? → Granddaughter.

3.3 More Mixed-Relation Examples

These typically look like:

 “A is mother of B, B is sister of C, D is son of C…”

 “H has only 2 children B and C, G is granddaughter of A…”

 And so on.

In each case, construct the family tree carefully, note any hidden clues (like “X does not have any
sister”), and track genders to ensure correctness.

4. Coded Blood Relations

Here, relationships are given in coded form, such as:

 A+BA + BA+B = “A is father of B”

 A−BA - BA−B = “A is wife of B”

 A×BA \times BA×B = “A is brother of B”

 A÷BA \div BA÷B = “A is daughter of B”

Or sometimes numeric codes:

  A1BA1BA1B = “A is father of B”

 A3BA3BA3B = “B is sister of A”, etc.

You decode each part of the chain and then form the same kind of family diagram.

4.1 General Approach

1. Look up each symbol’s definition: “+++ means father,” “−-− means wife,” etc.

2. Read left to right (or in some problems, be mindful if the code is reversed, e.g., “A3BA3BA3B
means B is sister of A” instead of A is sister of B”).

3. Create partial trees step by step.

4. Answer the final question (like “How is P related to Q?”).

4.2 Sample Problem

If Q + A × F ÷ M, given that:

 + → A is father of B

 × → A is brother of B

 ÷ → A is daughter of B

You parse:

1. Q + A → Q is father of A.

2. A × F → A is brother of F.

3. F ÷ M → F is daughter of M.

So:

 QQQ = male, father of AAA.

 AAA = male, brother of FFF.

 FFF = female, daughter of MMM.

Combine it:

Q (male)

A (male) -- sibling -- F (female)

|
 M (gender unknown or father/mother of F)

Depending on the question, you figure out how certain individuals relate.

4.3 Elimination Trick in Multi-Option Problems

Sometimes the question might say: “Which of the following coded expressions shows U is father-in-
law of P?” Then you have four coded statements. You can quickly eliminate statements where
UUU’s gender can’t be determined or if the marriage chain doesn’t produce an in-law relationship.

5. Single-Person (Individual) Blood Relations

In single-person problems, typically:

 You see statements like: “Pointing to a person, a man says…” or “Pointing to a photograph,
a woman says…”

 You must interpret: “He is the only son of the daughter of my father’s brother,” etc.

5.1 Direct Single-Person Relation

One statement referencing just one person directly:

 Example: “Pointing to a photograph, a man says, ‘He is the only son of my father.’”

o If a man says “only son of my father”, that’s the speaker himself (he is pointing to his
own picture).

o Or if a woman says “only son of my father,” that must be her brother.

5.2 Indirect Single-Person Relation

They sometimes give two references linking via a middle person:

 Example: “XXX is the daughter of YYY. ZZZ is the son of YYY. How is XXX related to ZZZ?” →
Sister.

5.3 Common Shortcut Phrases

 Father of my sister’s brother = my father.

 Brother of my daughter = my son.

 Sister of my son = my daughter.

 Wife of my husband (spoken by a woman) = the speaker herself.

 Only daughter of my parents (spoken by a man) = my sister.

 Only son of my parents (spoken by a woman) = my brother.

Basically, these expansions help speed up parsing complicated statements.

6. Practice Examples: Single-Person Relation

Below are some typical statements and how we decode them:

6.1 Example:

“Anil introduces Rohit as son of the brother of his father’s wife.”

1. Break at ‘as’: “… introduces Rohit as …”

2. Decode “son of brother of my father’s wife”:

o “my father’s wife” = my mother.

o “brother of my mother” = my maternal uncle.

o “son of my uncle” = my cousin.

Hence, “Anil introduces Rohit as his cousin.” → Rohit is Anil’s cousin.

6.2 Example:

“Pointing to a photograph, a woman says: ‘He is the only son of father of my sister’s brother.’”

 “my sister’s brother” = my brother.

 “father of my brother” = my father.

 “only son of my father” (spoken by a woman) = my brother.

Thus, “He is my brother.”

6.3 Example:

“Pointing to a man on the stage, a woman says, ‘He is brother of daughter of wife of my husband.’”

 “wife of my husband” = myself (the speaker woman).

 “daughter of me” = my daughter.

 “brother of my daughter” = my son.

Hence, “He is my son.”

6.4 Example:

“Pointing to a man in a photograph, a woman says: ‘His brother’s father is the only son of my
paternal grandfather.’ How is the woman related to the man?”

 Let’s decode carefully:

1. “His (the man’s) brother’s father” → that father is “man’s father.”

2. “the only son of my paternal grandfather” (spoken by a woman).

 Paternal grandfather = my father’s father.

 The only son of my father’s father = my father.

So, “man’s father = my father.” If the man’s father is the woman’s father, the man and the woman
share the same father → they are siblings. The question: “How is the woman related to the man?”
→ She is his sister.

6.5 Example:

“Pointing to a man in a photograph, a woman says, ‘His mother’s only daughter is the mother of my
mother.’”

 Step by step:

o “His mother’s only daughter” = that man’s sister.

o That sister is “the mother of my mother.”

 So this sister is the woman’s grandmother (if your mother’s mother is your
grandmother).

In effect, the man’s sister is the woman’s grandmother. So how is the woman related to the man? If
the man’s sister is the woman’s grandmother, then the woman is the man’s grandniece (or simply
“niece” in the direct upward-lateral sense, but more precisely grandniece if generations are that far
apart).

o Often in simpler puzzle logic, they’ll call it “niece”, but truly it’s one generation extra.
The exam question might phrase it as “the woman is the niece (or granddaughter) of
the man’s sister”. The man is effectively the woman’s granduncle or “uncle” in
typical puzzle terms.

(These can get tricky with multiple generational leaps. Always check the logic carefully.)

7. Conclusion and Tips

1. Master the Basic Terms (father, mother, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, niece, nephew, cousin,
in-laws, paternal, maternal).

2. Use Notation:

o Male → +++ or “(m)”

o Female → −-− or “(f)”

o A horizontal line to denote marriage

o A vertical line to denote children

3. Watch for Gender Clues:

o “He has no sister.”

o “A is not mother.”

o “A does not have any grandson.”

4. Break Down Complex Statements by rewriting:

 o “father of my sister’s brother” → “father of my brother” → “my father”.

o “wife of my husband” (spoken by a woman) → “myself”.

5. In Coded Relations, always confirm direction (is the code from A→B or reversed?).

6. In Single-Person Questions, find the words “is/was/as” as anchors. Everything after that
word you decode from right to left.

By carefully diagramming relationships, you can systematically solve any blood-relation puzzle
without confusion.

End of Organized Lecture Notes

These notes capture all the essential content from the class transcript, with corrected grammar and
added structure—plus the requested diagrams to illustrate examples. You now have an extensive
overview of how to handle Blood Relation questions in reasoning exams.