Blood Relations — Study Notes
Maharashtra Police Bharti (Constable) — Intellectual Test (Reasoning)
Overview
Blood Relations is a core reasoning topic that tests your ability to understand family relationships based on given information. In Maharashtra Police Bharti exams, you will encounter questions where a statement describes how people are related, and you must deduce a specific relationship or identify a person.
The key skill required is translating English/Marathi relationship terms into a clear mental family tree. Students who practise drawing quick diagrams score full marks here.
Blood relation questions appear in three forms: single-statement puzzles, coded relationships, and complex family-tree problems with 4-6 members. Mastering the basic relationship vocabulary and using symbols (+/−) to represent male/female makes solving these problems fast and accurate.
Key Concepts
- Generation Levels: Each horizontal level in a family tree represents one generation — grandparents at top, parents in middle, children at bottom. Moving up = older generation, moving down = younger generation.
- Paternal vs Maternal: Paternal relations are from father's side (father's brother = chacha/kaka). Maternal relations are from mother's side (mother's brother = mama).
- In-laws vs Blood Relations: Spouse's relatives are in-laws (sasur, saas), not blood relations. Questions may mix both — identify carefully.
- Cousin Relationships: Father's or mother's sibling's children are cousins (first cousins). They belong to the same generation as you.
- Only Child Indicator: When the question says "A is the only son/daughter of B", it means B has no other child of that gender. B may still have children of the opposite gender.
- Gender Indicators: Words like son, brother, father, uncle, nephew indicate male. Words like daughter, sister, mother, aunt, niece indicate female. "Child" or "sibling" are gender-neutral — read context carefully.
- Spouse Relationship: Husband-wife are connected horizontally at the same generation level. Their parents become in-laws to each other.
Key Facts / Relationship Reference
Basic Relationships to Memorise:
| Relation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Father's father | Grandfather (Ajoba) |
| Father's mother | Grandmother (Aaji) |
| Father's brother | Uncle (Kaka/Chacha) |
| Father's sister | Aunt (Aatya/Bua) |
| Mother's brother | Uncle (Mama) |
| Mother's sister | Aunt (Maushi/Mami) |
| Brother's son | Nephew (Bhateeja/Putanya) |
| Brother's daughter | Niece (Bhateeje/Putani) |
| Sister's son | Nephew (Bhanja) |
| Sister's daughter | Niece (Bhanji) |
| Son's wife | Daughter-in-law (Sun) |
| Daughter's husband | Son-in-law (Javai) |
| Spouse's father | Father-in-law (Sasra) |
| Spouse's mother | Mother-in-law (Saas) |
Symbol Convention for Diagrams:
- Use + for male, − for female
- Horizontal line connects spouses
- Vertical line connects parent to child
- Siblings at same horizontal level below parents
Worked Examples
Example 1: Simple Statement
Question: Pointing to a photograph, Ramesh said, "She is the daughter of my grandfather's only son." How is the girl related to Ramesh?
Solution:
- Ramesh's grandfather's only son = Ramesh's father (since grandfather has only one son)
- Daughter of Ramesh's father = Ramesh's sister
Answer: Sister
Example 2: Introduction Type
Question: Introducing Sita, Mohan said, "Her brother's father is the only son of my grandfather." How is Sita related to Mohan?
Solution:
- Only son of Mohan's grandfather = Mohan's father
- Her brother's father = Her father
- So, Sita's father = Mohan's father
- Sita is Mohan's sister
Answer: Sister
Example 3: Complex Family Tree
Question: A is B's brother. C is A's mother. D is C's father. E is D's mother. How is B related to D?
Solution: Draw the tree:
E (great-great-grandmother)
|
D (great-grandfather)
|
C (mother of A and B)
|
A — B (siblings)- D is C's father = D is grandfather of A and B
- B is D's grandchild
Answer: B is the grandchild (grandson/granddaughter) of D
Example 4: Coded Relationship
Question: If A + B means A is the father of B, A − B means A is the sister of B, A × B means A is the wife of B, then what does P + Q − R mean?
Solution:
- P + Q → P is father of Q
- Q − R → Q is sister of R
- So P is father of Q, and Q is R's sister
- P is also father of R
Answer: P is father of R (and Q is R's sister)
Common Mistakes
- Confusing "only son" with "only child" → "Only son" means no other male child; there may be daughters. Read the exact words carefully.
- Ignoring gender-neutral terms → When question says "child" or "sibling", don't assume gender. Look for other clues in the question before concluding.
- Mixing paternal and maternal → Father's sister's husband is not a blood relative (he's an in-law). Students wrongly count such people as uncles by blood.
- Not drawing the diagram → Trying to solve complex 5-6 person problems mentally leads to errors. Always sketch a quick family tree using +/− symbols.
- Reversing the relationship direction → "How is A related to B?" asks what A is to B, not what B is to A. Many students answer the reverse.
- Assuming same gender for siblings → If the question says "A is B's sibling", A could be brother or sister. Don't assume based on the name.
Quick Reference
- Father's/Mother's father = Grandfather; Father's/Mother's mother = Grandmother
- Brother's/Sister's son = Nephew; Brother's/Sister's daughter = Niece
- "Only son of my father" = Myself (if male) or My brother (if I am female)
- Always draw a tree: + for male, − for female, horizontal for spouse, vertical for parent-child
- Read the final question carefully: "How is X related to Y" means find X's relation with respect to Y
- Spouse's relatives = In-laws, not blood relations