UPSSSC PET · Bite-size lessons
Blood Relations
About 7 min · Logic & Reasoning · English
Time worked out from the lesson's 519 words at 150 words a minute, plus a minute for each question.
These questions test your ability to decode family relationships from coded statements and identify how two people are related. The topic demands clarity in understanding generation levels, gender identification, and careful step-by-step relationship tracing.
Key ideas
- Generation levels: Always draw horizontal lines for the same generation (siblings, spouses, cousins) and vertical connections for parent-child or grandparent relationships. Mixing generations is the #1 source of error.
- Gender symbols: Use standard notation—circles or 'F' for females, squares or 'M' for males. Mark unknown genders with '?' and determine them from relationship clues like "sister," "wife," "son."
- Direct vs. indirect relations: Direct blood relations (parent, child, sibling) are straightforward. In-law and step-relations require extra attention—brother-in-law can mean sister's husband or spouse's brother.
- Pointing-style questions: When someone points at a photo and describes a relationship ("His father is my father's only son"), translate into first-person perspective: "my father's only son" = me (if male) or my brother. Build from the speaker outward.
- Only child clues: "Only son," "only daughter," "only brother," "only sister" are powerful constraints. They eliminate other siblings and simplify the tree drastically.
Watch out for
- Confusing "only son" with "one son": "My father's only son" means father has exactly one son (could be the speaker). "My father has one son" is ambiguous—could be more daughters. Always interpret "only" strictly. Fix: Mark "only child" as a constraint eliminating all other siblings.
- Mixing maternal and paternal sides: Saying "uncle" without specifying Chacha (father's brother) vs. Mama (mother's brother) leads to wrong answers when the question is specific. Fix: Always note if the relation comes through father or mother and label accordingly.
- Gender assumption errors: Assuming a name like "Ramesh" is male is usually safe, but names like "Suman," "Priya," "Kavita" can occasionally be trick names. Let the relationship terms (son, daughter, wife, husband) define gender.
Quick reference
- Draw generation-wise: Same generation = same horizontal level. Parent-child = vertical link. Mark spouse with '=' or double-line.
- "Only" keyword = no other siblings: Exploit this to simplify the tree instantly.
- Maternal/Paternal distinction: Mother's side = Nana, Nani, Mama, Mausi. Father's side = Dada, Dadi, Chacha, Bua.
- Pointing questions = speaker's viewpoint: Always establish "my father," "my son," etc., from speaker, not the photo subject.
- Practice 20–30 problems: Blood Relations rewards pattern recognition. You'll see recurring structures (grandfather's only son, nephew's grandmother, etc.).
Check yourself: 3 questions
1. Pointing to a man, Seema said, "His brother is the only son of my mother's father." How is the man related to Seema?
2. A is the father of B. C is the daughter of B. D is the brother of B. E is the son of A. What is the relationship between C and E?
3. In a family of six persons A, B, C, D, E and F, there are three males and three females. There are two married couples and two persons are unmarried. E is the grandmother of C and mother of B. A is the father of D and grandfather of F. B is the daughter of E and mother of F. Who is the wife of D?
This lesson is cut from the topic's note, not rewritten. Fact-checked on 17 Oct 2026: an AI-assisted check of this note against cited sources; the errors it found were corrected that day. Some errors may remain. The questions are from Shishya's validated question bank.
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