Blood Relations for CA Foundation
Blood relation puzzles: family terms, pointing and introduction statements, and building family trees.
Quantitative AptitudePaper 3, Logical Reasoning12 MCQs2 lessons2 flashcards3 memory tricks
What you'll learn
- Family terms
Use relationship terms correctly on both sides of the family. - Family trees
Solve coded and multi-person puzzles with a diagram.
Concepts explained
Relationship terms
Know the terms on the father's (paternal) and mother's (maternal) sides and the in-law relations.
What it means
- Mother's brother: maternal uncle; father's brother: paternal uncle.
- Parent's sibling's child: cousin; sibling's child: nephew/niece.
- Spouse's parent/sibling: in-law; brother's wife: sister-in-law.
- Parent's father: grandfather (paternal or maternal).
- A is the sister of D's father
Answer: A is D's aunt
- P is Q's father; Q is R's mother
Answer: P is R's maternal grandfather
Related terms
- Generation gap: count levels up or down the tree
- Gender-neutral terms: grandparent, sibling, child, cousin
Exam tip: Paternal = through father; maternal = through mother.
Pointing and introduction puzzles
Decode the statement from the end backwards, replacing each phrase with a person, and use the speaker's gender for 'only son/daughter' phrases.
What it means
- Start from the speaker and work along the chain.
- Woman: 'my mother's only son' = brother; man: 'my father's only son' = himself.
- Replace each phrase step by step.
- Check generation levels at the end.
- Rita: son of my mother's only son
Answer: Nephew
- Arjun: his mother's father is my father's only son
Answer: Grandson
Related terms
- Self-reference: 'my father's only son' can be the speaker
- Coded relations: symbols like + − × for relations
Exam tip: Underline 'only son' or 'only daughter': it usually means the speaker or the speaker's sibling.
Building a family tree
Draw a family tree with generations in rows, couples joined, and siblings on one line, adding one statement at a time.
What it means
- + male, − female; = married; horizontal line siblings; vertical line parent–child.
- Each new statement adds a person or a link.
- Don't assume gender unless stated.
- Answer by counting generations and sides.
- X is Y's daughter; Y is Z's wife
Answer: Z is X's father
- A mother of B; E daughter of B; D brother of E
Answer: A is D's grandmother
Related terms
- Generation: row of the tree
- Siblings: share the same parents
Exam tip: If the gender isn't given, the answer may have to be 'parent', 'grandparent' or 'cannot be determined'.
Memory tricks
Decode 'only son/daughter' phrases from the speaker's gender.
Mother's brother = maternal uncle; father's brother = paternal uncle.
Use a family tree with generations in rows.
Try 3 CA Foundation-style questions
Q1. My father's sister's son is my
- brother
- nephew
- uncle
- cousin
Show answer
Answer: (4) cousin
The child of a parent's sibling is a cousin.
Q2. My brother's wife is my
- sister
- sister-in-law
- cousin
- aunt
Show answer
Answer: (2) sister-in-law
A brother's wife (bhabhi) is a sister-in-law.
Q3. A woman's husband's father is her
- grandfather
- uncle
- brother-in-law
- father-in-law
Show answer
Answer: (4) father-in-law
The spouse's father is the father-in-law.
Practise all 12 questions Free · explanations for every option · see where you go wrong