Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning / Short-form reasoning

Blood Relations

Blood Relations: concepts, worked examples and practice.

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Start with the basics

Blood Relations, explained simply

Relationship problems describe a family using links such as parent, sibling and child. Draw one link at a time.

Try a small example

Mira is the mother of Dev. Dev is the father of Tara. How is Mira related to Tara?

Show the steps

Mira is one generation above Dev.
Dev is one generation above Tara.
Mira is Tara’s grandmother.

Remember: Do not assume a person’s gender from a name; use the information given.

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Family Trees

Draw people as labelled nodes connected by parent, sibling and spouse relations. Do not infer gender or a unique family arrangement from a name alone.

Worked example

A is the mother of B; B is the father of C. A is C's grandmother. If the first clue only said parent, grandparent would be justified but grandmother would not.

Exam focus

MAT: Intelligence and Critical Reasoning

Use diagrams for relationships and distinguish logical necessity from everyday plausibility.

CMAT: Logical Reasoning

Translate statements into diagrams or simple conditions. Check whether a conclusion is necessary rather than merely possible.

NMAT: Logical Reasoning

Test assumptions and deductions, then use small structured cases for puzzles and input-output rules.

SNAP: Analytical and Logical Reasoning

Use compact diagrams, clear direction conventions and quick elimination. Skip long uncertain branches and return later.

Check your understanding

Explain the idea in your own words before opening the answer. Then apply it to the example.

Family Trees

Explain the main rule in family trees, then apply it to a small example. State the assumption that makes your reasoning valid.

Review the note

Check your answer

Draw people as labelled nodes connected by parent, sibling and spouse relations. Do not infer gender or a unique family arrangement from a name alone.

Worked example: A is the mother of B; B is the father of C. A is C's grandmother. If the first clue only said parent, grandparent would be justified but grandmother would not.

Coded Relations

Explain the main rule in coded relations, then apply it to a small example. State the assumption that makes your reasoning valid.

Review the note

Check your answer

Decode each relation symbol before chaining it. Relation order and gender clues must both be preserved.

Worked example: If A+B means A is B's father and B-C means B is C's sister, then A is also C's father under the usual shared-parent sibling interpretation. State any family assumptions used.

Practice questions

Bharatiya Pathshala

Opening preparation notes...

BEGINNER

Blood Relations: visual worked lesson

Core idea

Relationship problems describe a family using links such as parent, sibling and child. Draw one link at a time.

Solving method

Draw generations vertically and spouse links horizontally. Track each pronoun explicitly; introduce no extra family assumptions.

Worked example

Mira is the mother of Dev. Dev is the father of Tara. How is Mira related to Tara? 1. Mira is one generation above Dev. 2. Dev is one generation above Tara. 3. Mira is Tara’s grandmother.

Read the diagram

Each arrow moves one generation from parent to child. Mira is a parent of Dev, who is a parent of Tara, so Mira is a grandparent of Tara. Her stated role as mother supplies the gender needed for “grandmother”. Do not infer the genders of other relatives from their names.

Exam-style application

P is Q's sister. Q is R's father. S is P's mother. What is S to R? P and Q are siblings, but the statement does not explicitly say they share the same mother. Under the standard full-sibling convention, S is Q's mother and hence R's grandmother. Without that convention, the relationship is not forced. In a well-specified question, "P and Q have the same parents" removes the ambiguity.

Common mistakes

Do not assume a person’s gender from a name; use the information given. Never infer gender from names. Distinguish a convention stated in the question from an unstated assumption.

Follow each parent–child link. Mira is Tara’s grandmother: two parent–child links. — Follow each parent–child link

Mira is Tara’s grandmother: two parent–child links. — Follow each parent–child link

Source record: Bharatiya Pathshala — original illustrated lessons.

Blood Relations, explained simply

Try a small example

Family Trees

Worked example

MAT: Intelligence and Critical Reasoning

CMAT: Logical Reasoning

NMAT: Logical Reasoning

SNAP: Analytical and Logical Reasoning

Check your understanding

Family Trees

Coded Relations

Blood Relations, explained simply

Try a small example

Blood Relations: visual worked lesson

Core idea

Solving method

Worked example

Read the diagram

Exam-style application

Common mistakes

Family Trees

Worked example

Coded Relations

Worked example

Application and strategy

Worked application

Common traps and strategy

MAT: Intelligence and Critical Reasoning

CMAT: Logical Reasoning

NMAT: Logical Reasoning

SNAP: Analytical and Logical Reasoning

Check your understanding

Family Trees

Coded Relations

Blood Relations: visual worked lesson

Core idea

Solving method

Worked example

Read the diagram

Exam-style application

Common mistakes

Coded Relations

Worked example

Application and strategy

Worked application

Common traps and strategy