SSC CGL Reasoning Blood Relation: Concepts, Types, Tricks & Practice Questions

Blood Relation is one of the most frequently asked topics in the SSC CGL Reasoning section. These questions evaluate a candidate's ability to understand and analyse relationships among family members based on a given set of statements. While some questions involve direct relationships, others may present information in a coded, descriptive, or puzzle-based format that requires careful interpretation.

A strong understanding of family relationships, generational hierarchy, and relationship terminology can significantly improve accuracy in this topic. Since Blood Relation questions are generally scoring and less time-consuming when approached correctly, they are considered an important part of SSC CGL Reasoning preparation. 

Blood Relation Reasoning for SSC CGL

In Blood Relation questions, candidates identify how two people are related using the information provided. Drawing a simple family tree often makes these questions much easier to solve. 

Before attempting complex questions, candidates should be familiar with common family relations such as father, mother, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, grandfather, grandmother, and various in-law relationships.

Types of Blood Relation Questions

There are distinct types of Blood Relation questions frequently encountered in competitive exams:

1. Type 1: Puzzle Form
   These are common in recent exams, presenting relationships indirectly. Answers often describe the relation in a descriptive manner rather than a single term, such as "Daughter's Husband's Sister" instead of "sister-in-law."
   Example Question:
   R is N's brother. R is K's only son. S is K's daughter-in-law. What is N's relation to S?
   Solution Steps:

• R is K's only son, implying R is male.

• R is N's brother. Since R is K's only son, N must be K's daughter.

• S is K's daughter-in-law, meaning S is married to K's son, R. So, S is R's wife.

• N is R's sister. Therefore, N is S's husband's sister.

2. Type 2: Indication/Pointing Form
   These questions involve one person pointing to or referring to another, describing their relationship in a convoluted way.
   Example: "Pointing to a man, a woman said, 'He is the only brother of my brother's mother.'"

3. Type 3: Coded Blood Relation
   This is a prevalent type where relationships are represented by codes or symbols (e.g., A+B means A is the father of B). The task is to decode an expression to find the relationship.
   Example: "A+B means A is the father of B; A-B means A is the sister of B." Questions then ask to deduce relationships from a coded expression.

Basic Concepts of Blood Relation

Fundamental Relationships (Direct Relatives):

• Father's father: Grandfather

• Father's mother: Grandmother

• Father's brother: Uncle (Paternal)

• Father's sister: Aunt (Paternal)

Types of Blood Relation (Based on Origin):

• By Birth Relationships: These are direct family members like mother, father, uncle, and aunt (from parental sides).

• After Marriage Relationships (In-laws): These relationships are formed after marriage. The term "in-law" is used because marriage is a legal (Memory Tip: The term "in-law" contains "law," reminding us that marriage is a legal union.) union, establishing new familial connections.

Generational Levels in Blood Relations

Understanding generational levels helps in structuring family trees and identifying relationships quickly:

• Own Generation: Self, siblings, spouse, cousins.

• One Generation Up: Parents, uncles, aunts (paternal/maternal).

• Two Generations Up: Grandparents (paternal/maternal).

• Three Generations Up: Great-grandparents (paternal/maternal).

• One Generation Down: Children, nephews, nieces.

• • Nephew: Brother's son or sister's son.

  • Niece: Brother's daughter or sister's daughter.

Notation for Married Couples

To effectively solve blood relation problems, especially those involving complex family structures, using a consistent notation is helpful.

• Married couples can be denoted with a double-headed arrow or a double line, for example, A <--> B or A == B.

• If A is the husband and B is the wife, this notation clearly indicates their marital status.

• Important Constraint for Questions: In typical competitive exam blood relation problems, if one partner is a woman, the other will be a man, and vice-versa. The concept of third gender or other gender relationships is not included in these problems. Similarly, step-relationships (step-mother, step-sister, etc.) are also not included in the exam syllabus.

SSC CGL Blood Relation Reasoning Practice Questions (Examples)

Question 1:

A is B's brother. B is C's son. D is C's wife. E is D's sister. How is A related to E?

Solution Steps:

1. A is B's brother; B is C's son, so A is also C's son.

2. D is C's wife, making C the father and D the mother of A and B.

3. E is D's sister.

4. Therefore, E is A's maternal aunt. A is E's sister's son.

Question 2:

H is G's husband. J and K are H's children. L is J's son. L is M's brother. N is M's mother. How is N related to H?

Solution Steps:

1. H is G's husband. J is H's child.

2. L is J's son. L is M's brother. N is M's mother.

3. Since L and M are siblings and N is M's mother, N must also be L's mother.

4. L is J's son, and N is L's mother, so N must be J's wife.

5. H is J's father and N is J's wife.

6. Thus, N is H's daughter-in-law (H's son's wife).

Question 3:

Saloni is the daughter of Kartik's only son. Nirupama is Deepak's mother. Ankit, Yamini's son, is married to Nirupama. Kartik is Deepak's grandfather. How is Kartik related to Ankit?

Solution Steps:

Step 1: Kartik is Deepak's grandfather, so Kartik's son is Deepak's father.

Step 2: Nirupama is Deepak's mother, so Nirupama is married to Deepak's father (Kartik's son).

Step 3: Ankit is married to Nirupama.

Step 4: Since Nirupama is married to Kartik's son (Step 2) and also married to Ankit (Step 3), Ankit and Kartik's son must be the same person.

Step 5: Therefore, Ankit is Kartik's son.

Step 6: Hence, Kartik is Ankit's father.

Question 4:

P is Q's son. Q and R are sisters. T is R's mother. S is T's son. Which of the following statements is true?

Solution Steps:

1. P is Q's son.

2. Q and R are sisters. T is R's mother, so T is also Q's mother.

3. S is T's son. So, S is the brother of Q and R.

4. Q is P's mother and S is Q's brother.

5. Therefore, S is P's maternal uncle.