Logical Reasoning: Blood Relations for CLAT

Blood Relations reasoning is one of CLAT’s most significant logical reasoning topics. Not only in CLAT, but this topic has relevance in almost every other entrance examination. There are various other reasoning topics as well, but this one remains to be tricky. Firstly, most people think it has everything to do with bioscience, but this is a myth. Second, candidates are unaware of the logical approach needed to solve this problem. So, let us start dealing with the topic.

Blood relations reasoning questions are like the maths problems with a fixed approach. If you know the hack, it will take you a few seconds to answer it, but if you don’t, it will take a long time and much effort to solve them.

Blood relations are established in two ways: either by birth or marriage. Relations established by birth will be between parents and children: daughter and father, daughter and son, mother and daughter, mother and son. On the other hand, blood relations through marriage are also considered.

There are some typical types of blood relation questions included in the Logical Reasoning Syllabus of CLAT 2022:

• Dialogue Based Questions

Here a dialogue of a person describing their blood relations is the content of the question. Based on the dialogue, a question is asked.

• Puzzle-Based Questions

A specific piece of information regarding a blood relation is provided. Questions are asked based on that information.

• Coding-Decoding Questions

Symbols and codes are used to define a blood relationship. Questions are asked based on the information provided through the symbols. This is the most asked type of question in recent days. 

Also read: How to prepare for CLAT in one month

Family Tree

A family tree is a pictorial representation of the blood relation among family members. The relations are spread out like the branches of a tree and hence the name. There are a few important facts about family tree representation:

• The female members of the family are denoted by circles, while squares denote the male members.
• Double-headed arrows are used to denote the relations between the family members.
• For spouse relation denotations, double lines are used.
• Each generation is represented on the same horizontal level. 
• The subsequent generations are represented vertically, with the elder ones on the top and younger ones at the bottom. 

When studying a family tree, candidates must remember specific relationship terminologies. These are:

Relationship Terminologies

Relationship Type	Terminology
Son of Mother or Father	Myself / My Brother
Daughter of Mother or Father	Myself / My Sister
Father’s Brother	Paternal Uncle
Mother’s Brother	Maternal Uncle
Mother’s / Father’s Father	Grandfather
Mother’s / Father’s Mother	Grandmother
Brother’s Son	Nephew
Brother’s Daughter	Niece
Son’s Wife	Daughter-in-law
Daughter’s Husband	Son-in-law
Wife’s / Husband’s Sister	Sister-in-law
Wife’s/ Husband’s Brother	Brother-in-law
Uncle’s / Aunt’s Son or Daughter	Cousin
Granddaughter’s or Grandson’s Daughter	Great-granddaughter
Granddaughter’s or Grandson’s Son	Great-grandson

Sample Blood Relation Questions with Answers

Here are some sample questions from the blood relation reasoning topic of CLAT logical reasoning:

Jumbled Description Type Question

Here is a description or situation in the question involving some blood relation. For example, one has to identify the blood relation from the description of the question.

Ques: Mrs.Laxmi said: “Sunita is the daughter of the only son of my father.” How is Sunita related to Mrs. Laxmi?

Ans: Sunita is the daughter of Mrs. Laxmi’s brother, and hence Sunita is Mrs. Laxmi’s Niece.

Ques: Raj said that his mother’s mother is ill. So, what is the relation of Raj with the ill person?

Ans: The ill person is Raj’s Grandmother

Relational Puzzle Type Questions

This question is like the previous one, except that more information will be provided about the family members to make the question complex, and the number of members involved will be more.

Question: 

Tushar is the son of Rishis’ father’s sister. Rahul is the son of Neeti, the mother of Keshav, and the grandmother of Rishi. Ashutosh is the father of Tanvee and the grandfather of Tushar. Neeti is the wife of Ashutosh. How is Tushar related to Neeti?

1. Nephew
2. Son
3. Grandson
4. Inadequate data

At first, candidates may think that a family tree is necessary in this case, but this is not so. The information provided is quite simple, and the problem can be solved without drawing a family tree. Hence the correct option is c. Grandson. Because it is given that Ashutosh is the grandfather of Tushar and Neeti is Ashutosh’s wife. So., she is Tushar’s grandmother.

Final Words

These are the two most common blood relations problems asked in CLAT. There are also several other types. To better practice CLAT logical reasoning questions, it is best to join a reputed CLAT preparation coach. Add regular mock tests and previous year’s paper practice to your preparation schedule for better performance. For solving blood relation questions, try to use schematic and pictorial representations. 

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