Blood Relations: Family Tree Method

What does the question ask?

You get a few facts about people in one family. You must find how two of them are related.

The facts come in short statements, such as one person being the mother of another.

Why do students find them hard?

The words jump across generations. Your mind loses track of who is who.

A simple drawing fixes this. It turns words into a picture.

Which words come from the father side?

Father’s brother is the paternal uncle. Father’s sister is the paternal aunt.

Father’s father is the paternal grandfather.

Which words come from the mother side?

Mother’s brother is the maternal uncle. Mother’s sister is the maternal aunt.

Mother’s mother is the maternal grandmother.

What about children of siblings?

A brother’s son is a nephew. A brother’s daughter is a niece.

The children of two siblings are cousins of each other.

Can you see the words used in a puzzle?

Meena says, “Ravi is my mother’s brother.” Then Ravi is Meena’s maternal uncle.

Now Ravi’s daughter is Meena’s cousin, because she is the child of Meena’s uncle.

Why this works: the child of an uncle or aunt is always a cousin.

Which words come from marriage?

Your spouse’s brother is your brother-in-law. Your spouse’s sister is your sister-in-law.

Your son’s wife is your daughter-in-law. Your daughter’s husband is your son-in-law.

What about the spouse’s parents?

Your wife’s father is your father-in-law. Your wife’s mother is your mother-in-law.

These relations come through the marriage, not through birth.

Can you see a marriage puzzle?

Tara’s husband is Uday. Uday’s sister is Vani. How is Vani related to Tara?

Vani is the sister of Tara’s husband. So Vani is Tara’s sister-in-law.

Why this works: a husband’s sister is a sister-in-law.

How do you draw it?

Put each generation on its own line. Older people go higher up.

Join parents to children with a vertical line. Join brothers and sisters with a horizontal line.

How do you show marriage?

Write a double line, or an equals sign, between husband and wife.

Mark each person with M for male or F for female.

Can you see one solved?

Asha is the mother of Bhaskar. Bhaskar is the father of Chitra.

Asha is two steps above Chitra, and she is a woman. So Asha is Chitra’s grandmother.

Why this works: count the generations between the two people, then read the gender of the older one.

Can you try a sideways relation?

Dev is the brother of Esha. Esha is the mother of Farid. How is Dev related to Farid?

Dev is Esha’s brother, so he is her son’s maternal uncle. Dev is Farid’s maternal uncle.

Why this works: a mother’s brother is always the maternal uncle.

Where do clues about gender hide?

Words like mother, uncle, wife or niece tell you the gender at once.

Names alone do not tell you. A name like Kiran can belong to either.

What if the gender is not clear?

If the answer needs a gender, the question usually tells it.

If it does not, pick the option that fits both, such as cousin or sibling.

How do you read a tricky line?

Start from the end of a long sentence and move left one step at a time.

Replace each phrase with the simple relation it means.

Can you see one solved?

Girish’s father is Hari’s son. How is Hari related to Girish?

Hari’s son is Girish’s father. So Hari is the father of Girish’s father, which makes Hari Girish’s grandfather.

Why this works: father of a father is a grandfather, whichever way you read the line.

Can you try a longer line?

Pia says, “Nikhil is the son of my mother’s only brother.” How is Nikhil related to Pia?

Pia’s mother’s brother is her maternal uncle. His son is her cousin. So Nikhil is Pia’s cousin.

Why this works: break the line into short pieces from the end and name each piece.

Is there a photograph type?

Pointing to a man, Leela says, “He is the son of my father’s only son.”

Leela is a woman, so her father’s only son is her brother. His son is her nephew.

Why this works: her father’s only son is her brother. The man in the photograph is that brother’s son, so he is her nephew.

What are these questions?

Symbols stand for relations. For example, plus may mean father and minus may mean mother.

The question lists the meaning of each symbol.

How do you solve them?

Rewrite each symbol as its relation. Then draw the tree as before.

Do not guess from the symbols alone.

Say A + B means A is the father of B, and A – B means A is the mother of B. Then P + Q – R means P is the father of Q, and Q is the mother of R.

So P is R’s maternal grandfather. Why this works: write each pair as a relation, then link the pairs.

What mistakes cost marks?

Mixing paternal and maternal sides. Always note whose brother or sister is meant.

Counting yourself as someone else in the line. Place the speaker in the tree first.

How do you stay quick?

Draw small. Use letters for names. Keep each generation on one line.

Cross off facts as you place them.

How should you practise?

Solve three family puzzles a day and draw each one.

Then try the quiz below and read every explanation.