AITestSeriesAITestSeries
Syllabus
📋 SSC CGL
Subject:Tier-I Examination Syllabus

Blood Relations & Directions

Syllabus Unit: General Intelligence & Reasoning

Why it matters

Chapter overview

Blood relation puzzles are solved by drawing a family tree as each clue is read; direction problems are solved by plotting each move on an implicit compass grid — both punish reading the clues out of order or trying to hold the whole puzzle in your head at once. This topic builds the incremental family-tree method, net-displacement direction tracking, coded-relation decoding, and combined direction-plus-relation problem solving.

Tier-I Examination Syllabus General Intelligence & Reasoning 25% weightage
Live Animation1 / 4
1Read ClueOne relation at a time
2Identify GenerationParent, grandparent, sibling level
3Add to TreeSketch the new person/link
4Resolve Final RelationRead directly off the diagram

1Blood Relations & Family Trees

Draw the family tree symbol by symbol as each clue is read — never try to hold more than two generations in your head at once.

Learning Objectives

  • Build a family tree diagram incrementally from each clue, using standard symbols for male/female and generation levels.
  • Correctly interpret compound relation phrases (e.g. 'son of my mother's brother' = cousin, 'father's only son' = self or brother).
  • Distinguish generation-based terms (grandfather, uncle, nephew) from same-generation terms (sibling, cousin).
  • Resolve the classic 'pointing to a photograph' puzzle format by working outward from the stated relationship.

Key Terms

Family Tree DiagramA visual map with generation levels stacked vertically and marriage/sibling links drawn horizontally, built incrementally as clues arrive.
Generation LevelThe vertical tier (grandparent, parent, self, child) a relative belongs to relative to the speaker.
Compound RelationA chained relation phrase like 'my father's only son', decoded step by step starting from the innermost clause.
Photograph Puzzle FormatA classic SSC format where a person describes a relative in a photograph, and the final relationship must be deduced from the description.

Blood relation questions are not logic puzzles to solve in your head — they are diagramming exercises. The moment a second relative is introduced, sketch it.

Method

  • Read the clue one relation at a time; add each new person to the tree as soon as they're introduced.
  • Decode compound phrases from the innermost clause outward: 'my grandfather's only son' resolves 'grandfather' → 'only son' before combining with 'my'.
  • Once the tree is complete, read the final relationship directly off the diagram — don't re-derive it from the sentence.

Worked example

'She is the daughter of my grandfather's only son' — if the man's father is an only child, 'grandfather's only son' = the man's father. So 'daughter of my father' = the man's sister.

Common MistakeTrap: 'grandfather's only son' does NOT automatically mean 'my father' unless the passage confirms the father has no siblings — otherwise it could be an uncle, and the woman would be a cousin, not a sister.