Pariksha SaathiCoded Relationships Questions with Solutions
These questions hand you a symbol key for family relationships — "+" means "mother of," "×" means "husband of" — and ask you to trace a chain of two or three coded relationships through to the final answer. Here’s the approach, four fully worked examples sharing one key, and a few to try yourself.
The approach, quickly
- Decode one symbol at a time, converting each into a plain-language relationship ("P + Q" becomes "P is the mother of Q") before trying to combine them.
- Draw or mentally build a small family tree exactly like a plain-language Blood Relations question — the only difference here is that the relationships arrive in coded form.
- Track gender carefully: a relationship like "brother of" or "son of" tells you the first person’s gender directly, which is often the key to naming the final relationship correctly (uncle vs aunt, nephew vs niece).
- Work through the chain in the order given, converting the full expression into a short family-tree sketch before naming the final relationship — don’t try to jump straight to the answer.
Worked examples
1. If P + Q means P is the mother of Q, and Q × R means Q is the husband of R, how is P related to R?
Solution
- P is the mother of Q.
- Q is the husband of R, so Q is male and married to R.
- P is the mother of R’s husband, which makes P the mother-in-law of R.
Answer: P is the mother-in-law of R
2. If A − B means A is the brother of B, and B + C means B is the mother of C, how is A related to C?
Solution
- A is the brother of B, so A is male and a sibling of B.
- B is the mother of C.
- A’s sibling B is C’s mother, which makes A the (maternal) uncle of C.
Answer: A is the uncle of C
3. If X ÷ Y means X is the son of Y, and Y − Z means Y is the brother of Z, how is X related to Z?
Solution
- X is the son of Y.
- Y is the brother of Z, so Y is male and a sibling of Z.
- X’s father Y is Z’s brother, which makes X the nephew of Z.
Answer: X is the nephew of Z
4. If M × N means M is the husband of N, and N + O means N is the mother of O, how is M related to O?
Solution
- M is the husband of N.
- N is the mother of O.
- The husband of O’s mother is O’s father.
Answer: M is the father of O
Try these yourself
Use the same key as above (+ = mother of, − = brother of, × = husband of, ÷ = son of), then check against the answer.
1. If P + Q means P is the mother of Q, and Q − R means Q is the brother of R, how is P related to R?
Answer: P is the mother of R
2. If A ÷ B means A is the son of B, and B × C means B is the husband of C, how is A related to C?
Answer: A is the son of C
3. If X − Y means X is the brother of Y, and Y ÷ Z means Y is the son of Z, how is X related to Z?
Answer: X is the son of Z
Where this comes up
Coded Relationships is a regular topic in the Reasoning/General Intelligence section of every exam Pariksha Saathi covers — SSC CGL, SSC MTS, SSC CHSL, IBPS PO, IBPS Clerk, SBI PO and SBI Clerk.
Practice more Coded Relationships questions
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