If ‘A & Z’ means ‘A is the brother of Z’, ‘A # Z’ means ‘A is the sister of Z’, ‘A ^ Z’ means ‘A is the brother of Z’s father’, ‘A @ Z’ means ‘A is the wife of Z’, ‘A % Z’ means ‘A is the mother of Z’, ‘A α Z’ means ‘A is the father of Z’, then how is J related to Z in the following expression? J % K # L @ M α N & Z
- (a)Father’s mother
- (b)Mother
- (c)Mother’s mother
- (d)Mother’s sister
Answer
Why
Correct — C. Read the chain from the right, because that is the end Z stands at.
N & Z: N is Z's brother. M α N: M is N's father, so M is Z's father too.
L @ M: L is M's wife, so L is Z's mother.
K # L: K is L's sister. J % K: J is K's mother, and the mother of one sister is the mother of the other, so J is L's mother.
J is therefore the mother of Z's mother — Z's mother's mother → option (c).
Why the others are wrong
- (a)Father’s mother — Father's mother would place J on M's side of the family. J is reached through L, who is Z's mother, never through M.
- (b)Mother — Mother is one generation too low. L is Z's mother and J is L's mother, which puts J two steps above Z.
- (d)Mother’s sister — Mother's sister is K's relation to Z, not J's. J is K's mother and stands a generation above both sisters.
Concept
Symbol-coded relation items are solved by rewriting, not by drawing straight away. Replace each symbol with its words, then read the sentence out from the end that names the person you are asked about.
Two silent assumptions carry these puzzles: siblings share both parents, so the mother of one is the mother of the other, and the wife of a father is the mother of his children. Without them the chain cannot be closed.
The legend defines six symbols, two of which are brother relations of different kinds, and one of them — the caret — is never used in the expression. Read the whole legend before touching the chain.
Key facts
- In J % K # L @ M α N & Z the operators mean mother, sister, wife, father and brother, in that order.
- M is the father of both N and Z, so his wife L is their mother.
- J is the mother of K, and K is L's sister, which makes J the mother of L as well.
Study next
Common traps
- Reading the chain left to right and losing sight of which person is being asked about
- Treating K as the link to Z when K is only L's sister
- Stopping at L and answering mother
The reverse form, which states the relation and asks for the coded expression, runs at 13 Sep 2024, 16:00, Reasoning Q.1 and at 19 Sep 2024, 12:30, Reasoning Q.24.
The legends differ item to item: # is 'sister' here but 'daughter' on 19 Sep, and ! means 'wife' on 13 Sep and 'father' on 19 Sep. Read the legend afresh every time rather than trusting a symbol you have met before.
Related PYQs
No directly related past PYQ was found.