Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: Wife of Pramod's father
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
This verbal reasoning question tests the candidate's understanding of family relationships and careful reading of phrases like maternal uncle and only daughter. The goal is to determine how the speaking lady, who is describing a photograph and her family, is related to Pramod's father. Such questions are common in competitive exams and require a clear family tree in mind.
Given Data / Assumptions:
• The lady points to a woman in the photograph and says that she herself is the only daughter of that woman.• The same woman in the photograph has a son, and that son is Pramod's maternal uncle.• A maternal uncle is the brother of one's mother.• Standard assumptions are used: there is no hidden adoption or remarriage unless stated, and family terms have their usual meanings.
Concept / Approach:
The core idea is to translate the verbal description into a simple family tree. If a person is someone's maternal uncle, he must be the brother of that person's mother. Once we identify who the mother is and to which generation the speaker belongs, we can connect her to Pramod and then to Pramod's father. The relationship of the speaker to Pramod's father then becomes straightforward: if she is Pramod's mother, she must be the wife of his father.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Let the lady in the photograph be called X. The speaker says she is the only daughter of X.Step 2: X also has a son, and that son is described as Pramod's maternal uncle.Step 3: If X's son is Pramod's maternal uncle, that son must be the brother of Pramod's mother.Step 4: This means X is the mother of both Pramod's maternal uncle and Pramod's mother, so X is Pramod's maternal grandmother.Step 5: The speaker is the only daughter of X, so she must be Pramod's mother, because the only daughter of the maternal grandmother who shares the same mother and uncle relation with Pramod is his own mother.Step 6: If the speaker is Pramod's mother, then relative to Pramod's father, she is his wife.
Verification / Alternative Check:
As a quick check, imagine a typical family: a grandmother with two children, one son and one daughter. The son is the maternal uncle of the grandchild, and the daughter is the child's mother. That matches this situation exactly. No other role for the speaker maintains both conditions that she is the only daughter of the lady in the photo and that the lady's son is Pramod's maternal uncle.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Sister in law of Pramod's father: This would require the lady to be the sister of Pramod's mother or the wife of Pramod's father's brother, which contradicts the fact that she is Pramod's mother.Sister of Pramod's father: That would make the speaker a paternal aunt, not the daughter of Pramod's maternal grandmother in this configuration.Aunt of Pramod's father: This would push her one generation above Pramod's father, which does not fit the maternal uncle relation described.Relationship cannot be determined: The information is sufficient to infer that the speaker is Pramod's mother and therefore the wife of his father.
Common Pitfalls:
Candidates often confuse maternal uncle with paternal uncle and may wrongly try to connect the uncle to Pramod's father. Another common mistake is to assume that the lady in the photograph is Pramod's mother, whereas she is actually Pramod's maternal grandmother. Carefully tracking each phrase, especially only daughter and maternal uncle, prevents these errors.
Final Answer:
The speaker is Pramod's mother and therefore the wife of Pramod's father.
Discussion & Comments