Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: Nephew
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
This is a straightforward blood-relation question where the key phrase is "my wife's sister". Problems like this are extremely common in verbal reasoning sections of competitive exams because they train you to recognize in-law relationships (on the spouse's side) and correctly identify terms such as nephew, niece, brother-in-law and sister-in-law.
Given Data / Assumptions:
Concept / Approach:
The main idea is to understand how relatives on the spouse's side are named. A wife's sister is a sister-in-law. The children of one's brother or sister (and also of one's spouse's siblings) are called nephews or nieces, depending on gender. Because the boy is explicitly male, he must be Raju's nephew. This holds regardless of whether we are considering blood relations or in-law extensions, as the term "nephew" comfortably covers both in ordinary reasoning questions.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Verification / Alternative check:
Imagine a simple example. Suppose Raju's wife is Meera. Meera has a sister, Sita. Sita has a son, Arun. When Raju introduces Arun, saying "He is the son of my wife's sister", we immediately see that Arun is the child of Raju's sister-in-law. In everyday language, Raju would refer to Arun as his nephew. This perfectly matches the standard exam interpretation of such questions.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
He cannot be Raju's real brother, because there is no indication that they share parents; the relationship is clearly through Raju's wife's side.
He is not Raju's son, because the boy's mother is Raju's sister-in-law, not Raju's wife.
"Cousin" would be used for someone who shares grandparents with Raju. Here, the boy shares grandparents with Raju's wife, not necessarily with Raju himself.
Common Pitfalls:
Candidates sometimes get confused when relations are described through the spouse. A good habit is to pause and re-phrase: "wife's sister" means "sister-in-law", and the child of a sister-in-law is usually treated in reasoning problems as a nephew or niece. Writing a small family diagram and placing Raju, his wife, her sister and the boy can help avoid mistakes.
Final Answer:
The boy is related to Raju as his nephew.
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