Concept 3 of 6
Family Relations: One Hop
Today's big idea
Mother or father moves one row up the tree, and brother or sister stays on it.
Walking the hops beats collecting names, since the answer is often someone known.
How it works
👀 What's going on?
Someone points at a woman in an old photograph and asks who she is to you. Working it out takes one step if you know where she sits on the family tree. Without that, it is a long and awkward pause.
💡 Here's the trick
Look at the tree above. Mother's mother is Grandmother because each word moves you one row up. Father's brother is Uncle because father moves up a row and brother stays on it. Moving up means a parent, staying level means a brother or sister, and moving down means a child.
🪄 How to do it
- 1.Start at yourself and find that spot on the tree above.
- 2.Take the relation one word at a time, hopping as you go.
- 3.Name the row you land on.
✍️ Try it
Who is your father's sister to you? Then: who is your brother's mother to you?
Father is one hop up and his sister stays on that row, so she is your Aunt. Your brother is on your own row, and his mother is the same person as yours, so she is simply your Mother.
⚠️ Watch out
You might be thinking every relation adds a new person. Your brother's mother is not a new relative at all. She is your own mother, reached the long way round. Walk the hops instead of collecting names, and the answer is often somebody you already know.
🌟 Why this matters
Family words come up constantly at weddings and gatherings, and getting them right saves an awkward moment. Working out how two people are related is the same short walk every time.
Exam tip: Draw two rows and mark yourself on them before you read the question again.
Watch me solve one
Quanta solves it
“Watch how I think through one of these — then you try.”
THE PROBLEM
“Who is your father's mother to you?”
- 1
Hop 1
Father is one step UP on the family tree.
- 2
Hop 2
Father's mother is one more step UP.
- 3
Name the relation two steps up
Two hops up = Grandmother.
- 4
Answer ✓
= Grandmother
Now you try one — same steps, different story 👇
See it in action
⚡ Time to play!
Who is your mother's mother? Take one hop at a time along the family tree.
FAMILY · ROUND 1 OF 3
Quick check
✅ VERIFICATION
Which relation moves you one row UP the family tree?
⚡ Finish the activity above first to answer.
Keep going!
Up next: Number & Letter Analogies
Double, half, next letter, +N, spot the rule.