A + B means 'A is the father of B'; A − B means 'A is the wife of B'; A × B…
2020
A + B means 'A is the father of B'; A − B means 'A is the wife of B'; A × B means 'A is the brother of B'; A ÷ B means 'A is the daughter of B'. If R − V × T ÷ W, then how is R related to W?
- A.
Daughter-in-law
- B.
Son-in-law
- C.
Mother-in-law
- D.
Mother
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
To solve a coded blood-relation puzzle, translate each relational symbol into its family term one link at a time, tracking gender and generation as the letters chain together; combine the individual sibling, marriage, and parent-child links to arrive at the compound relation (for example, a son's wife is a daughter-in-law), and only name the final relation once every intermediate link is fixed.
R − V: the '−' symbol denotes 'wife of', so R is the wife of V — R is female and V is male.
V × T: the '×' symbol denotes 'brother of', so V is the brother of T — V and T are siblings.
T ÷ W: the '÷' symbol denotes 'daughter of', so T is the daughter of W — W is a parent of T.
Since V and T are siblings and T is W's daughter, V is also W's child; because V is male (from step 1), V is W's son.
R is the wife of V, and V is W's son, so R is the wife of W's son.
Cross-check: the wife of one's son is, by definition, the daughter-in-law — this matches directly, and every intermediate gender (R female, V and T as siblings, V male) stays consistent with the codes used at each step, so the chain has no contradiction.
Therefore, R is the daughter-in-law of W.