You have to decide whether the data given in the statements is sufficient to…
2025
You have to decide whether the data given in the statements is sufficient to answer the question or draw the conclusion of the statement in the question.
How is Shubham related to Shivani?
i. Shubham is brother of Meenal. Shivani is niece of Pooja.
ii. Neeraj is Meenal’s uncle and Preeti’s brother
- A.
If data in the statement I alone is sufficient to answer the question.
- B.
If data in the statement II alone is sufficient to answer the question.
- C.
If data either in the statement I alone or statement II alone are sufficient to answer the question.
- D.
If data given in both I & II together are not sufficient to answer the question.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
CONCEPT: In relationship-based data sufficiency questions, two people can be related only when the statements together trace an unbroken chain of common relatives connecting their two family branches. If every person named in one statement belongs to a completely different family branch from the people named in the other statement - with no relative shared between the two - the exact relationship stays undetermined, however many statements are combined.
Working through the statements:
Statement I: Shubham is Meenal's brother, so Shubham and Meenal share the same parents. Shivani is Pooja's niece, so Shivani's parent is a sibling of Pooja. Statement I alone names no relative common to both the Shubham-Meenal branch and the Pooja-Shivani branch, so it cannot fix how Shubham and Shivani are related.
Statement II: Neeraj is Meenal's uncle, so one of Meenal's parents is Neeraj's sibling. Statement II also says Neeraj is Preeti's brother, meaning Preeti is one of Neeraj's siblings - but this alone does not confirm Preeti specifically is the sibling who is Meenal's parent, since Neeraj could have other siblings too. Either way, statement II only places Neeraj and Preeti on Meenal's side of the family and says nothing about Pooja or Shivani, so it cannot connect Shubham to Shivani on its own.
Combining I and II: Statement II adds Neeraj and Preeti only to Meenal's side of the family, while statement I keeps Pooja and Shivani on a separate side. None of Neeraj, Preeti or Meenal's parents from statement II appears in statement I, and Pooja from statement I never appears in statement II - so even together, the two statements never place Shubham and Shivani in the same family chain.
Cross-check: since no shared relative links the two branches in either statement individually or in combination, no chain of relation between Shubham and Shivani can be built from the given information - the data in both statements together is not sufficient to answer the question.