[Reasoning] Calendar Questions: Finding day or date, concepts, shortcuts explained

1. Introduction
2. Concept: 7 Day cycle
1. SSC-CGL 2000 Question on 7-Day cycle
3. Concept: Day Gain Day loss
1. What is Leap year?
2. SSC Investigator 2010 (Anniversary)
3. SSC CGL 2011 (Anniversary)
4. CAT-2001 Question on calendar
5. Question 1988 to 1989
6. Speed Technique tip#1
7. Speed Technique tip#2
4. Concept: Date Without reference Day
1. Table#1: The odd days
2. Tablet #2: Number-Day
3. What day of week was on 15th ugust,1947?
4. Speed increase tip#1:
5. Find the day on 10th May, 1857?
6. Speed Technique #3
5. Mock questions
Introduction
Article prepared with help of Mr. Deepak Singh.
There are two main types of questions from Calendar
when you’re given a reference day when you’re given no reference “Day”
What day of week was it on 5th November, 1989 if it was Monday on
4th April, 1988 ? What was the day on 15th august 1947?

a. Monday a. Sunday
b. Tuesday b. Monday
c. Saturday c. Tuesday
d. Sunday d. Friday

Here question tells us that 4th April 88 was Monday, so we have a Here question doesn’t give us any
‘reference ‘day. reference “day”.
can be solved with just two concepts
need to just mugup 2 table, and few
1. 7 day cycle steps.
2. “day gain-Day loss” concept

Although calendar question is not asked every year in every exam. But If and when calendar question is asked,
just follow the given procedure and you’ll get the accurate answer= one mark is guaranteed=in that sense, cost:
benefit is great.
Concept: 7 Day cycle

Name of the day will repeat after seven days.

1st August 2013= Thursday. Therefore 1st August + 7 =8th August also has to
be Thursday.
Then what day will be 10th August 2013?

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 1st August =Thursday => 1+7=8 August is also Thursday
And 8 August + 2 =10 August will be Thursday + 2 days =>Saturday.
let’s try a simple question from SSC
SSC-CGL 2000 Question on 7-Day cycle
If 9th of the month falls on the day preceding Sunday, then on what day will 1st of the month fall?
a. Friday
b. Saturday
c. Sunday
d. Monday
As per the question 9th of the Month=Saturday. (day preceding Sunday)
Day name repeats after 7 days.
Therefore 9 minus 7=2nd of the given month is also Saturday.
Then 1st of the given month= Saturday Minus one day = Friday, Ans A
Concept: Day Gain Day loss
When we proceed forward by one year, then 1 day is gained and vice-versa.Example,9th August 2013 is
Friday, therefore 9th August 2014 has to be Friday+1=Saturday.
+1
year Reverse is also true. When we move backward by one year, then 1 day is lost.
9th August 2014 is Saturday, therefore 9th August 2013 has to be Saturday minus 1=Friday.

+2 When we proceed forward by one leap year, then 2 days are gained and vice-versa. Example If it is
Leap Wednesday on 10th august 2011 … then it would be Friday (Wednesday +2) on 10th august 2012
Year [because 2012 is a leap year]. The reverse is also correct: If 22nd April, 1988 = Friday , then 22nd
April,1987 = Wednesday. (-2 days)
Exception to Leap Year day gain day loss– the date must have crossed 28th February if the coming year is a
leap year for adding 2 days otherwise add 1 day.
For e.g.
If 26th January 2011 is Wednesday … then 26th January 2012 would be Thursday (even if 2012 is leap year
we have added +1 day, because 28th of February is not crossed).
If 23rd March 2011 is Wednesday … then 23rd march 2012 would be Friday (+2 days. As 28th February of
leap year is crossed).
What is Leap year?
A normal year has 365 days. A leap year has 366 days (the extra day is the 29th of February)
A year which is divisible by 4 is a leap year except, if it is divisible by 100 then we have to check it by
dividing by 400. For e.g.
1. 1988, 2008, 2012, 2016 etc. all are leap years as divided by 4.
2. 2000, 2400, 1600 etc. all are leap as divided by 400 (100 and 4 too).
3. 1700, 1800, 2100, 2200 etc. are not leap years as they are not divisible by 400 (even if they are divisible by
4).
Let’s try a sum
SSC Investigator 2010 (Anniversary)
On 5th December 1993, Nirmala and Raju celebrated their anniversary on Sunday. What will be the
day on their anniversary in 1997?
a. Wednesday
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 a. Wednesday
b. Thursday
c. Friday
d. Tuesday
Normal year jump +1 gain; Leap year jump +2 gain.
years day gain
1994 1
1995 1
1996 (leap year) 2
1997 1
total days 5
Sunday plus five days
1. Monday
2. Tue
3. Wed
4. Thursday
5. Friday
Answer (C) Friday
let’s try one more with a bit difference:
SSC CGL 2011 (Anniversary)
Mrs. Susheela celebrated her wedding anniversary on Tuesday 30th September 1997. What will she celebrate her
next wedding anniversary on same day (Tuesday)?
1. 30 Sept 2003
2. 30 Sept 2004
3. 30 Sept 2002
4. 30 October 2003
After 7 days=> day name will repeat

30th September day gain

1998 1
99 1
2000 (leap) 2
2001 1
2002 1
2003 1
total days 7

Meaning whatever was the day on 30th sep. 1997 it’ll repeat on 2003
Therefore, after 1997, next time Mrs.Susheela’s anniversary will be on same Tuesday on 30th September 2003 Ans
A.
Now, How about a CAT level question:
CAT-2001 Question on calendar
Dec 9, 2001 is Sunday then what was the day on Dec 9, 1971?
A. Thursday
B. Wednesday
C. Saturday
D. Sunday
Same day gain, Day loss
1971 to 2001=how many jumps?
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 2001-1971=Total 30 years jump
Out of those 30 years, how many leap years?
72, 76,….,’00 (multiples of of 4 and 2000 is also leap year because It is multiple of 400)
but no need to manually count leap years.
if you observe
18 x 4 =(19)72
25 x 4 =(20)00
so from 18 to 25 = total 8 leap years. (plz note: 25-18=7 years, but we’ve to include both years as well
…therefore.. in such counting, it’ll be 25-18+1=8 leap years)
back to the start: 30 years jump and out of them 8 were leap years.
Meaning 22 normal years + 8 leap years = total 30 years
22 normal years (+1 day gain) 22 x 1 =22 days
8 leap years (+2 days gain) 8 x 2= 16 days
total gain 22+16=38 days
38/7=(7×5)+3 remainder
Meaning whatever was the day on Dec 9, 1971, it’ll move to +3 days on dec 9 2001
Reverse is also true: Whatever was the day on Dec 2001, it’ll be three days less on Dec 9 1971:
Since Dec 2001 was Sunday therefore,
Sunday Minus 3 days= (just count in your head): Saturday…Friday… Thursday.
Final answer is A: Thursday

Question 1988 to 1989

What day of week was it on 5th November,1989 if it was Monday on 4th April, 1988 ?
1. Monday
2. Tuesday
3. Saturday
4. Sunday
Recall our Day gain Day loss principle
For Non-Leap year, When we proceed forward by one year, then 1 day is gained and vice-versa.
If 4th April, 1988 = Monday, then 4th April, 1989 = Tuesday (Because 1989 is a non-leap year)
Remaining days until 5th Nov.89
Month Days
April (4 to 30) 26
May 31
June 30
July 31
Aug 31
Sep 30
Oct 31
Nov 5
total 215
=Tuesday + 215
Divide 215 with 7 to find the remainder
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 215=(30*7)+5 Hence five is the remainder
Back to the problem
= Tuesday + [5 days]
What is the 5th day after Tuesday? Count on your fingertip: Wed, Thurs., Fri, Sat., Sunday
=Sunday (Final answer D)

Speed Technique tip#1

in above problem, if you don’t want to waste time in adding the days like 26+31+30…. then use following
approach
30 days=(7*4)+2=> 2 remainder
31 days=(7*4)+3=> 3 remainder.
Month Days Remainder with 7
April (4 to 30) 26 5 (because 26=7*3+5)
May 31 3
June 30 2
July 31 3
Aug 31 3
Sep 30 2
Oct 31 3
Nov 5 5
total don’t need 26
Divide this by 7 and find remainder: 26=(7*3)+5 so remainder is 5
=Tuesday + 5
= Tuesday + 5 days
=Sunday
Speed Technique tip#2
in speed tech #1, if you don’t want to waste time in adding the remainders of seven: 5+3+2…. then do following
pickup remainders that add upto 7 and cancel them.
for example 5+2=7. So I’ll cancel each such pair in the table. Observe
Month Days Remainder with 7after cancelling numbers that add upto “7” (e.g. 5+2)
April (4 to 30) 26 5
May 31 3
June 30 2
July 31 3
Aug 31 3
Sep 30 2
Oct 31 3
Nov 5 5
total don’t need 12
After cancelling the two pairs of (5+2), I’m left with four 3s= 12 (because 4 x 3=12)
=Tuesday + 12
now divide 12 with 7 find remainder: 12=7*1 +5
= Tuesday + 5 days

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 =Sunday

Concept: Date Without reference Day

Example: What was the day on 15th August 1947?

To solve this type of questions, you’ve to first mug up these two tables:

Table#1: The odd days

100 5
200 3
300 1
400, 800, 1200, 1600 etcmultiples of 400 0
^ok but what is the use of above table? It tells us the number of “odd” days in that given year. I don’t want to
bore you with the theory so just mug up those values.
Tablet #2: Number-Day
0, 7 Sunday
1 Monday
2 Tuesday
3 Wednesday
4 Thursday
5 Friday
6 Saturday
Just remember that 1 to 6 is Monday to Saturday and 0 or 7=Sunday.
^ok but what is the use of above table? just hang on for a few more paragraphs and you’ll know! Now let’s try a
sum

What day of week was on 15th ugust,1947?

Step 1:
Subtract the given year by 1.
1947 -1 = 1946
Step 2:
Break into relevant years as in table #1.
100 5
200 3
300 1
400, 800, 1200, 1600 etc (multiples of 400) 0
Therefore,
1946 = 1600 + 300 + ( 46 )
Step 3:
Now write corresponding values from the table: 1600=0 and 300=1
1946=>0+1+(46)
Step 4:
Now for the number in bracket (46), divide it by “4” and add quotient in same line.
in this case 46=(11x4)+2 therefore, 11 is quotient and 2 is remainder. We’re concerned with number and quotient
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 here
1946=0+1+(46+11)
Step5:
Now add all these numbers and divide by 7
0+1+(46+11)
=58
And when you divide 58 by 7, you get 58= (7*8)+2. Therefore remainder is 2.
we got the number “2” = we’ll call this our “31Dec Number”
Observe second table
0, 7 Sunday
1 Monday
2 Tuesday
3 Wednesday
4 Thursday
5 Friday
6 Saturday
From this table we can see that “2”=>Tuesday
It means 31st December 1946 was Tuesday. Now we apply our “7day cycle” concept to find out the day on 15th
August 1947 using the following formula
Given day= (our 31Dec Number “2”)+ *how many days till we reach 15th August?*
Step 6

from 1st Jan 1947 till we reach 15th August 1947 days in given month
Jan 31
feb (not leap year) 28
march 31
april 30
may 31
june 30
july 31
august (upto 15th Aug) 15
total 227 days
back to the “bold part”
(Our 31Dec Number)+ *how many days till we reach 15th August?*
=2 + 227
=229
Step 7
Divide this number (229) by 7 and whatever remainder you get= that is our day from table #2
229/7=(32*7)+5
so 5 is the remainder and as per table#2
0, 7 Sunday
1 Monday
2 Tuesday
3 Wednesday
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 4 Thursday
5 Friday
6 Saturday
5=>Friday.
That means 15th August 1947 was Friday.
Speed increase tip#1:
in above 15th August example, Back to the step6
31Dec Number+ *how many days till we reach 15th August?*
after that, we did following:

from 1st Jan 1947 till we reach 15th August 1947 days in given month
Jan 31
feb (not leap year) 28
march 31
april 30
may 31
june 30
july 31
august (upto 15th Aug) 15
total 227 days
^as you see we had to sum of 31+28+31….=lot of time taken in doing the addition (+).
So, it is better to just add remainders for each month with “7”
30=(7*4)+2=> 2 remainder
31=(7*4)+3=> 3 remainder.
Now observe again

from 1st Jan 1947till we reach 15th August 1947 days in given month remainder with 7
Jan 31 3
feb (not leap year) 28 0
march 31 3
april 30 2
may 31 3
june 30 2
july 31 3
august (upto 15th Aug) 15 1 (because 14+1)
total 227 days 17
now instead of 227 we can simply write 17
Our 31Dec Number+ *how many days till we reach 15th August?*
=2+17
=19
Therefore 19/7 = its remainder will tell us the final day
19=(7*2) + 5=therefore remainder is 5 and as per table#2, “5“ means Friday.
Find the day on 10th May, 1857?
Subtract “1” from the given year

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 1857-1=1856
Now breakup “1856” as per our table #1
100 5
200 3
300 1
400, 800, 1200, 1600 etc (multiples of 400) 0
1856
=1600+200+(56)
write corresponding values from table#1
=0+3+(56)
Divide the bracket number by “4” and write quotient along with number
56=14*4 + 0 therefore quotient is 14
1856
=0+3+(56+14)
add these numbers and divide by 7 find remainder
=73/7
=remainder 3
Speed Technique #3
after doing the division with 4 to find quotient step, you got following
=0+3+(56+14)
Whenever you see the multiple of 7, just scratch that number (because it’ll give remainder zero anyways)
for example
=0+3+(56+14)
Here both 56 and 14 are multiples of 7 so even if you divide them by 7, you’re going to get zero as remainder.
=0+3+0+0=3 is 31Dec Number
as per table#2: “3” means Wednesday. Meaning 31st December 1856 was Wednesday
now “our 31Dec Number”+ ”how many days till 10th May, 1857?”

from 1st Jan 1857till we reach 31th May 1857 days in given month remainder with 7
Jan 31 3
feb (not leap year in 1857) 28 0
march 31 3
april 30 2
may 10 3, Because 10=(7 x 1)+3
total *not needed* 11
back to our problem
“our 31Dec Number”+ ”how many days till 10th May, 1857?”
=3 + 11
=14
when 14 is divided by 7 we get zero as remainder.
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 as per table#2
0, 7 Sunday
1 Monday
2 Tuesday
3 Wednesday
4 Thursday
5 Friday
6 Saturday

Zero means Sunday. so final answer 10th May 1857 was Sunday.
Extra facts:
1. The 1st day of a century must be Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday.
2. The last day of a century cannot be Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday.

Mock questions
1. In 2013, Gandhi’s birth-anniversary is on Wednesday. In which nearest future year, will his birth-anniversary
be on Monday?
2. If 29th April 2013 is Monday then what is the day on 30th November 2013?
3. If June 11, 2013 is Monday, what was the day on July 11, 2000
4. What was the day on 9/11 attacks in 2001
5. What was the day on 26/11 attacks in 2008
Answers
1. 2017
2. 30/nov/13=Saturday
3. 11/jul/00=Monday
4. 11/09/01=Tuesday
5. 26/11/08=Wednesday
For more articles on aptitude, visit Mrunal.org/aptitude

URL to article: http://mrunal.org/2013/08/reasoning-calendar-questions-finding-day-or-date-

concepts-shortcuts-explained.html
Posted By Mrunal On 09/08/2013 @ 22:58 In the category Aptitude
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