Day of the Date

Day of the Week:

January has 31 days. It means that every date in February will be 3 days later than the same
date in January(28 is 4 weeks exactly). The below table is calculated in such a way.
Remember this table which will help you to calculate.
January

February 3
March

April

May

June

July

August

Septemb
5
er
October 0
Novemb
3
er
Decemb
5
er

Step1:
Ask for the Date. Ex23rd June 1986

Step2:
Number of the month on the list, June is 4.

Step3:
Take the date of the month, that is 23

Step4:
Take the last 2 digits of the year, that is 86.

Step5:
Find out the number of leap years. Divide the last 2 digits of the year by 4, 86
divide by 4 is 21.

Step6:
Now add all the 4 numbers4 + 23 + 86 + 21 = 134.

Step7:
Divide 134 by 7 = 19 remainder 1. The reminder tells you the day.
Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesd
3
ay
Thursday 4
Friday

Saturday 6

Answer : Monday

Introduction
Article prepared with help of Mr. Deepak Singh.
There are two main types of questions from Calendar
when youre given a reference day

when youre given no reference

Day

What day of week was it on 5th November, 1989 if it

was Monday on 4th April, 1988 ?
a. Monday
b. Tuesday
c. Saturday
d. Sunday
Here question tells us that 4th April 88 was Monday, so
we have a reference day.
can be solved with just two concepts
1. 7 day cycle

What was the day on 15th august

1947?
a. Sunday
b. Monday
c. Tuesday
d. Friday
Here question doesnt give us any
reference day.
need to just mugup 2 table, and few
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 youll 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?
1st August =Thursday => 1+7=8 August is also Thursday
And 8 August + 2 =10 August will be Thursday + 2 days =>Saturday.
lets 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 viceversa.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.
When we proceed forward by one leap year, then 2 days are gained and vice-versa.
+2
Example If it is Wednesday on 10th august 2011 then it would be Friday
Leap
(Wednesday +2) on 10th august 2012 [because 2012 is a leap year]. The reverse is also
Year
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).
Lets 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
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
lets 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 itll repeat on 2003
Therefore, after 1997, next time Mrs.Susheelas 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?
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 weve to include both
years as welltherefore.. in such counting, itll 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=(75)+3 remainder
Meaning whatever was the day on Dec 9, 1971, itll move to +3 days on dec 9 2001
Reverse is also true: Whatever was the day on Dec 2001, itll be three days less on Dec 9
1971:
Since Dec 2001 was Sunday therefore,
Sunday Minus 3 days= (just count in your head): SaturdayFridayThursday.
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 viceversa.
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
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 dont 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
April (4 to 30) 26
May
31
June
30

Remainder with 7
5 (because 26=7*3+5)
3
2

July
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
total

31
3
31
3
30
2
31
3
5
5
dont 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 dont 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 Ill cancel each such pair in the table. Observe
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
dont need12
Month

Days

After cancelling the two pairs of (5+2), Im 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
=Sunday

Concept: Date Without reference Day

Example: What was the day on 15th August 1947?
To solve this type of questions, youve 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 dont 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 youll
know! Now lets 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. Were concerned with
number and quotient 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 = well 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
Jan
feb (not leap year)
march
april
may
june
july
august (upto 15th Aug)
total

days in given month

31
28
31
30
31
30
31
15
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
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
Jan
feb (not leap year)
march
april
may
june
july
august (upto 15th Aug)
total

days in given month

31
28
31
30
31
30
31
15
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
Jan
feb (not leap year)
march
april
may
june
july
august (upto 15th Aug)
total
now instead of 227 we can simply write 17

days in given month remainder with 7

31
3
28
0
31
3
30
2
31
3
30
2
31
3
15
1 (because 14+1)
227 days
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
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 itll 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, youre 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.
as per table#2
0, 7 Sunday
1 Monday
2 Tuesday
3 Wednesday
4 Thursday
5 Friday

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, Gandhis 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