Year with 53 Saturdays and 53 Sundays — How many weekend days does its January contain?
Aptitude
Calendar
Difficulty: Medium
Choose an option
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A8
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B9
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C10
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DNone of these
Answer
Correct Answer: 10
Explanation
Introduction / Context:A year having 53 Saturdays and 53 Sundays implies specific start-day and leap-year structure. We use that structure to infer January's weekend-day count.
Given Data / Assumptions:
- Total Saturdays = 53 and total Sundays = 53 in the year.
- Gregorian rule: such years occur when the year is a leap year starting on a Saturday (e.g., 2000).
Concept / Approach:In a leap year that starts on Saturday, January contains five Saturdays and five Sundays (because Jan 1 is Saturday and the month has 31 days), yielding 10 weekend days in January.
Step-by-Step Solution:
1) For 53 Saturdays and 53 Sundays, the configuration must allow both weekend days to occur 53 times; this aligns with a leap year starting on Saturday.2) January of such a year starts on Saturday and runs 31 days → Saturdays on 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 and Sundays on 2, 9, 16, 23, 30.3) Count = 10 weekend days.Verification / Alternative check:Check a known example (Year 2000): Jan 2000 indeed had 10 weekend days.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
- 8 or 9: too few given the start-day pattern in this special case.
- None of these: 10 is a valid, determinable value.
Common Pitfalls:
- Interpreting “53 weekends” as 53 week-pairs instead of separate Saturday and Sunday counts.
Final Answer:10