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2006 AMC 10B Problems/Problem 16

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Problem

Leap Day, February 29, 2004, occured on a Sunday. On what day of the week will Leap Day, February 29, 2020, occur?

\mathrm{(A) \ } \textrm{Tuesday} \qquad \mathrm{(B) \ } \textrm{Wednesday} \qquad \mathrm{(C) \ } \textrm{Thursday} \qquad \m...

Solution

There are 365 days in a year, plus 1 extra day if there is a Leap Day, which occurs on years that are multiples of 4 (with a few exceptions that don't affect this problem).

Therefore, the number of days between Leap Day 2004 and Leap Day 2020 is:

16 \cdot 365 + 4 \cdot 1 = 5844

Since the days of the week repeat every 7 days and 5844 \equiv -1 \bmod{7}, the day of the week Leap Day 2020 occurs is the day of the week the day before Leap Day 2004 occurs, which is \textrm{Saturday} \Rightarrow E.

See Also

Looking for a challenging geometry text? Preparing for MATHCOUNTS or the AMC exams? Check out Art of Problem Solving's Introduction to Geometry by Richard Rusczyk.
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