Decoding Days: A Logical Puzzle on Day Calculation

Have you ever encountered a situation where you need to determine the day of the week based on certain conditions? This article aims to guide you through a typical logical puzzle involving day calculations. We’ll break down the problem step by step and explain the reasoning behind each step.

Understanding the Problem

Let's consider the following statement: 'If two days before yesterday is Monday, what will be the day of the week three days after the day tomorrow.' This problem requires us to work backwards and forwards through the days of the week to find the correct answer.

Step-by-Step Breakdown

Identifying the Yesterday

To start, we need to determine the day when 'two days before yesterday' is Monday. If we consider Monday as our base day, we can proceed as follows:

Two days before yesterday Sunday (because Sunday 2 Monday) Therefore, yesterday is Wednesday (because Yesterday Monday 1)

Now that we know yesterday is Wednesday, we can move to the next step.

Determining Today and Tomorrow

Today is Thursday (because Today Wednesday 1) Tomorrow is Friday (because Tomorrow Thursday 1)

With this information, we can now analyze the question fully.

Calculating the Future Days

We are asked to determine the day of the week three days after the day tomorrow. We already established that tomorrow is Friday, so three days after Friday is:

1 day after Friday Saturday 2 days after Friday Sunday 3 days after Friday Monday

Therefore, the day of the week three days after the day tomorrow is Monday.

Another Perspective

Simplifying the Question

Another way to approach the problem is to break it down in a more straightforward manner:

1. Two days before yesterday is Monday.

Ten days ago, it was Monday (because 2 days before Monday is Sunday, and 1 day before that is Saturday, and so on). So, yesterday was Wednesday (because Wednesday 2 Monday). Today is Thursday (because Today Wednesday 1). Tomorrow is Friday (because Tomorrow Thursday 1). Three days after Friday is Monday (because 1 day after Friday is Saturday, 2 days after is Sunday, and 3 days after is Monday).

Once again, we find that the answer to the question is Monday.

Additional Examples

Here are a couple of additional examples to help you better understand how to solve similar problems:

Example 1

Day before yesterday was Sunday.

Therefore, yesterday was Monday (because yesterday Sunday 1). And today is Tuesday (because today Monday 1). Tomorrow is Wednesday (because tomorrow Tuesday 1). The day after tomorrow is Thursday (because the day after tomorrow Wednesday 1). 3 days after Thursday is Sunday (because 1 day after Thursday is Friday, 2 days after is Saturday, and 3 days after is Sunday).

So, in this example, the answer is Sunday.

Example 2

If you want to look at it a different way, it’s basically asking you to tell what day of the week is 8 days after Sunday, 2 days at a time.

2 days after Sunday is Tuesday. 2 days after Tuesday is Thursday. 2 days after Thursday is Saturday. 2 days after Saturday is Monday.

Thus, 8 days after Sunday is Monday.

Conclusion

In summary, the logical puzzle can be solved by breaking it down into smaller, more manageable parts. By following the steps we've outlined, you can confidently determine the day of the week based on various conditions. Whether you work forwards, backwards, or through a combination of both, the key is to systematically approach the problem and ensure you're not skipping any steps.