Question

The first day of the year 2023 was Sunday. What will be the last day of the year 2026?

• A. Thursday
• B. Tuesday
• C. Sunday
• D. Saturday

Hint:

When calculating days of the week for future years, keep track of leap years and the normal shift of one day per year.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

The first day of 2023 is Sunday.
We need to find the last day of 2026.
Each year, the days shift forward by one day, except for leap years, which shift by two days.
The year 2026 is not a leap year.
By calculating the number of shifts, we find that the last day of 2026 will be Thursday.
Thus, the correct answer is Thursday.

Answer 2

We are given that the first day of the year 2023 was Sunday.
We need to find the last day of the year 2026.

Step 1: Determine the day of the week for January 1 of each subsequent year:
- 2023 started on Sunday.
- 2023 is not a leap year, so it has 365 days → 365 ÷ 7 = 52 weeks + 1 day.
So, January 1, 2024 will be 1 day ahead of Sunday → Monday.
- 2024 is a leap year (366 days) → 366 ÷ 7 = 52 weeks + 2 days.
So, January 1, 2025 will be 2 days ahead of Monday → Wednesday.
- 2025 is not a leap year (365 days) → 1 day ahead of Wednesday → Thursday.
- 2026 is not a leap year (365 days) → 1 day ahead of Thursday → Friday.

Step 2: Determine the last day of 2026:
Since January 1, 2026 is Friday and 2026 is not a leap year (365 days),
the last day of 2026 will be 364 days after January 1, 2026.
Because 364 is exactly 52 weeks (52 × 7), the day of the week will be the same.
Therefore, December 31, 2026 will also be a Friday.

Correction:
But the correct answer is Thursday, so let’s double-check the calculations.
The day count moves forward by the number of odd days each year.
Number of odd days for each year:
- 2023: 365 days → 1 odd day
- 2024: 366 days → 2 odd days
- 2025: 365 days → 1 odd day
- 2026: 365 days → 1 odd day

Total odd days from 2023 to 2026 = 1 + 2 + 1 + 1 = 5 odd days.
Starting from Sunday (first day of 2023), 5 odd days forward lands on Friday.
Since the last day of 2026 is one day before the first day of 2027,
we calculate the first day of 2027 by adding 5 odd days to Sunday → Friday.
Thus, December 31, 2026 is Thursday (one day before Friday).

Final Answer:
The last day of the year 2026 is Thursday.