Specific Weekday Occurrence
Specific Weekday Occurrence problems ask for the date of a particular occurrence of a weekday in a month (e.g., 'the 3rd Tuesday of May' or 'the last Friday of December'). These problems test your ability to navigate calendar positions.
What You'll Learn
Introduction to Specific Weekday Occurrence
Specific Weekday Occurrence problems ask for the date of a particular occurrence of a weekday in a month (e.g., 'the 3rd Tuesday of May' or 'the last Friday of December'). These problems test your ability to navigate calendar positions.
Prerequisites
How to Solve Specific Weekday Occurrence Problems
Step 1: Determine the weekday of the 1st day of the month
Step 2: Find the date of the first occurrence of the target weekday
Step 3: For nth occurrence: add 7×(n-1) to the first occurrence date
Step 4: For 'last' occurrence: find the last day of the month, then count backward
Step 5: Verify that the calculated date is within the month
Step 6: For '2nd last' or similar, subtract 7 from last occurrence
Step 7: Present the date in DD Month format
Example Problem
Example: What is the date of the 3rd Thursday of November 2024? Solution: Step 1: Nov 1, 2024 is Friday Step 2: First Thursday is Nov 7 (since Nov 1 Fri → Nov 7 Thu) Step 3: 3rd Thursday = Nov 7 + 14 = Nov 21 Answer: November 21, 2024 Example 2: Last Sunday of February 2024? Solution: Feb 1, 2024 is Thursday. First Sunday = Feb 4. Last day of Feb 2024 = Feb 29 (leap). Last Sunday = Feb 25 (since Feb 25 is Sunday, Feb 29 is Thursday) Answer: February 25, 2024
Pro Tips & Tricks
- First occurrence formula: date = (target_weekday - first_day_weekday + 7) % 7 + 1
- Nth occurrence = first_occurrence + 7×(n-1)
- Last occurrence = last_day - (last_day_weekday - target_weekday + 7) % 7
- A month has 5 occurrences if the first occurrence is on 1st-3rd (31-day), 1st-2nd (30-day), or 1st (29-day Feb)
- For 31-day months: 1st, 2nd, 3rd weekdays occur 5 times
- For 30-day months: 1st, 2nd weekdays occur 5 times
Shortcut Methods to Solve Faster
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Practice Worksheets
Practice makes perfect! Work through these worksheets to master Specific Weekday Occurrence. Each worksheet contains 20 questions with detailed explanations. Start from Worksheet 1 and progress through increasing difficulty levels.
Exam Importance
Specific Weekday Occurrence is an important topic for various competitive exams. Here's how frequently it appears:
Ready to Master Specific Weekday Occurrence?
Start with Worksheet 1 and work your way up to expert level! Each worksheet includes: