Difficulty: Medium
Correct Answer: Tomorrow
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
This puzzle tests your ability to work with relative descriptions of days rather than with named days like Monday or Tuesday. Many reasoning and aptitude exams include such questions to see whether you can carefully track a sequence of time references starting from today. The key is to move step by step, converting each phrase into a simple shift forward or backward in days, and then simplifying the chain into a direct relationship with today.
Given Data / Assumptions:
Concept / Approach:
The approach is to translate the verbal description into a sequence of simple arithmetic moves on the timeline. Each phrase like before or after means subtracting or adding one or more days from the base day. By using symbols such as T for today and carefully applying each step, we find which relative day the final expression represents. Keeping the calculation purely symbolic avoids confusion about specific weekday names and focuses on logical structure.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Represent today as T.
Step 2: The day before yesterday is T - 2 days.
Step 3: The day after the day before yesterday is one day after T - 2, which is (T - 2) + 1 = T - 1. This is yesterday.
Step 4: Now we need two days after that day. Two days after T - 1 is (T - 1) + 2 = T + 1.
Step 5: T + 1 is one day after today, which is tomorrow.
Step 6: Therefore, the final expression simplifies to tomorrow.
Verification / Alternative check:
You can also reason in words. Starting from day before yesterday, move one day forward to reach yesterday. From yesterday, moving two days forward takes you first to today and then to tomorrow. Thus the final day is tomorrow. Another verification method is to pick an example, such as assuming today is Wednesday, then day before yesterday is Monday, day after that is Tuesday, and two days after Tuesday is Thursday, which is indeed tomorrow relative to Wednesday in that example structure. The relative pattern remains the same.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Yesterday corresponds to T - 1, not T + 1. Today corresponds to T, which is not two steps ahead of yesterday. The day after tomorrow is T + 2, and two days ago is T - 2. None of these match T + 1, which is tomorrow. Only the option labelled Tomorrow matches the step by step simplification of the given description.
Common Pitfalls:
A common mistake is to rush through the wording and mentally skip one of the after or before steps, which leads to answers like today or the day after tomorrow. Another pitfall is mixing up direction, adding when you should subtract or the other way around. It helps to write each step on paper, starting from T and then carefully applying each phrase. Treat such puzzles like small algebra problems to avoid misinterpretation of the language.
Final Answer:
Two days after the day after the day before yesterday is tomorrow relative to today.
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