Why do this problem?
This
problem gives an insight into modular arithmetic without
worrying too much about notation, by looking at the concept of
remainders. It gives students the opportunity to share ideas,
listen to each other justify their assertions, and come up with
convincing arguments and proofs using simple algebra.
Possible approach
Start by making sure everyone is convinced that 702 days after
a Monday will be a Wednesday, by thinking about whole numbers
of weeks and days left over. Students can then work out what
day it will be in 15 days, 26 days, 234 days. Make sure
everyone understands that for the purposes of this problem we
are always counting from Monday!
Pose the question "If today is Monday, how many days from now
is Wednesday?" Ask the students to give you as many answers as
they can. (Does anyone suggest a negative number of days?) Ask
them to come up with a generalisation (possibly algebraic) for
any Wednesday. When discussing their generalisations, focus on
considering the number of days in a whole number of weeks with
2 extra, rather than simply extending the pattern in the
sequence 2, 9, 16, 23...
Now they are ready to investigate the effects of adding or
multiplying numbers on the remainder when we divide by 7. It
may be worthwhile to do an example as a group:
$15 \div 7 = 2$ remainder $1$
$26 \div 7 = 3$ remainder $5$
$15 + 26 = 41$
$41 \div 7 = 5$ remainder $6$
Then give the students time to try a few examples of their own
and write down what they notice. Make sure they can explain
what happens when the remainders of each number add up to more
than 7.
They can justify what they have noticed, possibly by using
algebra or by giving a convincing argument based on whole
numbers of weeks and days left over.
Key questions
What will numbers have in common if they take us to a
particular day of the week?
If the first day of this month was ... what can we say
about the first day of next month, and why?
Possible extension
Investigate patterns when dividing by numbers other than 7.
Does the same thing always happen? Students could be introduced
to the language and notation of modular arithmetic; if the
remainder is 2 when we divide 23 by 7, we write:
$23 \equiv 2$ mod $7$
and say "23 is congruent to 2 mod 7"
Further reading on modular arithmetic can be found
here.
Possible support
Students who are struggling with finding
the remainder when dividing by 7 could investigate division by 5
instead; this could be a model for the working week ignoring
Saturday and Sunday.