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The Julian calendar approximated the year as 365.25 days. How did the Romans build that quarter day in?
AOne extra day every fourth year
BOne extra day every second year
COne extra hour on each new year
DOne extra week every tenth year
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: A. One extra day every fourth year
1. A calendar can only count whole days, so the leftover quarter day has to be collected.
2. Four quarter days add up to one whole day over four years.
3. So ordinary years were given 365 days and every fourth year was given 366.
4. That makes the average year 365.25 days, which is the Julian figure.
_Source: OpenStax Astronomy (CC BY 4.0), Ch 4 "Earth, Moon, and Sky" and Ch 5 "Radiation and Spectra", section 4.4 The Calendar_
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