A bimester is a grouping of two months.
A bimester is a period of two months . The months , on the other hand, are the twelve parts into which a year is divided according to the Gregorian calendar: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December.
This means that a year has six bimesters (six groups of two months each can be formed). Starting in the first month of the year, the six two-month periods would be January-February, March-April, May-June, July-August, September-October and November-December.
Different bimester formations
Bimesters, however, can be formed in different ways . If we take the months of February and March, a bimester can also be formed (February-March), just like August-September or October-November.
The two-month periods can also be grouped by "cutting" the months. For example: from March 15 to May 15 there is a two-month period. This means that the two-month period in question begins on March 15 (and not March 1) and extends until May 15 (not until the 1st or until the 31st).
In a year there are six terms.
Other groups
Beyond bimesters, there are other methods of grouping months, such as quarters (three months), quarters (four months) and semesters (six months). The use of one or another system depends on the needs.
There are services that, in some countries, are usually billed per two months. A bimonthly billing of the electric energy service, to cite one case, means that the user must pay their bill every two months. Electrical energy consumption, in turn, is also measured every two months for the corresponding payment.
The two-month period in nature
The concept of a bimester does not arise from the observation of nature, as does the concept of a month, which arises from a series of factors related to the movement of the Earth around the Sun and the way in which this affects its different regions.
On the contrary, grouping the months, or dividing them, arises from the particular needs of human beings to organize their time in a way that fits their rhythm of life.
The importance of context
Grouping elements of a set has benefits, but it can also cause certain setbacks : although on the one hand it helps us "say more with less", this has an impact on a shortage of information that is sometimes negative for communication. For example: if we take the phrase "a new two-month period begins tomorrow" out of context, we lack data to understand what time of year the issuer is; If, however, it said "March begins" , no clarification would be necessary.
But this does not mean that the lack of information is always negative; On the contrary, within the appropriate scope, in which all participants in the communication process are aware of the way in which the months have been grouped, the use of a concept such as bimester can be very practical to avoid unnecessary clarifications and focus at points of interest.
School terms
In a school where courses are divided into bimesters, for example, both teachers and students use this term to refer to the different stages of the year, and this allows a level of order more appropriate to their objectives. If everyone knows that the first two-month period begins on March 1, to talk about the second it is not necessary to say "in May and June."
A student can express that only during the last two months did he manage to internalize the concepts of chemistry, and in his environment no one will ask him "what month are you referring to?" . Likewise, it is possible to point out that "the first half of the two-month period was more arduous." On the other hand, if we want to emphasize a specific event within this structure, we can specify the month in which it took place: "Sergio was hospitalized in November."