Quantitative Aptitude

Profit, Loss and Discount

2,604 Questions
All Basic CP/SP Percentage Relationship 874 Marked Price, Markup, and Discount 786 Partial Sales and Multiple Transactions 338 Successive Discounts 218 Cost Price of X = Selling Price of Y 180 Faulty Weight or Measure 126 Equal Profit and Loss Rates 57 Free-item Offers 23 Price and Consumption Variation 1

Profit, Loss and Discount Questions

Multiple choice

Each of these questions consists of a question followed by informations in three statements.You have to study the question and the statements and decide that information in which of the statement(s) is/are necessary to answer the question ? How many articles were sold? (I) Total profit earned was Rs. 1696. (II) Cost price per article was Rs. 648. (III) Selling price per article was Rs. 754.

  1. Only II and III

  2. Only I and II

  3. All I, II and III

  4. Any two of three

  5. Question cannot be answered even with the information in all the three statements.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Let n articles sold. Profit per article = SP - CP = 754 - 648 = 106. Total profit = 1696, so n = 1696 ÷ 106 = 16. This requires all three statements: I gives total profit, II gives CP, III gives SP. Any two statements are insufficient since profit alone doesn't give quantity, or CP/SP alone don't give profit.

Multiple choice

A table is sold at a profit of 20%. If both the cost price and the selling price of the table are decreased by Rs. 100, the profit would be 5% more, original cost price of the table is-

  1. Rs. 600

  2. Rs. 550

  3. Rs. 650

  4. Cannot be determined

  5. None of these
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
E Correct answer
Explanation

Let CP = x. SP = 1.2x (20% profit). New CP = x-100, New SP = 1.2x-100. New profit = (1.2x-100) - (x-100) = 0.2x = 20% of x. But question says profit becomes 5% more than original, i.e., 25% of new CP. So 0.2x = 0.25(x-100). This gives 0.2x = 0.25x - 25, so 0.05x = 25, and x = 500. Since 500 is not in options, E is correct.

Multiple choice

The marked price of an article is 50% above cost price. When marked price is increased by 20% and selling price is increased by 20%, the profit doubles. If original marked price is Rs. 300, then original selling price is -

  1. Rs. 200

  2. Rs. 250

  3. Rs. 240

  4. Rs. 275
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Let CP = x. Original MP = 1.5x = 300, so x = 200. Original SP = P (profit). New MP = 300 × 1.2 = 360. New SP = 1.2P. New profit = 1.2P - 200 = 2(P - 200). Solving: 1.2P - 200 = 2P - 400, so 0.8P = 200, P = 250. Original SP = Rs. 250 (option B).

Multiple choice

Two items A and B are sold at a profit of 10% and 15% respectively. If the amount of profit received is the same, then the cost price of A and B may be -

  1. Rs.1,000,Rs.1,500

  2. Rs.5,000,Rs.2,000

  3. Rs.3,000,Rs.2,000

  4. Rs.3,000,Rs.5,000
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Let profit amounts be equal: 10% of CP_A = 15% of CP_B. This means CP_A/CP_B = 15/10 = 3/2. Option C (3000, 2000) satisfies this ratio (3:2). Check: 10% of 3000 = 300, 15% of 2000 = 300 - both profits are equal. Option A gives ratio 2:3, B gives 5:2, D gives 3:5 - none match the required 3:2.

Multiple choice

A sofa-set listed at Rs. 800 is sold to a retailer at successive discounts of 25% and 15% by the wholesaler. Then the cost price of the sofa-set for the retailer is -

  1. Rs. 500

  2. Rs. 510

  3. Rs. 550

  4. Rs. 560
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

First discount: 800 × 25% = 200, price becomes 600. Second discount: 600 × 15% = 90, final price = 600 - 90 = 510. Option A (500) is incorrect. Option C (550) ignores the second discount. Option D (560) incorrectly adds the discounts.

Multiple choice

If an article is sold at 8% profit instead of 8% loss, it would have brought Rs.12 more Find the cost price of the article?

  1. Rs. 60

  2. Rs. 72

  3. Rs. 70

  4. Rs. 75
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The difference between 8% profit and 8% loss is 16% of the cost price. This equals Rs. 12. Therefore, CP = 12/0.16 = Rs. 75. Option A (Rs. 60) would give 16% of Rs. 60 = Rs. 9.60, not Rs. 12. Option B (Rs. 72) would give 16% of Rs. 72 = Rs. 11.52. Option C (Rs. 70) would give 16% of Rs. 70 = Rs. 11.20. Only option D satisfies the condition.

Multiple choice

Mr. X purchased 100 pieces of an article at the rate of 480 per piece. He then listed the price so as to gain a profit of 25\%. While selling the article he offered a discount of 5\%. What is the percentage of profit earned in the deal?
  1. $18.75\%$
  2. $16.40\%$
  3. $12\%$
  4. $20\%$
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Cost price = 480, List price for 25% profit = 480 × 1.25 = 600. Selling price after 5% discount = 600 × 0.95 = 570. Profit = 570 - 480 = 90. Profit percentage = (90/480) × 100 = 18.75%. This tests understanding of successive percentage changes in profit-loss scenarios.

Multiple choice

Five litres of water is added to a certain quantity of pure milk costing Rs. 3 per litre. If by selling the mixture at the same price as before, a profit of 20% is made, what is the amount of pure milk in the mixture?

  1. 18 ltr.

  2. 23 ltr.

  3. 25 ltr.

  4. 27 ltr.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Let pure milk = x litres. Cost = Rs. 3/litre, so total cost = 3x. After adding 5 litres water, total volume = (x+5) litres. Selling at Rs. 3/litre gives revenue = 3(x+5) = 3x + 15. Profit = 20% of cost = 0.2 × 3x = 0.6x. So 3x + 15 = 3x + 0.6x + 3x = 4.2x. This gives 15 = 1.2x, so x = 12.5. Wait, let me recalculate. Actually: Profit% = (Profit/Cost) × 100. 20 = ((3(x+5) - 3x)/3x) × 100 = (15/3x) × 100 = (5/x) × 100. So 20 = 500/x, x = 25. Answer is 25 litres of pure milk.

Multiple choice

A man bought a certain quantity of sugar for Rs. 8000. He sells one-fourth of it at 10% loss. At what percent profit should he sell the remaining stock so as to make an overall profit of 20%?

  1. 23%

  2. 25%

  3. 28%

  4. 30%
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Total CP = 8000. Overall 20% profit means SP = 9600. 1/4 sold at 10% loss: SP = (8000/4)×0.9 = 1800. Remaining 3/4 must yield SP = 9600 - 1800 = 7800. Remaining CP = 6000, required profit = (7800-6000)/6000 = 1800/6000 = 30%.