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

A man marked an article 40% above the cost price and then gave a discount of 10%. He made a net profit of Rs. 468 after paying a tax of 10% on the gross profit. What is the cost price of the article?

  1. Rs. 1950

  2. Rs. 2430

  3. Rs. 2000

  4. Rs. 2250
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Let CP = x. Marked price = 1.4x. Selling price after 10% discount = 1.4x × 0.9 = 1.26x. Gross profit = 1.26x - x = 0.26x. Tax = 10% of gross profit = 0.026x. Net profit = Gross profit - Tax = 0.26x - 0.026x = 0.234x. Given 0.234x = Rs. 468, so x = Rs. 2000.

Multiple choice

A manufacturer sold an article at a profit of 4% to a wholesaler. The wholesaler sold the same at 5% profit to the retailer. If the retailer paid Rs. 273 for the article, then the cost price of the manufacturer is-

  1. Rs. 250

  2. Rs. 260

  3. Rs. 270

  4. Rs. 280

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

Working backwards: Retailer paid Rs. 273 at 5% profit over wholesaler's price. Wholesaler's selling price = 273/1.05 = Rs. 260. Wholesaler sold at 5% profit over cost, so wholesaler's cost = 260/1.05 ≈ Rs. 247.62. But manufacturer sold at 4% profit, so manufacturer's cost = 247.62/1.04 ≈ Rs. 238.10. This doesn't match Rs. 250. Let me recalculate: If manufacturer's CP = 250, manufacturer sells at 4% = 250 × 1.04 = 260. Wholesaler sells at 5% = 260 × 1.05 = 273. ✓ So Rs. 250 is correct.

Multiple choice

How much articles are sold? I. The total profit obtained is Rs. 1596. II. The cost price of article is Rs. 632. III. The selling price of per article is Rs. 765.

  1. Only II & III

  2. Only I & II

  3. All are necessary

  4. Any two out of 3

  5. All are insufficient
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Profit per article = Selling Price - Cost Price = 765 - 632 = Rs. 133. Total profit = Rs. 1596. Number of articles = Total Profit / Profit per article = 1596/133 = 12. Statement I gives total profit, Statement II gives cost price, Statement III gives selling price. All three are needed because profit per article requires both SP and CP (from II & III), and then number of articles requires total profit (from I). So all three statements are necessary.

Multiple choice

A grinder was marked at Rs 3600. After giving a discount of 10% the dealer made a profit of 8%, calculate the cost price.

  1. Rs 3000

  2. Rs 3312

  3. Rs 3240

  4. Rs 2960
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Selling price after 10% discount = 3600 × 0.9 = Rs 3240. If profit is 8%, then CP × 1.08 = 3240, so CP = 3240/1.08 = Rs 3000. Option A is correct. Rs 3312 is the selling price (10% discount on marked price Rs 3680), Rs 3240 is the discounted selling price, and Rs 2960 is irrelevant.

Multiple choice

A shop keeper purchased an article for Rs. 500 and marked the price of the article as Rs. 1000. Then he decided to provide three discount of a%, b% and c% in such a way that (a+b+c=30). Then what can be range of profit percantage made by the shop keeper in the transaction?

  1. 40% to 45.8%

  2. 33% to 42.5%

  3. 30% to 33.1%

  4. 25% to 30%
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

CP = Rs. 500, MP = Rs. 1000. Final SP after successive discounts a%, b%, c%: SP = 1000 × (1 - a/100)(1 - b/100)(1 - c/100). Given a + b + c = 30. To maximize profit, minimize discounts - make one discount 30%, others 0%. SP_min = 1000 × 0.7 = 700, profit = 40%. To minimize profit, distribute discounts equally (10% each): SP = 1000 × 0.9³ = Rs. 729, profit = 45.8%. Range is 40% to 45.8%.

Multiple choice

If the cost price of 15 articles is equal to the selling price of 12 articles, the profit percentage is -

  1. 25%

  2. 20%

  3. 18%

  4. 15%
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

CP of 15 articles = SP of 12 articles. Let CP of 1 article = 1, so CP of 15 = 15. SP of 12 = 15, so SP of 1 = 15/12 = 1.25. Profit = SP - CP = 1.25 - 1 = 0.25. Profit% = (0.25/1) × 100 = 25%. Formula: Profit% = ((15/12) - 1) × 100 = 25%. Option B (20%) would be if 15 CP = 12 SP. Option C (18%) and D (15%) are incorrect.

Multiple choice

A dishonest seller marks the price of Rice 40% above the cost price and claims that he sells Rice at a discount of 15% but, he uses a measure of 850 gm instead of 1 Kg . Find his overall profit percent ?

  1. 35%

  2. 40%

  3. 45%

  4. 30%

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

Marked price = 140% of CP (40% above). Selling price after discount = 85% of MP = 0.85×1.4×CP = 1.19×CP. But he gives only 850 gm for 1000 gm price, so effective SP = 1.19×CP×(1000/850) = 1.19×CP×1.176 = 1.4×CP. Profit = 40%.

Multiple choice

The marked price of an article is Rs.150.00. If he allows a discount of 10%, he still gains a profit of 25%. The cost price of the article is

  1. Rs.54

  2. Rs. 102

  3. Rs.108

  4. Rs. 100
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Marked Price = Rs.150. After 10% discount, Selling Price = 150 × 0.90 = Rs.135. This SP includes a 25% profit on Cost Price, so CP = SP/1.25 = 135/1.25 = Rs.108. Alternatively: Profit = 25% of CP = 0.25 × CP, so CP + 0.25 CP = 135, giving 1.25 CP = 135, CP = 108. Key distractor: Rs.100 incorrectly ignores the discount.

Multiple choice

A man sells a T.V. set for Rs 3450 and makes a profit of 15%. He sells a second T.V. set at a loss of 10%. If on the whole he neither gains nor loses, find the cost price of the second T.V. set.
  1. $Rs 3450$
  2. $Rs 4500$
  3. $Rs 3018$
  4. $Rs 2016$
  5. $None of these$
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

First TV: SP = Rs 3450, profit = 15%. So CP = 3450 ÷ 1.15 = Rs 3000. Let second TV's CP = y. It sells at 10% loss, so SP = 0.9y. Overall: neither gain nor loss, so total SP = total CP. 3450 + 0.9y = 3000 + y. So 3450 - 3000 = y - 0.9y, giving 450 = 0.1y. Therefore y = Rs 4500.

Multiple choice

A shopkeeper sets his goods' sales price by increasing the cost price by 10% and then allowed a discount of 10% on the same sales price. What is the profit or loss percent of his goods?

  1. 1% profit

  2. 0.9% profit

  3. 1.2% loss

  4. 1% loss

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

Let CP = 100. After 10% increase, marked price = 110. After 10% discount on this, SP = 110 × 0.9 = 99. So there's a loss of 1% on CP. The net effect is always a loss when same percentage increase and decrease are applied successively. Loss% = (10×10 ÷ 100)% = 1%.

Multiple choice

A man purchased two fans for Rs. 1200 each and he sold one at a loss of 5 percentage and other at a profit of 10 percentage, so find the total profit or loss on the whole transaction?
  1. $2.5%$
  2. $3.5%$
  3. $2%$
  4. $4%$
  5. $None of these$
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Total CP = 1200 + 1200 = 2400. Loss on first fan = 5% of 1200 = 60. SP of first fan = 1140. Profit on second fan = 10% of 1200 = 120. SP of second fan = 1320. Total SP = 1140 + 1320 = 2460. Total profit = 2460 - 2400 = 60. Profit percentage = (60/2400) × 100 = 2.5%. The net transaction yields a 2.5% profit overall.