Profit & Loss Aptitude Questions with Solutions
41 Profit & Loss questions with hints, worked solutions and time targets — 10 easy · 27 medium · 4 hard.
- Section: Quantitative Aptitude
- Questions: 41
- By difficulty: 10 easy · 27 medium · 4 hard
- Cost: Free, unlimited on every plan
Cost, marked and selling price, discounts, and dishonest scales.
Profit & Loss: the essentials
- Profit or loss is a percentage of the cost price unless the question says otherwise.
- SP = CP × (100 + profit%)/100, and CP = SP × 100/(100 + profit%). For a loss, use 100 − loss%.
- Discount is a percentage of the marked price: SP = MP × (100 − discount%)/100.
- A mark-up of m% followed by a discount of d% gives profit% = m − d − md/100.
- Successive discounts of a% and b% equal one discount of a + b − ab/100 per cent.
- Two items sold at the same price, one at an x% gain and one at an x% loss: an overall loss of x²/100 per cent.
- False weight, selling at cost: gain% = error ÷ (true weight − error) × 100. A 900 g 'kilogram' gains 100/900 × 100 = 11.11%.
- If the SP of a articles equals the CP of b articles, profit% = (b − a)/a × 100.
- Buy x, get y free: discount = y/(x + y) × 100, so buy 3, get 1 free is 25%.
- A profit of p% on the selling price is 100p/(100 − p) per cent on the cost.
- If the loss at one price equals the gain at another, the cost price is their average.
Example: goods marked 25% above cost, target profit 10%. Set CP = 100: MP = 125 and SP = 110, so the discount is 15/125 = 12%.
Questions
- Selling price at 15% profit Easy
An article bought for ₹800 is sold at a 15% profit. What is the selling price? - Marked up 40%, discounted 10% Medium
A shopkeeper marks goods 40% above cost and then allows a 10% discount on the marked price. What is the profit percent? - Same selling price, one gain and one loss Medium
Two articles are each sold for ₹1,200 — one at a 20% profit, the other at a 20% loss. Overall, the seller makes: - A dishonest dealer's scale Medium
A dealer claims to sell at cost price but uses a 900 g weight in place of 1 kg. What is the dealer's profit percent? - SP of 20 articles = CP of 25 Medium
The selling price of 20 articles equals the cost price of 25 articles. What is the profit percent? - Two discounts as one Easy
Successive discounts of 20% and 10% are equivalent to a single discount of: - Gain percent from cost and sale Easy
An article bought for ₹27.50 is sold for ₹28.60. What is the gain percent? - Cost price from a 10% profit Easy
An article sold for ₹27.50 yields a profit of 10%. What was the cost price? - Cost price after a 20% loss Easy
An article sold at a loss of 20% fetched ₹480. What was the cost price? - SP of 12 equals CP of 15 Medium
If the selling price of 12 articles equals the cost price of 15 articles, what is the gain percent? - CP of 20 equals SP of 16 Medium
If the cost price of 20 articles equals the selling price of 16 articles, what is the gain percent? - Marked 40% up, 25% off Medium
A trader marks his goods 40% above cost and allows a discount of 25%. What is his profit percent? - The discount that still leaves 4% Medium
A shopkeeper marks his goods 30% above cost price. What discount percent can he allow and still make a profit of 4%? - Two horses at the same price Medium
A man sold two horses for ₹1,955 each, gaining 15% on one and losing 15% on the other. What was his overall loss percent? - Two articles at ₹99 Medium
A shopkeeper sells two articles at ₹99 each, gaining 10% on one and losing 10% on the other. What is his net loss percent? - A dishonest 800 g kilogram Medium
A dealer professes to sell his goods at cost price but uses a weight of 800 g for a kilogram. What is his gain percent? - A 900 g kilogram Medium
A trader sells at cost price but uses a 900 g weight instead of 1 kg. What is his profit percent? - Doubling the price triples the profit Hard
If the selling price is doubled, the profit triples. What is the original profit percent? - Loss equal to the cost of five balls Medium
On selling 17 balls for ₹720, there is a loss equal to the cost price of 5 balls. What is the cost price of one ball? - Toffees for a rupee Medium
A vendor buys toffees at 6 for a rupee. How many must he sell for a rupee to gain 20%? - Selling rate for a rice mixture Medium
A grocer buys 80 kg of rice at ₹13.50 per kg and mixes it with 120 kg at ₹16 per kg. At what rate per kg must he sell the mixture to gain 16%? - Profit on a tea mixture Medium
A trader mixes 25 kg of tea at ₹60 per kg with 25 kg at ₹80 per kg and sells the mixture at ₹84 per kg. What is his profit percent? - Three discounts as one Medium
Successive discounts of 10%, 20% and 30% are equivalent to a single discount of: - Final price after two discounts Easy
An article marked ₹2,000 is sold after successive discounts of 25% and 20%. What is the final price? - Buy three, get one free Medium
A shop offers 'buy 3, get 1 free'. What is the effective discount percent? - Discount from marked and sale price Easy
An article marked ₹800 is sold for ₹680. What is the discount percent? - Profit on selling price versus cost Medium
A profit of 25% on the selling price is what percent on the cost price? - Cost price is 96% of selling price Medium
If the cost price is 96% of the selling price, what is the profit percent? - When the cost rises but the price does not Medium
A trader makes a 20% profit. If his cost price rises by 25% but he keeps the selling price unchanged, what is his new position? - New rate after a loss Medium
By selling mangoes at ₹12 per kg, a seller loses 20%. At what rate per kg must he sell to make a 20% profit? - From a 10% loss to a 15% gain Medium
An article sold for ₹1,080 results in a loss of 10%. What should the selling price be to gain 15%? - Had he bought cheaper Hard
A man sells an article at a profit of 10%. Had he bought it for 10% less and sold it for ₹35 less, he would have gained 20%. What was the cost price? - Gain on one, loss on the other Hard
Two articles are bought for a total of ₹900. One is sold at a 20% profit and the other at a 10% loss, and there is no overall gain or loss. - Some stock is unsellable Medium
A trader buys 100 items at ₹10 each. 10 items are damaged and cannot be sold; the rest are sold at ₹12 each. What is his profit percent? - A consignment sold in two parts Hard
Two-thirds of a consignment was sold at a 5% profit and the rest at a 2% loss, giving an overall profit of ₹400. What was the value of the consignment? - Cost price from a rupee profit Medium
A trader marks goods 20% above cost and gives a 10% discount, making a profit of ₹40. What was the cost price? - Buying and selling twice Easy
A man buys an article for ₹100 and sells it for ₹120. He then buys it back for ₹110 and sells it again for ₹130. What is his total profit? - Selling price at 15% gain Easy
What is the selling price of an article costing ₹6,000 if it is sold at a gain of 15%? - Cost from a 20% loss Easy
An article is sold for ₹400 at a loss of 20%. What is its cost price? - CP of 10 pens equals SP of 8 Medium
If the cost price of 10 pens equals the selling price of 8 pens, what is the profit percent? - Loss at one price, gain at another Medium
A man selling an article for ₹21 loses as much as he would gain by selling it for ₹33. What is the cost price?
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