Buying and selling twice — Profit & Loss Aptitude Question
Buying and selling twice: A man buys an article for ₹100 and sells it for ₹120. He then buys it back for ₹110 and… Answer and worked solution on CodeKairo.
- Topic: Profit & Loss
- Section: Quantitative Aptitude
- Difficulty: Easy
- Time target: 45 seconds
Question
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?
Options
- ₹20
- ₹30
- ₹40
- ₹50
Show the answer and the worked solution
Correct answer: C. ₹40
Worked solution
- First deal: 120 − 100 = ₹20 profit.
- Second deal: 130 − 110 = ₹20 profit.
- Total = ₹40.
Answer: ₹40.
The idea
Add the profit of each completed transaction. The buy-back price being higher than the first sale feels like a loss, but each deal stands on its own.
Shortcut. Net cash: received 120 + 130 = 250, paid 100 + 110 = 210, so the profit is ₹40 — no need to treat the dearer buy-back as a loss.
Common trap. "₹30" — comparing only the final sale (130) with the first purchase (100), or booking the ₹10 dearer buy-back as a loss (20 − 10 + 20).