Cost from a 20% loss — Profit & Loss Aptitude Question
Cost from a 20% loss: An article is sold for ₹400 at a loss of 20%. What is its cost price? Answer and worked solution on CodeKairo.
- Topic: Profit & Loss
- Section: Quantitative Aptitude
- Difficulty: Easy
- Time target: 40 seconds
Question
An article is sold for ₹400 at a loss of 20%. What is its cost price?
Options
- ₹450
- ₹480
- ₹500
- ₹520
Show the answer and the worked solution
Correct answer: C. ₹500
Worked solution
- 0.80 × CP = 400.
- CP = 400 ÷ 0.80 = ₹500.
Answer: ₹500.
The idea
Divide by the surviving fraction. Adding 20% of the selling price gives 480 and is the standard error.
Shortcut. ₹400 is 4/5 of the cost, so one fifth is ₹100 and the cost is 5 × 100 = ₹500.
Common trap. "₹480" — adding 20% of the ₹400 selling price, when the 20% loss is measured on the cost.