Pariksha SaathiProfit and Loss Questions with Solutions
Profit and Loss builds directly on percentages, and the two are often tested together — a marked-price-and-discount question is really a percentage question wearing a different costume. Here’s the concept, four fully worked examples, and a few to try yourself.
The concept, quickly
- Profit = Selling Price (SP) − Cost Price (CP), when SP > CP. Loss = CP − SP, when CP > SP.
- Profit% or Loss% is always calculated on the Cost Price: (Profit or Loss / CP) × 100.
- Discount is calculated on the Marked Price (MP), not the cost price: SP = MP × (1 − Discount%/100). Mixing this up with CP is the most common mistake.
- When an item is marked up by a% and then discounted by b%, the net effect on profit is the same successive-change formula as percentages: net% = a + b + (ab/100).
Worked examples
1. A shopkeeper buys a table for ₹1,200 and sells it for ₹1,500. Find his profit percentage.
Solution
- Profit = 1,500 − 1,200 = 300
- Profit% = (300 / 1,200) × 100
- = 25%
Answer: 25%
2. A man sells a watch for ₹1,140 at a loss of 5%. Find the cost price.
Solution
- SP = CP × (1 − 5/100) = CP × 0.95
- 1,140 = CP × 0.95
- CP = 1,140 / 0.95 = 1,200
Answer: ₹1,200
3. An article marked at ₹2,000 is sold after a discount of 15%. Find the selling price.
Solution
- SP = MP × (1 − 15/100)
- = 2,000 × 0.85
- = 1,700
Answer: ₹1,700
4. A trader marks his goods 40% above cost price, then allows a discount of 10% on the marked price. Find his profit percentage.
Solution
- Let CP = 100. Marked Price = 100 × 1.40 = 140
- SP = 140 × (1 − 10/100) = 140 × 0.90 = 126
- Profit = 126 − 100 = 26, so Profit% = 26%
- Check with the successive-change formula: a=+40, b=−10 → net% = 40 − 10 + (40×−10)/100 = 30 − 4 = 26%.
Answer: 26%
Try these yourself
Work through these the same way, then check against the answer.
1. A man buys an item for ₹500 and sells it for ₹575. Find his profit percentage.
Answer: 15%
2. A bicycle is sold at a loss of 12% for ₹2,640. Find its cost price.
Answer: ₹3,000
3. Goods marked at ₹800 are sold at a discount of 25%. Find the selling price.
Answer: ₹600
Where this comes up
Profit and Loss is tested directly in the Quantitative/Numerical Aptitude section of every exam Pariksha Saathi covers — SSC CGL, SSC MTS, SSC CHSL, IBPS PO, IBPS Clerk, SBI PO and SBI Clerk.
Practice more Profit and Loss questions
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