Question 1

A retailer buys a watch for ₹600 and wants to make a profit of 25%. At what price should he sell the watch?

Accepted Answer

Step 1: Cost Price (CP) = ₹600, Desired Profit % = 25%. Step 2: Profit amount = (25 / 100) × 600 = ₹150. Step 3: Selling Price (SP) = CP + Profit = 600 + 150 = ₹750. Therefore, he should sell the watch at ₹750.

Question 2

A shopkeeper buys a shirt for ₹400 and sells it for ₹520. What is his profit percentage?

Accepted Answer

Step 1: Cost Price (CP) = ₹400, Selling Price (SP) = ₹520. Step 2: Profit = SP − CP = 520 − 400 = ₹120. Step 3: Profit % = (Profit / CP) × 100 = (120 / 400) × 100 = 30%. Therefore, the profit percentage is 30%.

Question 3

A merchant sells a book at a loss of 15%. If the cost price is ₹800, what is the selling price?

Accepted Answer

Step 1: Cost Price (CP) = ₹800, Loss % = 15%. Step 2: Loss = (Loss % / 100) × CP = (15 / 100) × 800 = ₹120. Step 3: Selling Price (SP) = CP − Loss = 800 − 120 = ₹680. Therefore, the selling price is ₹680.

Question 4

If a vendor buys oranges at ₹5 per orange and sells them at ₹7 per orange, what is the profit on each orange?

Accepted Answer

Step 1: Cost Price per orange (CP) = ₹5, Selling Price per orange (SP) = ₹7. Step 2: Profit per orange = SP − CP = 7 − 5 = ₹2. Therefore, the profit on each orange is ₹2.

Question 5

A trader buys 10 pens for ₹100 and sells them at ₹15 per pen. What is his total profit?

Accepted Answer

Step 1: Cost Price (CP) for 10 pens = ₹100, so CP per pen = ₹10. Selling Price (SP) per pen = ₹15. Step 2: Profit per pen = 15 − 10 = ₹5. Step 3: Total profit for 10 pens = 5 × 10 = ₹50. Therefore, the total profit is ₹50.

Question 6

A shopkeeper marks an item at ₹1000 and gives a discount of 10%. What is the selling price?

Accepted Answer

Step 1: Marked Price (MP) = ₹1000, Discount % = 10%. Step 2: Discount amount = (10 / 100) × 1000 = ₹100. Step 3: Selling Price (SP) = MP − Discount = 1000 − 100 = ₹900. Therefore, the selling price is ₹900.

Question 7

A merchant sells two items. On the first item, he makes a profit of 25%, and on the second item, he makes a loss of 25%. If the cost price of each item is ₹400, what is his overall profit or loss percentage?

Accepted Answer

Step 1: Cost Price of Item 1 = ₹400, Profit = 25%, so SP₁ = 400 × 1.25 = ₹500. Step 2: Cost Price of Item 2 = ₹400, Loss = 25%, so SP₂ = 400 × 0.75 = ₹300. Step 3: Total CP = 400 + 400 = ₹800. Step 4: Total SP = 500 + 300 = ₹800. Step 5: Overall Profit/Loss = 800 - 800 = ₹0. Step 6: Profit/Loss % = 0%.

Question 8

A shopkeeper buys a watch for ₹800 and marks it at 60% above the cost price. He then offers a discount of 20% on the marked price. What is his profit percentage?

Accepted Answer

Step 1: Cost Price (CP) = ₹800. Step 2: Marked Price (MP) = 800 + (60% of 800) = 800 + 480 = ₹1280. Step 3: Discount = 20% of 1280 = ₹256. Step 4: Selling Price (SP) = 1280 - 256 = ₹1024. Step 5: Profit = 1024 - 800 = ₹224. Step 6: Profit % = (224/800) × 100 = 28%.

Question 9

A trader buys 120 kg of rice at ₹30 per kg. He sells 80 kg at ₹40 per kg and the remaining at ₹35 per kg. What is his profit percentage?

Accepted Answer

Step 1: Total CP = 120 × 30 = ₹3600. Step 2: SP of 80 kg = 80 × 40 = ₹3200. Step 3: Remaining quantity = 120 - 80 = 40 kg. Step 4: SP of 40 kg = 40 × 35 = ₹1400. Step 5: Total SP = 3200 + 1400 = ₹4600. Step 6: Profit = 4600 - 3600 = ₹1000. Step 7: Profit % = (1000/3600) × 100 = 27.78% ≈ 27.78% or 250/9 %.

Question 10

A book is sold for ₹264 at a profit of 10%. If it were sold for ₹308, what would be the profit percentage?

Accepted Answer

Step 1: Selling Price (SP) = ₹264, Profit = 10%. Step 2: Using SP = CP(1 + profit%), we get 264 = CP × 1.10. Step 3: CP = 264/1.10 = ₹240. Step 4: If new SP = ₹308, then Profit = 308 - 240 = ₹68. Step 5: Profit % = (68/240) × 100 = 28.33% or 170/6 % ≈ 28.33%.

Question 11

A retailer marks up goods by 50% above cost price. During a sale, he offers a discount of 30% on the marked price. Later, he realizes he made an error and sells the remaining stock at a discount of only 10% on the marked price. What is the difference in profit percentage between the two selling scenarios?

Accepted Answer

Step 1: Let CP = ₹100. MP = 100 × 1.50 = ₹150. Step 2: Scenario 1 (30% discount): SP₁ = 150 × 0.70 = ₹105. Profit₁ = 105 - 100 = ₹5. Profit%₁ = 5%. Step 3: Scenario 2 (10% discount): SP₂ = 150 × 0.90 = ₹135. Profit₂ = 135 - 100 = ₹35. Profit%₂ = 35%. Step 4: Difference = 35% - 5% = 30%.

Question 12

A vendor buys oranges at ₹5 per dozen. He sells them at ₹0.50 per orange. What is his profit percentage?

Accepted Answer

Step 1: Cost Price per dozen = ₹5. Cost Price per orange = 5/12 = ₹0.4167 (approximately). Step 2: Selling Price per orange = ₹0.50. Step 3: Profit per orange = 0.50 - (5/12) = (6/12) - (5/12) = 1/12 ≈ ₹0.0833. Step 4: Profit % = [Profit per orange / CP per orange] × 100 = [(1/12) / (5/12)] × 100 = (1/5) × 100 = 20%.

Question 13

A shopkeeper marks goods at 80% above cost price. He offers a discount of 25% on the marked price. If the cost price of an item is ₹400, what is his profit percentage?

Accepted Answer

Step 1: Cost Price (CP) = ₹400. Step 2: Marked Price (MP) = 400 + (80% of 400) = 400 + 320 = ₹720. Step 3: Discount = 25% of 720 = ₹180. Step 4: Selling Price (SP) = 720 - 180 = ₹540. Step 5: Profit = 540 - 400 = ₹140. Step 6: Profit % = (140/400) × 100 = 35%.

Question 14

A trader buys goods at ₹50 per unit and sells them at ₹75 per unit. However, he uses a faulty weight machine that shows 1000 grams when the actual weight is 1200 grams. What is his actual profit percentage?

Accepted Answer

Step 1: The trader buys at ₹50 per unit (actual 1200g) but his machine shows 1000g. Step 2: When selling, he gives 1000g (by his machine) but charges for 1000g at ₹75 per unit. Step 3: For every actual 1200g purchased at ₹50, he receives ₹75 for 1000g shown. Step 4: Cost Price for 1200g = ₹50. Selling Price for 1200g (shown as 1000g) = (1200/1000) × 75 = ₹90. Step 5: Profit = 90 - 50 = ₹40. Step 6: Profit % = (40/50) × 100 = 80%.

Question 15

A retailer buys 100 items at ₹10 each. He sells 60 items at ₹18 each and the remaining 40 items at ₹12 each. What is his overall profit percentage?

Accepted Answer

Step 1: Total Cost Price = 100 × 10 = ₹1000. Step 2: Revenue from 60 items at ₹18 = 60 × 18 = ₹1080. Step 3: Revenue from 40 items at ₹12 = 40 × 12 = ₹480. Step 4: Total Selling Price = 1080 + 480 = ₹1560. Step 5: Profit = 1560 - 1000 = ₹560. Step 6: Profit % = (560/1000) × 100 = 56%.

Question 16

A shopkeeper marks an item at ₹2000. He gives a discount of 10% to the first customer, and the customer pays ₹1800. The shopkeeper then realizes he made an error in marking. If he wants to make a 20% profit on the cost price, what should be the cost price of the item?

Accepted Answer

Step 1: Marked Price = ₹2000. Discount = 10%, so Selling Price = 2000 × 0.90 = ₹1800. Step 2: The customer paid ₹1800. Step 3: For 20% profit, if SP = ₹1800, then CP × 1.20 = 1800. Step 4: CP = 1800/1.20 = ₹1500.

Question 17

A merchant sells two items. On item A, he makes a profit of 25%, and on item B, he makes a loss of 20%. If the cost price of item A is ₹800 and the cost price of item B is ₹600, what is his overall profit or loss percentage?

Accepted Answer

Step 1: Cost Price of A = ₹800, Profit = 25%, so SP of A = 800 × 1.25 = ₹1000. Step 2: Cost Price of B = ₹600, Loss = 20%, so SP of B = 600 × 0.80 = ₹480. Step 3: Total CP = 800 + 600 = ₹1400. Step 4: Total SP = 1000 + 480 = ₹1480. Step 5: Net Profit = 1480 - 1400 = ₹80. Step 6: Overall Profit % = (80/1400) × 100 = 5.71% ≈ 5.71%, which rounds to approximately 5.71% or 40/7 %.

SSC CPO Basic Profit & Loss

Basic Profit & Loss— Rules & Concept

Key Points to Remember

Exam-Specific Tips

Basic Profit & Loss — Practice Questions

60-Second Revision — Basic Profit & Loss