SSC JE Basic Profit & Loss — Study Material, 6 PYQs & Practice MCQs | ZestExam
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SSC JE Basic Profit & Loss
Study Material — 6 PYQs (2018–2020) · Concept Notes · Shortcuts
SSC JE Basic Profit & Loss is a frequently tested subtopic — 6 previous year questions from 2018–2020 papers are included below with concept notes, key rules and shortcut tricks.
6 questions from actual SSC JE papers · all shown free · click option to reveal solution
Exam Q 12019Previous Year Pattern
A shopkeeper buys a watch for ₹800 and marks it at a price such that after giving a discount of 20%, he still makes a profit of 25%. At what price is the watch marked?
A shopkeeper bought a watch for ₹800. He marked it at 40% above the cost price and offered a discount of 10% on the marked price. What is his profit percentage?
Exam Q 32018Previous Year Pattern
A shopkeeper buys an article for ₹840 and sells it at a profit of 25%. What is the selling price of the article?
Exam Q 42019Previous Year Pattern
A shopkeeper buys 120 articles at ₹15 per article. He sells 80% of them at ₹20 per article and the remaining at ₹12 per article. What is his overall profit percentage?
Exam Q 52020Previous Year Pattern
A shopkeeper bought a batch of shirts at ₹400 per shirt. He marked them up by 60% above the cost price. During a sale, he offered a 25% discount on the marked price. What is his profit percentage on the shirts sold during the sale?
Exam Q 62020Previous Year Pattern
A shopkeeper marks up goods by 60% above cost price. He then offers a discount of 25% on the marked price during a sale. Later, he realizes his profit margin is too low, so he increases the selling price by 20%. If the cost price of an item is ₹500, what is his final profit percentage?
Concept Notes
Basic Profit & Loss— Rules & Concept
💡
Core Concept
Read this first — the foundation of the topic
→Core Concept
When you buy something for Rs. 100 and sell it for Rs. 120, you make Rs. 20 profit. If you sell it for Rs. 80, you face Rs. 20 loss. This simple idea forms the basis of all profit-loss calculations
💡Key Terms
Cost Price (CP) = Price at which goods are purchased. Selling Price (SP) = Price at which goods are sold. Profit = SP - CP (when SP > CP). Loss = CP - SP (when CP > SP)
20% profit on one item, 20% loss on another = Overall loss of 4%
✏️Worked Example 1
1
Identify CP = Rs. 800, SP = Rs. 920
2
Calculate Profit = SP - CP = 920 - 800 = Rs. 120
3
Apply formula Profit% = (Profit/CP) × 100 = (120/800) × 100 = 15%
Answer: 15% profit
Shortcut #2: Quick CP calculation when SP and profit% known. Use: CP = SP/(1 + Profit%/100). For 25% profit, divide SP by 1.25. For 20% loss, divide SP by 0.8
✏️Worked Example 2
1
SP = Rs. 1440, Loss% = 20%
2
Use shortcut CP = SP/(1 - Loss%/100) = SP/0.8
3
CP = 1440/0.8 = Rs. 1800
Verification: 20% of 1800 = 360, so SP = 1800 - 360 = 1440
→Answer
Rs. 1800
Shortcut #3: For successive transactions, multiply factors. 10% profit followed by 20% loss = 1.1 × 0.8 = 0.88, meaning 12% overall loss
→Most Common Trap
Students calculate percentage on Selling Price instead of Cost Price
💡Remember
Profit% and Loss% are ALWAYS calculated on Cost Price, never on Selling Price. This mistake costs at least 1-2 marks in every exam.
Another frequent error involves sign confusion. When CP > SP, it's a loss situation. When SP > CP, it's profit.
Always check this relationship before applying formulas
📋Exam Strategy
Start with identifying what's given and what's asked. Write down CP, SP clearly. Apply the basic formula first, then use shortcuts for speed. Double-check by working backwards - if you found CP, calculate SP using the given profit% to verify your answer.
Key Points to Remember
Profit occurs when Selling Price > Cost Price, Loss occurs when Cost Price > Selling Price
Profit% and Loss% are always calculated on Cost Price, never on Selling Price
Quick formula: SP = CP × (100 ± gain%)/100 where + for profit, - for loss
Shortcut: When profit% equals loss% in two transactions, overall result is always loss