Profit, Loss & Discounts Practice

A collection of questions that typically appear from the topic profit, loss and discounts in Indian Business Schools entrance tests such as TANCET and CAT. A basic topic; easy to master.

1. If a merchant offers a discount of 40% on the marked price of his goods and thus ends up selling at cost price, what was the % mark up?

   1. 28.57%
   2. 40%
   3. 66.66%
   4. 58.33%

   Concept: Discounts and Marked Price

   Choice (3)The mark up was 66.66%. Correct answer Explanatory Answer Medium

2. If a merchant offers a discount of 30% on the list price, then she makes a loss of 16%. What % profit or % loss will she make if she sells at a discount of 10% of the list price?

   1. 6% loss
   2. 0.8% profit
   3. 6.25% loss
   4. 8% profit

   Concept: Discounts and Profit Percent

   Choice (4)8% profit. Correct answer Explanatory Answer Medium

3. A merchant marks his goods up by 60% and then offers a discount on the marked price. If the final selling price after the discount results in the merchant making no profit or loss, what was the percentage discount offered by the merchant?

   1. 60%
   2. 40%
   3. 37.5%
   4. Depends on the cost price

   Concept: Percentage Discount and Profit Percent

   Choice (3)37.5% discount Correct answer Explanatory Answer Medium

4. A merchant marks his goods up by 75% above his cost price. What is the maximum % discount that he can offer so that he ends up selling at no profit or loss?

   1. 75%
   2. 46.67%
   3. 300%
   4. 42.85%

   Concept: Discounts and cost price

   Choice (4)Discount of 42.85% on the marked price Correct answer Explanatory Answer Medium

5. A merchant marks his goods in such a way that the profit on sale of 50 articles is equal to the selling price of 25 articles. What is his profit margin?

   1. 25%
   2. 50%
   3. 100%
   4. 66.67%

   Concept: Profit and selling price

   Choice (3)100% profit. Correct answer Explanatory Answer Easy

6. Two merchants sell, each an article for Rs.1000. If Merchant A computes his profit on cost price, while Merchant B computes his profit on selling price, they end up making profits of 25% respectively. By how much is the profit made by Merchant B greater than that of Merchant A?

   1. Rs.66.67
   2. Rs.50
   3. Rs.125
   4. Rs.200

   Concept: Profit as a percent of cost price Vs selling price

   Choice (2)Merchant B makes Rs.50 more profit than Merchant A. Correct answer Explanatory Answer Medium

7. One year payment to the servant is Rs. 200 plus one shirt. The servant leaves after 9 months and recieves Rs. 120 and a shirt. What is the price of the shirt?

   1. Rs.80
   2. Rs.100
   3. Rs.120
   4. Cannot be determined

   Choice (3)The price of the shirt is Rs.120. Correct answer Explanatory Answer Easy

8. If apples are bought at the rate of 30 for a rupee, how many apples must be sold for a Rupee so as to gain 20%?

   1. 28
   2. 25
   3. 20
   4. 22

   Concept: Profit percent

   Choice (2)25 apples to a Rupee. Correct answer Explanatory Answer Easy

9. A trader buys goods at a 19% discount on the label price. If he wants to make a profit of 20% after allowing a discount of 10%, by what % should his marked price be greater than the original label price?

   1. +8%
   2. -3.8%
   3. +33.33%
   4. None of these

   Concept: Profit percent and percentage discount

   Choice (1)+8% profit. Correct answer Explanatory Answer Medium

10. Rajiv sold an article for Rs.56 which cost him Rs.x. If he had gained x% on his outlay, what was his cost?

    1. Rs.40
    2. Rs.45
    3. Rs.36
    4. Rs.28

    Concept: Profit percent, cost price and algebraic equations

    Choice (1)His cost was Rs.40. Correct answer Explanatory Answer Easy

11. A trader professes to sell his goods at a loss of 8% but uses a weight of 900 grams in place of a 1 kg weight. What is his real loss or gain per cent?

    1. 2% loss
    2. 2.22% gain
    3. 2% gain
    4. None of these

    Concept: Incorrect weight and measures

    Choice (2)His real gain is 2.22% gain. Correct answer Explanatory Answer Medium

12. A merchant buys two articles for Rs.600. He sells one of them at a profit of 22% and the other at a loss of 8% and makes no profit or loss in the end. What is the selling price of the article that he sold at a loss?

    1. Rs.404.80
    2. Rs.440
    3. Rs.536.80
    4. Rs.160

    Choice (1)Selling price of the article sold at a loss was Rs.404.80 Correct answer Explanatory Answer Medium

13. A trader makes a profit equal to the selling price of 75 articles when he sold 100 of the articles. What % profit did he make in the transaction?

    1. 33.33%
    2. 75%
    3. 300%
    4. 150%

    Concept: Profit expressed in terms of selling price

    Choice (3)The trader made a 300% profit Correct answer Explanatory Answer Easy

14. If a merchant makes a profit of 20% after giving a 20% discount, what should be his mark-up?

    1. 20%
    2. 40%
    3. 50%
    4. 60%
    5. 48%

    Choice (3)His initial markup should be 50%. Correct answer Explanatory Answer Easy

15. The Maximum Retail Price (MRP) of a product is 55% above its manufacturing cost. The product is sold through a retailer, who earns 23% profit on his purchase price. What is the profit percentage (expressed in nearest integer) for the manufacturer who sells his product to the retailer? The retailer gives 10% discount on MRP.

    1. 31%
    2. 22%
    3. 15%
    4. 13%
    5. 11%

    Choice (D)The manufacturer sold a profit of 13%. Correct answer Explanatory Answer Video Explanation XAT 2015