INTRODUCTION
Cost Price The price (amount) paid to purchase a product or the cost incurred in manufacturing a
product is known as the cost price (CP) of that product.
Selling Price The price at which a product sold is called selling price (SP) of the product.
Marked Price The price that the shopkeeper/retailer fixes in the anticipation of some discount that
they may be asked by a customer.
List Price The price that is printed on the tag of the article.
SP − CP = Profit
CP − SP = Loss
Profit % = Profit/CP × 100
Loss % = Loss/CP × 100
Profit% or Loss % is always calculated upon CP, unless something else is mentioned.
In case of profit, MP ≥ SP > CP
Calculating CP/SP Profit % or Loss %
Questions in Terms of Goods
The CP of 30 articles is equal to the SP of 40 articles. What is the profit or loss percentage?
The CP of 24 apples is the same as the SP of 18 apples. Find the percentage gain.
(a)12 1/2 %
(b)14 2/7 %
(c)16 2/3 %
(d) 33 1/3 %
Questions in Terms of Money
SPs of two articles are same. One is sold at a loss of 20% and another one at a profit of 20%.
What is the net loss/profit in the whole transaction?
Two articles are sold at 12,000 each. One is sold at a profit of 20% and another one at a loss
of 20%. What is the net loss?
A shopkeeper sells his articles at his CP but uses a faulty balance which reads 1000 g for 800 g.
What is his actual profit percentage?
A cloth store is offering ‘Buy 3, get 1 free’. What is the net percentage discount being offered
by the store?
A shopkeeper sells his goods at its CP only. But still he manages to gain a profit of 40% because he
has manipulated his weights. Find how many grams he is actually selling at the place of 1000 g.
When an article is sold at 20% discount, SP is 24. What will be SP when the discount is 30%?
Ram Lal, the local fruit vendor, buys a certain number of oranges at Rs. 7 a dozen and equal
number at Rs. 6 a dozen. He sells the oranges at Rs. 7.50 a dozen and makes a profit of Rs. 80.
How many oranges does he buy?
(a) 20 dozens (b) 30 dozens (c) 40 dozens (d) 80 dozens
The CP of a dozen mangoes is equal to the selling price of 10 mangoes. The SP of apples per piece
is the cost price of a mango (per piece). If the profit % made on selling an apple is half that of
selling a mango, then what is the cost of an apple if the selling price of one mango is Rs X?
(a) Rs. X/6 (b) Rs 5X/6 (c) Rs. 25X/33 (d) Rs33X/25
(CSIR-NET DEC 2013 )
A student buys a book from an online shop at 20% discount. His friend buys another copy of
the same book in a book fair for Rs.192 paying 20% less than his friend. What is the full price
of the book?
[Part A CSIR-NET Dec. 2013]
A fruit vendor buys 120 Shimla apples at 4 for Rs. 100, and 120 Golden apples at 6 for Rs. 100.
She decides to mix them and sell at 10 for Rs. 200. She will make
(a) no profit, no loss
(b) a loss of 4%
(c) a gain of 4%
(d) a loss of 10 %
[Part A CSIR-NET June 2015]
I bought a shirt at 10% discount and sold it to a friend at a loss of 10%. If the friend paid me
Rs. 729.00 for the shirt, what was the undiscounted price of the shirt?
(a) Rs. 900
(b) Rs. 800
(c) Rs. 1000
(d) Rs.911.25
[Part A CSIR-NET Dec. 2015]
A shopkeeper purchases a product for Rs.100 and sells it making a profit of 10%. The
customer resells it to the same shopkeeper incurring a loss of 10%. In these dealings the
shopkeeper makes
(1) no profit, no loss
(2) Rs.11
(3) Rs.1
(4) Rs.20
[Part A CSIR-NET Dec. 2017]
A buys n copies of a book at 20% discount. B gets the same book at 30% discount. What is
the minimum value of n for which B can buy one extra copy of the book, spending the same
amount as A?
(a) 7
(b) 8
(c) 6
(d) This problem cannot be solved unless the marked price of the book is known.
[Part A CSIR-NET 27Dec. 2019]
A commodity is sold n times, each time at a profit of p%. If the value of the object finally becomes
10 times its original value, then p is
(a) (10(1/n) – 1) 100
(b) (10n - 1)100
(c) (1 - 10-n)100
(d) (1 - 10-(1/n))100
[CSIR FEB 2022]
A shopkeeper purchases a product for Rs.100 and sells it making a profit of 10%. The customer
resells it to the same shopkeeper incurring a loss of 10%. In these dealings the shopkeeper makes
(a) No profit, no loss
(b) Rs.11
(c) Rs.1
(d) Rs.20
