Mastering Profit and Loss for Competitive Exams
Profit and Loss is a crucial topic for SSC, Banking, and CAT exams, carrying a weightage of 2-3 marks in most competitive examinations. Understanding the basic formulas and shortcuts can help you solve these questions in under 60 seconds.
Important Formulas
- Profit = Selling Price - Cost Price
- Loss = Cost Price - Selling Price
- Profit % = (Profit / Cost Price) × 100
- Loss % = (Loss / Cost Price) × 100
Showing questions 1 - 10 of 11 • Page 1 of 2
A shopkeeper buys an article for $100 and sells it for $120. What is the profit percentage?
If a product is sold at $90 with a loss of 10%, what was the cost price?
A man buys 10 pens for $50 and sells them at $6 each. What is his profit?
If selling price is doubled, the profit triples. What is the profit percent?
A trader marks his goods 30% above cost price and gives a discount of 10%. What is his profit percentage?
By selling an article for $240, a man loses 20%. At what price should he sell it to gain 20%?
If cost price increases by 25% but selling price remains same, profit decreases by 50%. What was the original profit percentage?
A vendor bought bananas at 6 for $10 and sold them at 4 for $10. What is the profit percentage?
A dishonest dealer professes to sell goods at cost price but uses a weight of 900g instead of 1kg. What is his profit percentage?
Two articles are sold at the same price. One at 20% profit and another at 20% loss. What is the overall profit or loss percentage?
Common Mistakes in Profit and Loss
Students often confuse Marked Price with Selling Price. Remember that Selling Price is what the customer pays after discount, while Marked Price is the price tag before any discount.
Tips for Solving Quickly
- Always assume Cost Price as 100 for percentage-based questions
- For dishonest dealer problems, remember profit = (fake quantity / real quantity) × 100
- When two items are sold at same price with equal profit and loss %, there's always a loss = (loss%/10)²
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Profit and Loss topic important for SSC CGL?▼
Yes, approximately 2-3 questions appear from this topic every year in SSC CGL. It's considered a scoring topic.
What is the difference between Marked Price and Selling Price?▼
Marked Price is the price tag on the product before discount. Selling Price is the actual price paid by the customer after applying discount. SP = MP - Discount.
How to solve Profit and Loss questions quickly?▼
Use shortcut formulas, assume CP = 100 for easier calculations, and practice recognizing question patterns. Most questions follow standard formats.