Profit and Loss: Aptitude Questions with Answers
Review Profit Loss Concepts before you get started
Q. 1 When someone makes a profit from selling a house, they need to pay taxes on the difference between the selling price and the original purchase price. If the profit is 20% or less of the purchase price, the tax rate is 6%. Any profit exceeding 20% of the purchase price is subject to a 10% tax rate. A business family bought a house for 164,000 dollars and sold it 15 years later for 228,000 dollars. How much tax must they pay on the profit?
A) 6400
B) 5888
C) 4438
D) 3120
Check Solution
Ans: B
the profit earned is 64000. Now 20% of this profit will be 12800
taking 6% of 12800 will be 768
Now beyond 20% of 12800 means 80% of 128000.
We will get 0.8 of 128000 as 51200. This amount 51200 is taxed at 10%
0.1 of 51200 = 5120
adding 1 and 2
768+ 5120 = 5888
Q. 2 A shopkeeper prides himself on offering the best deals. He purchases a batch of 40 pens for ₹50 and later sets a price where he sells 30 pens for ₹50. While doing this, he wonders: what is the percentage of profit he’s actually making on each pen?
A) 25%
B) 50%
C) 66.67%
D) 75%
Check Solution
Ans: B) 50%
Cost price (CP) of 1 pen = 50 / 40 = ₹1.25.
Selling price (SP) of 1 pen = 50 / 30 = ₹1.6667.
Profit % = [(SP – CP) / CP] × 100 = [(1.6667 – 1.25) / 1.25] × 100 = 33.33%.
Q. 3 Two friends, A and B, partner up to start a business. A invests ₹50,000, and B contributes ₹40,000. After a few months, B notices he’s entitled to a profit share of ₹6,000. Curious about how their business is doing, they ask their accountant: what is the total profit generated by their venture?
A) ₹15,000
B) ₹14,000
C) ₹13,500
D) ₹12,000
Check Solution
Ans: C) ₹13,500
The profit ratio of A and B = 50,000 : 40,000 = 5 : 4.
Let total profit be P. Then, B’s share = 4/(5+4) × P = 4/9 × P.
Given, 4/9 × P = 6,000.
P = 6,000 × 9 / 4 = ₹13,500.
Q. 4 A merchant known for his clever pricing strategy mixes two types of sugar: one costing ₹24 per kg and the other ₹30 per kg. He blends them in the ratio of 1:2 and sets a selling price that gives him a 20% profit. Can you determine the selling price of his mixture per kg?
A) ₹31.20/kg
B) ₹30.40/kg
C) ₹29.50/kg
D) ₹32.80/kg
Check Solution
Ans: D) ₹33.60/kg
Cost price of the mixture = (1 × 24 + 2 × 30) / 3 = (24 + 60) / 3 = ₹28/kg.
Selling price for 20% gain = 28 + 20% of 28 = ₹33.60/kg.
Q. 5 A neighbourhood shopkeeper purchases 20 kg of rice at ₹50 per kg and another 30 kg at ₹60 per kg. After mixing the two, he decides to sell the entire lot at ₹65 per kg. How much profit or loss percentage does he earn on this sale?
A) 12% profit
B) 15% profit
C) 16% profit
D) 18% profit
Check Solution
Ans: C) 16% profit
Total CP = (20 × 50) + (30 × 60) = 1000 + 1800 = ₹2800 for 50 kg.
SP = 50 × 65 = ₹3250.
Profit % = [(SP – CP) / CP] × 100 = [(3250 – 2800) / 2800] × 100 ≈ 16.07%.
Q. Two entrepreneurs, A and B, pool their resources to start a venture. A invests ₹40,000, while B invests ₹50,000. They agree to split profits in proportion to their investments. If their business earns a total profit of ₹13,500 in the first year, how much of this profit does B take home?
A) ₹5,400
B) ₹7,500
C) ₹6,750
D) ₹8,100
Check Solution
Ans: B) ₹7,500
Investment ratio of A and B = 40,000 : 50,000 = 4 : 5.
B’s share = 5/(4+5) × 13,500 = 5/9 × 13,500 = ₹7,500.
Q. 7 Nandalal sells two identical Sarees for ₹990 each. However, he gains 10% on one Saree and incurs a 10% loss on the other. After totaling his transactions, he wonders if he’s made an overall profit or a loss—and by what percentage?
A) No profit, no loss
B) 1% profit
C) 1% loss
D) 2% loss
Check Solution
Ans: C) 1% loss
Let the CP of item 1 be ₹x, and for item 2, it is also ₹x.
SP of item 1 = x + 10% of x = 1.1x.
SP of item 2 = x – 10% of x = 0.9x.
Net loss = (10% of 10%) = 1%.
Q. 8 Abha buys a gift item, sells it to Benny with a 20% profit, and Benny then sells it to Chandu at a 10% loss. If Chandu pays ₹216 for the item, what was the original cost price that Abha paid for it?
A) ₹180
B) ₹200
C) ₹220
D) ₹250
Check Solution
Ans: B) ₹200
Let the CP for A be ₹x.
After A sells to B at 20% profit: SP for B = 1.2x.
After B sells to C at 10% loss: SP for C = 0.9 × 1.2x = 1.08x.
1.08x = 216, so x = 216 / 1.08 = ₹200.
Q. 9 A farmer has a 40-liter mixture of milk and water, which contains 10% water. He wants to reduce the water content to just 5% by adding more milk. How much milk must he add to achieve this desired concentration?
A) 10 liters
B) 20 liters
C) 40 liters
D) 30 liters
Check Solution
Ans: C) 40 liters
Amount of water in 40 liters = 10% of 40 = 4 liters.
Let x liters of milk be added. Total solution = 40 + x.
Water content % = 4 / (40 + x) × 100 = 5%.
4 = 0.05(40 + x), x = 40 liters.
Q. 10 Three partners—Adani, Birla, and Clark—invest ₹10,000, ₹15,000, and ₹20,000 respectively in a business. Adani also takes on the role of a working partner and earns 20% of the total profit for his efforts. If the business generates ₹25,000 in profit, how much of the remaining profit does Birla receive?
A) ₹5,000
B) ₹6,000
C) ₹8,000
D) ₹7,500
Check Solution
Ans: B) ₹6,000
A’s service share = 20% of 25,000 = ₹5,000. Remaining profit = 25,000 – 5,000 = ₹20,000.
Investment ratio = 10,000 : 15,000 : 20,000 = 2 : 3 : 4.
B’s share = 3/(2+3+4) × 20,000 = 3/9 × 20,000 = ₹6,000.
Q. 11 If Selling Price = 4000, Cost Price = 1600, then calculate Profit
A) 2400
B) -2400
C) 2600
D) 3400
Check Solution
Ans: A
Profit = Selling Price (SP) – Cost price (CP)
Q. 12 If Selling Price = 3200, Cost Price = 2500, then calculate Profit
A) 1700
B) -700
C) 900
D) 700
Check Solution
Ans: D
Profit = Selling Price (SP) – Cost price (CP)
Q. 13 Given Selling Price = 7620 and Loss = 1130, find out the Cost Price
A) 8750
B) 6490
C) 8550
D) 8450
Check Solution
Ans: A
Cost price (CP) = Selling Price (SP) + Loss
Q. 14 If Cost Price = 4100 and Profit = 18%, then find out Selling Price
A) 3362
B) 4838
C) 4743
D) 3417
Check Solution
Ans: B
Let’s break the problem in two steps: 1. Profit % can be calculated by = (Profit/ Cost Price)*100
2. SP = CP + Profit
Q. 15 A company sold 800 units of a product at Rs 8 per unit and another 1,000 units at Rs 5 per unit. The cost to produce each unit was Rs 6. What was the company’s total profit or loss after selling all 1,800 units?
A) 1,600
B) 600 loss
C) No profit or loss
D) 600 profit
Check Solution
Ans: D
The company made a total of 800 x 8 = 6400 from the 800 units sold for 8 each.
The company made a total of 1000 x 5 = 5000 from the 1000 units sold for 5 each.
The total revenue from the 1800 units sold is 6400 + 5000 = 11400.
The total cost of producing the 1800 units is 1800 x 6 = 10800.
The company made a profit of 11400 – 10800 = 600 on the 1800 units sold.
So the answer is 600
Q. 16 Luke purchased two tickets for a Concert: one corner ticket costing 156 dollars and one mezzanine ticket priced at 184 dollars. He later sold the corner ticket for 25% more than its purchase price and the mezzanine ticket for 25% less than what he originally paid. Calculate Luke’s overall profit or loss from these transactions.
A) Loss of 5 dollars
B) Loss of 7 dollars
C) There was neither a net gain nor a net loss
D) Gain of 5 dollars
Check Solution
Ans: B
He sold the concompany ticket for 25 percent more than he paid for it, so he sold it for 156*1.25 = 195
He sold the mezzanine ticket for 25 percent less than he paid for it, so he sold it for 184*0.75 = 138
His total income from selling the tickets was 195+138 = 333
He paid 156+184 = 340 for the tickets, so he made a profit of 333-340 = -7
So the answer is -7
Q. 17 A clothing store owner purchased two equal-sized batches of dresses at identical costs. The owner sold every dress from the first batch for 70 each, making a profit of 1,600. The second batch was sold for 90 per dress, bringing in a profit of 2,400. How many dresses were there in total in both batches?
A) 40
B) 50
C) 60
D) 80
Check Solution
Ans: D
Lets say there were x number of dresses in each shipment. And cost of the each dress is y. Then we can set up following equation:
70x – xy = 1600
90x -xy = 2400
20x = 800
x= 40
Therefore there are 80 dresses in both shipments
Q. 18 A salesman experiences a 20% loss on an item when compared to its selling price. If the item originally cost 300, what is the selling price?
A) 120
B) 225
C) 240
D) 250
Check Solution
Ans: D
Suppose selling price is x; Loss = 0.2x
Cost price = x+0.2x = 300
=>1.2x = 300
x = 250.
Q. 19 A retailer buys products for 700 each and sells them with a 30% profit. To boost sales during the holidays, the retailer plans to provide at least two types of discount coupons to regular customers, but still wants to maintain a minimum profit margin of 10%. If the customer combines the coupons for the maximum possible discount, which of these coupon options should the retailer consider offering?I. 50/- discount II. 8% discount III. 10% discount
A) I and II only
B) I and III only
C) II and III only
D) I, II and III
Check Solution
Ans: A
The retailer purchases an item at $700 per piece and sells it at a profit of 30%, for a selling price of $910. To encourage the sale of the item in the holiday season, the retailer plans to offer at least two discount coupons to his loyal customers. At the same time, he wants to make sure that his profit margin does not fall below 10%. If the customers makes use of the discount coupons in an order which maximizes their discount, the retailer should offer:
* **I. $50 off**. This would result in a selling price of $860, which is still above the retailer’s desired profit margin of 10%.
* **II. 8% off**. This would result in a selling price of $846.40, which is below the retailer’s desired profit margin of 10%.
* **III. 10% off**. This would result in a selling price of $830, which is also below the retailer’s desired profit margin of 10%.
Therefore, the retailer should offer **I. $50 off**.
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