SSC Profit and Loss Questions with Solutions (Easy to Advanced)

About This Practice Set

Profit and loss is one of those SSC maths topics where a little practice pays off very quickly. The formulas are short, the logic is the same in almost every question, and once you see the pattern you can solve most problems in under a minute.

This set has 50 questions arranged in three levels: 15 easy questions to warm up, 20 medium questions that look like the ones you meet in SSC CHSL and CGL Tier 1, and 15 advanced questions for the tougher ones. Every question comes with the answer and a short solution, so you can check where you went wrong instead of just knowing that you did.

How to use it: Keep a pen and paper, set a timer for 45 minutes, and try all the questions before looking at any answer. Then go back to the ones you missed and read the solution slowly.

Formulas to Keep in Mind

• Profit = Selling Price (SP) − Cost Price (CP), and Loss = CP − SP.
• Profit % = (Profit ÷ CP) × 100, and Loss % = (Loss ÷ CP) × 100. Both are always calculated on the cost price unless the question says otherwise.
• SP = CP × (100 + Profit %) ÷ 100, and SP = CP × (100 − Loss %) ÷ 100.
• Discount = Marked Price (MP) − SP, and Discount % = (Discount ÷ MP) × 100.
• If two items are sold at the same price, one at x% profit and the other at x% loss, there is always a loss of x²/100 %.
• For successive discounts of a% and b%, the single equal discount is a + b − (ab/100) %.

Level 1: Easy (Q1–Q15)

Q1. A shopkeeper buys an article for Rs. 250 and sells it for Rs. 300. What is his profit percentage?
Answer: 20%
Solution: Profit = 300 − 250 = 50. Profit % = 50/250 × 100 = 20%.

Q2. An article bought for Rs. 800 is sold for Rs. 720. Find the loss percentage.
Answer: 10%
Solution: Loss = 80. Loss % = 80/800 × 100 = 10%.

Q3. The cost price of a bag is Rs. 1,200. At what price should it be sold to earn a profit of 15%?
Answer: Rs. 1,380
Solution: SP = 1,200 × 115/100 = 1,380.

Q4. A dealer buys a table for Rs. 640 and sells it at a loss of 25%. Find the selling price.
Answer: Rs. 480
Solution: SP = 640 × 75/100 = 480.

Q5. A mobile cover is sold for Rs. 1,155 at a profit of 10%. Find its cost price.
Answer: Rs. 1,050
Solution: CP = 1,155 × 100/110 = 1,050.

Q6. A watch is sold for Rs. 720 at a loss of 20%. What is the cost price?
Answer: Rs. 900
Solution: CP = 720 × 100/80 = 900.

Q7. Pens are bought at Rs. 8 each and sold at Rs. 10 each. What is the profit percentage?
Answer: 25%
Solution: Profit on one pen = 2. 2/8 × 100 = 25%.

Q8. Meera buys a second-hand cycle for Rs. 500, spends Rs. 100 on repairs and sells it for Rs. 720. Find her profit percentage.
Answer: 20%
Solution: Total cost = 600. Profit = 120. 120/600 × 100 = 20%.

Q9. The marked price of a jacket is Rs. 900. A discount of 10% is given. What is the selling price?
Answer: Rs. 810
Solution: Discount = 90. SP = 900 − 90 = 810.

Q10. A shirt with marked price Rs. 1,500 is sold for Rs. 1,275. Find the discount percentage.
Answer: 15%
Solution: Discount = 225. 225/1,500 × 100 = 15%.

Q11. A trader earns a profit of 20% on an article costing Rs. 2,500. How much is the profit in rupees?
Answer: Rs. 500
Solution: 20% of 2,500 = 500.

Q12. If the selling price of an article is 1.25 times its cost price, find the profit percentage.
Answer: 25%
Solution: SP = 125% of CP, so profit = 25%.

Q13. The cost price of 10 articles is equal to the selling price of 8 articles. Find the profit percentage.
Answer: 25%
Solution: Let CP of one article be 8 and SP of one article be 10 (taking 80 as the common value). Profit = 2/8 × 100 = 25%.

Q14. A man buys a phone for Rs. 2,000 and sells it at a loss of 10%. What is the amount of loss?
Answer: Rs. 200
Solution: 10% of 2,000 = 200.

Q15. A radio costs Rs. 4,500. At what price must it be sold to gain 8%?
Answer: Rs. 4,860
Solution: SP = 4,500 × 108/100 = 4,860.

Level 2: Medium (Q16–Q35)

Q16. A man sells an article at a loss of 10%. Had he bought it for 10% less and sold it for Rs. 9 more, he would have gained 10%. Find the cost price.
Answer: Rs. 100
Solution: Let CP = x. Original SP = 0.9x. New CP = 0.9x, new SP = 1.1 × 0.9x = 0.99x. Difference = 0.09x = 9, so x = 100.

Q17. A shopkeeper marks his goods 20% above the cost price and then allows a discount of 10%. Find his profit percentage.
Answer: 8%
Solution: Multipliers: 1.20 × 0.90 = 1.08, so profit = 8%.

Q18. An article is sold at a discount of 20% and the seller still makes a profit of 20%. By what percent is the marked price above the cost price?
Answer: 50%
Solution: SP = 1.2 CP and SP = 0.8 MP. So MP = 1.2/0.8 × CP = 1.5 CP, which is 50% above CP.

Q19. Two articles are sold for Rs. 990 each. One is sold at a gain of 10% and the other at a loss of 10%. What is the overall gain or loss percentage?
Answer: 1% loss
Solution: CP1 = 990/1.1 = 900. CP2 = 990/0.9 = 1,100. Total CP = 2,000, total SP = 1,980. Loss = 20, which is 1% of 2,000.

Q20. A trader mixes 20 kg of rice costing Rs. 30 per kg with 30 kg of rice costing Rs. 40 per kg and sells the mixture at Rs. 39 per kg. Find his profit percentage.
Answer: 8 1/3%
Solution: Total CP = 600 + 1,200 = 1,800. Total SP = 50 × 39 = 1,950. Profit = 150. 150/1,800 × 100 = 8 1/3%.

Q21. A dishonest shopkeeper sells goods at the cost price but uses a weight of 900 g instead of 1 kg. Find his gain percentage.
Answer: 11 1/9%
Solution: He gives 900 g but charges for 1,000 g. Gain = 100/900 × 100 = 11 1/9%.

Q22. If the cost price of 15 oranges is equal to the selling price of 12 oranges, find the profit percentage.
Answer: 25%
Solution: SP/CP per orange = 15/12 = 1.25, so profit = 25%.

Q23. Rohan buys 5 dozen apples for Rs. 300 and sells them at Rs. 6 each. Find his profit percentage.
Answer: 20%
Solution: 5 dozen = 60 apples. SP = 60 × 6 = 360. Profit = 60. 60/300 × 100 = 20%.

Q24. If the selling price of 30 articles is equal to the cost price of 25 articles, find the loss percentage.
Answer: 16 2/3%
Solution: SP/CP per article = 25/30 = 5/6. Loss = 1/6 = 16 2/3%.

Q25. Two successive discounts of 10% and 5% are given on an article of marked price Rs. 2,000. Find the final price and the single equivalent discount.
Answer: Rs. 1,710 and 14.5%
Solution: 2,000 × 0.9 = 1,800; 1,800 × 0.95 = 1,710. Discount = 290, which is 290/2,000 = 14.5%.

Q26. A shopkeeper gives a discount of 12% on the marked price of Rs. 500 and still earns a profit of 10%. What is the cost price?
Answer: Rs. 400
Solution: SP = 500 × 0.88 = 440. CP = 440/1.1 = 400.

Q27. A discount of 25% is given on the marked price and the seller earns a profit of 20%. The marked price is what percent above the cost price?
Answer: 60%
Solution: SP = 0.75 MP = 1.2 CP, so MP = 1.6 CP, which is 60% above.

Q28. A man sold 40 mangoes at a loss equal to the cost price of 4 mangoes. Find the loss percentage.
Answer: 10%
Solution: Loss = CP of 4 mangoes. Total CP = CP of 40 mangoes. Loss % = 4/40 × 100 = 10%.

Q29. A sells an article to B at a profit of 20%, and B sells it to C at a profit of 25%. If C pays Rs. 1,500, find the cost price for A.
Answer: Rs. 1,000
Solution: 1,500 = CP × 1.2 × 1.25 = 1.5 CP. So CP = 1,000.

Q30. A shopkeeper allows a discount of 10% on the marked price and still earns 20% profit. If the cost price is Rs. 1,200, find the marked price.
Answer: Rs. 1,600
Solution: SP = 1,200 × 1.2 = 1,440. MP = 1,440/0.9 = 1,600.

Q31. Two articles are sold at the same price, one at a profit of 20% and the other at a loss of 20%. Find the overall result.
Answer: 4% loss
Solution: When the selling price is the same and the profit and loss percentages are equal, the loss is x²/100 = 400/100 = 4%.

Q32. An article is sold for Rs. 280 at a loss of Rs. 20. Find the loss percentage.
Answer: 6 2/3%
Solution: CP = 280 + 20 = 300. Loss % = 20/300 × 100 = 6 2/3%.

Q33. A man gains 25% on the selling price. What is his gain percentage on the cost price?
Answer: 33 1/3%
Solution: Let SP = 100. Profit = 25, so CP = 75. Profit on CP = 25/75 × 100 = 33 1/3%.

Q34. An article costing Rs. 60 is sold for Rs. 75. Find the profit as a percentage of the selling price.
Answer: 20%
Solution: Profit = 15. 15/75 × 100 = 20%.

Q35. A retailer buys 200 items at Rs. 30 each. 10% of them get spoiled. At what price per item should he sell the rest to earn a 20% profit on the total cost?
Answer: Rs. 40
Solution: Total CP = 6,000. Required SP = 7,200. Good items = 180. Price per item = 7,200/180 = 40.

Level 3: Advanced (Q36–Q50)

Q36. A sells an article to B at a loss of 10%, and B sells it to C at a profit of 20%. If C pays Rs. 2,160, find the cost price for A.
Answer: Rs. 2,000
Solution: 2,160 = CP × 0.9 × 1.2 = 1.08 CP. CP = 2,160/1.08 = 2,000.

Q37. Two watches are sold for Rs. 1,200 each. One earns a profit of 20% and the other suffers a loss of 20%. Find the overall gain or loss.
Answer: 4% loss
Solution: CP1 = 1,200/1.2 = 1,000. CP2 = 1,200/0.8 = 1,500. Total CP = 2,500, total SP = 2,400. Loss = 100, which is 4% of 2,500.

Q38. If an article is sold at 2/3 of its marked price, the seller gains 20%. What will be the profit percentage if it is sold at 3/4 of the marked price?
Answer: 35%
Solution: (2/3) MP = 1.2 CP, so MP = 1.8 CP. Then (3/4) × 1.8 CP = 1.35 CP, which is a 35% profit.

Q39. A milkman sells a mixture of milk and water at the cost price of pure milk and earns a profit of 25%. What is the percentage of water in the mixture?
Answer: 20%
Solution: Suppose he has 100 litres of milk and adds 25 litres of water. He sells 125 litres at the price of 125 litres of milk but paid only for 100. Profit = 25%. Water = 25/125 × 100 = 20%.

Q40. A shopkeeper bought 100 kg of rice at Rs. 40 per kg. He sold 60 kg at a profit of 20%. At what price per kg must he sell the remaining rice to earn an overall profit of 25%?
Answer: Rs. 53
Solution: Total CP = 4,000. Required total SP = 5,000. First 60 kg sold at 48 per kg = 2,880. Remaining 2,120 for 40 kg = Rs. 53 per kg.

Q41. A dealer marks his goods 50% above the cost price and allows two successive discounts of 20% and 10%. Find his profit percentage.
Answer: 8%
Solution: 1.5 × 0.8 × 0.9 = 1.08, which is a profit of 8%.

Q42. Rs. 1,500 worth of goods is sold in two parts. Two-thirds of the goods are sold at a 20% gain. At what gain percentage must the remaining goods be sold to make a 30% gain overall?
Answer: 50%
Solution: Total required SP = 1,950. Two-thirds of CP = 1,000, sold at 1,200. Remaining CP = 500 must be sold for 750, a gain of 50%.

Q43. A buys an article for Rs. 800 and sells it to B at a profit of 25%. B sells it to C at a loss of 20%. At what price did C buy the article?
Answer: Rs. 800
Solution: 800 × 1.25 = 1,000. 1,000 × 0.8 = 800.

Q44. Ravi buys 10 dozen eggs at Rs. 72 per dozen. Six eggs are broken and he sells the rest at Rs. 7 each. Find his profit percentage.
Answer: 10 5/6%
Solution: Total eggs = 120, cost = 720. He sells 114 eggs for 798. Profit = 78. 78/720 × 100 = 10 5/6%.

Q45. A trader sells goods at the cost price but uses a false weight of 800 g for 1 kg. Find his gain percentage.
Answer: 25%
Solution: He gives 800 g for the price of 1,000 g. Gain = 200/800 × 100 = 25%.

Q46. The profit earned by selling an article for Rs. 900 is twice the loss incurred by selling it for Rs. 450. What is the cost price?
Answer: Rs. 600
Solution: 900 − CP = 2 × (CP − 450). So 900 − CP = 2CP − 900, which gives 3CP = 1,800 and CP = 600.

Q47. A shopkeeper sells an article at a loss of 8%. If he had sold it for Rs. 84 more, he would have gained 4%. Find the cost price.
Answer: Rs. 700
Solution: The difference between 4% profit and 8% loss is 12% of CP = 84. So CP = 700.

Q48. A shopkeeper gives two successive discounts of 10% and 15% on an article marked at Rs. 2,400. If he still makes a profit of 8%, find the cost price.
Answer: Rs. 1,700
Solution: SP = 2,400 × 0.9 × 0.85 = 1,836. CP = 1,836/1.08 = 1,700.

Q49. A trader mixes 30 kg of rice costing Rs. 20 per kg with 20 kg of rice costing Rs. 25 per kg and sells the mixture at Rs. 26 per kg. Find his profit percentage.
Answer: 18 2/11%
Solution: Total CP = 600 + 500 = 1,100. Total SP = 50 × 26 = 1,300. Profit = 200. 200/1,100 × 100 = 18 2/11%.

Q50. A fruit seller buys 240 oranges at Rs. 12 each. 25% of them are spoiled. At what price per orange must he sell the good ones to earn a 15% profit on the total cost?
Answer: Rs. 18.40
Solution: Total CP = 2,880. Required SP = 3,312. Good oranges = 180. Price per orange = 3,312/180 = 18.40.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Taking the wrong base. Profit and loss percentages are on the cost price. Discount percentage is on the marked price. Mixing these two is the most common reason for a wrong answer.
• Adding percentages directly. A 20% mark-up followed by a 10% discount is not a 10% profit. Multiply the multipliers instead: 1.2 × 0.9 = 1.08.
• Ignoring hidden costs. Repair charges, transport and packing are part of the cost price.
• Forgetting the units. Read whether the question asks for the profit in rupees or in percent.

A Quick Study Plan

If profit and loss feels difficult right now, do not attempt all 50 questions in one sitting. Solve the 15 easy questions on day one, the medium ones over the next two days and the advanced ones on day four. Revise the formulas each morning, and after a week attempt the whole set again with a timer. Most students find that their speed roughly doubles in this time.

Once you are comfortable here, move on to the percentage, simplification and ratio practice sets on this site, because all of them use the same basic ideas.