If cracking banking Prelims is a test of sheer speed, surviving the Mains quantitative aptitude section is a masterclass in psychological warfare. Among all arithmetic topics, Profit and Loss remains the ultimate testing ground for examiners to drop traps involving faulty weights, multi-layered successive discounts, and hidden ratios.
If you are still relying on old-school, time-consuming algebraic equations for questions like these, you are losing crucial minutes that could make or break your final selection.
Welcome to BrainQuro’s advanced practice series, where we break down 10 of the trickiest Profit and Loss problems you will face in exams like IBPS PO and SBI PO—armed not with lengthy formulas, but with razor-sharp shortcut methods designed to save time under pressure.
Table of Contents
Profit and Loss Questions with Answers: 10 Advanced Banking Exam Questions
📌 Question 131
📝 Question
A shopkeeper marks his goods 40% above the cost price and gives a 10% discount. Additionally, he uses a faulty balance that weighs 10% less while selling. Find his overall profit percentage.
⚡ Shortcut Solution
Marked Price = 140% of CP
After 10% discount:
SP received = 140% × 90% = 126% of CP
Since he gives only 900 g instead of 1 kg, he charges the price of 1 kg for 900 g.
Actual SP for 1 kg = 126/90 × 100 = 140% of CP
Profit = 140% − 100% = 40%
✅ Final Answer
40% Profit
📌 Question 132
📝 Question
A merchant sells item A at a 25% profit and item B at a 10% loss. The selling prices of both items are equal. If their total cost price is ₹860, find the difference between their cost prices.
⚡ Shortcut Solution
For equal selling prices:
CP of A : CP of B
= 100/125 : 100/90
= 4/5 : 10/9
Taking LCM:
= 18 : 25
Total CP = ₹860
Total parts = 18 + 25 = 43
1 part = 860/43 = ₹20
Difference = (25 − 18) × ₹20
= ₹140
✅ Final Answer
₹140
📌 Question 133
📝 Question
A person buys a horse and a carriage together for ₹20,000. He sells the horse at a 20% profit and the carriage at a 10% loss. If his overall profit is 2%, find the cost price of the horse.
⚡ Shortcut Solution
Overall SP = 102% of ₹20,000
= ₹20,400
Let horse CP = x.
Carriage CP = ₹20,000 − x
SP:
Horse = 120% of x
Carriage = 90% of (20,000 − x)
So:
1.2x + 0.9(20,000 − x) = 20,400
0.3x = 2,400
x = ₹8,000
✅ Final Answer
₹8,000
📌 Question 134
📝 Question
A trader marks his goods 50% above the cost price and gives successive discounts of 20% and 10%. If he still makes a net profit of ₹120, find the cost price.
⚡ Shortcut Solution
SP factor:
150% × 80% × 90%
= 108%
So profit = 8% of CP.
8% of CP = ₹120
CP = 120 × 100/8
= ₹1,500
✅ Final Answer
₹1,500
📌 Question 135
📝 Question
A dealer sells an article at a 5% loss. If he had bought it for 10% less and sold it for ₹33 more, he would have gained 30%. Find the original cost price.
⚡ Shortcut Solution
Let original CP = x.
Original SP = 95% of x.
New CP = 90% of x.
New SP = 95% of x + ₹33.
For 30% gain:
New SP = 130% of 90% of x
= 117% of x
Therefore:
117% − 95% = 22% of x
22% of x = ₹33
x = 33 × 100/22
= ₹150
✅ Final Answer
₹150
📌 Question 136
📝 Question
A shopkeeper marks an article at such a price that after allowing a 25% discount, he still earns a 20% profit. If he sells the article at the marked price, find his profit percentage.
⚡ Shortcut Solution
After 25% discount:
SP = 75% of MP
This SP gives 20% profit, so:
75% of MP = 120% of CP
Therefore:
MP = 120/75 × 100
= 160% of CP
At marked price, profit = 160% − 100%
= 60%
✅ Final Answer
60% Profit
📌 Question 137
📝 Question
A man buys 50 pens at ₹2 each and another 50 pens at ₹3 each. He mixes them and sells the entire stock at ₹3 per pen. Find his overall profit percentage.
⚡ Shortcut Solution
Total CP:
50 × 2 + 50 × 3
= ₹250
Total SP:
100 × 3
= ₹300
Profit = ₹50
Profit% = 50/250 × 100
= 20%
✅ Final Answer
20% Profit
📌 Question 138
📝 Question
By selling 33 meters of cloth, a person gains an amount equal to the selling price of 11 meters. Find his gain percentage.
⚡ Shortcut Solution
SP of 33 m = SP of 33 m
Gain = SP of 11 m
Therefore:
CP of 33 m = SP of 33 m − SP of 11 m
= SP of 22 m
So:
SP : CP = 33 : 22
= 3 : 2
Gain% = (3 − 2)/2 × 100
= 50%
✅ Final Answer
50% Gain
📌 Question 139
📝 Question
A shopkeeper marks his goods 50% above the cost price and gives a 20% discount. If his total profit is ₹300, find the cost price.
⚡ Shortcut Solution
SP = 150% × 80%
= 120% of CP
Profit = 20% of CP
20% of CP = ₹300
CP = 300 × 100/20
= ₹1,500
✅ Final Answer
₹1,500
📌 Question 140
📝 Question
Two articles are sold at ₹2,400 each. On one article, the trader gains 20%, while on the other he loses 20%. Find the overall profit or loss percentage.
⚡ Shortcut Solution
When two articles have equal SP and equal percentage gain/loss:
Overall loss% = 20²/100
= 4%
✅ Final Answer
4% Loss
⭐ Recommended Reading
- Advanced Profit and Loss questions
- Banking exam profit and loss questions
- Profit and loss questions for SBI PO
- Tough Percentage Questions
- Ratio and Proportion Questions with shortcut
⚡ Shortcut Trick of the Day
Equal Selling Price Trick
If one article is sold at x% profit and another at y% loss, while their selling prices are equal:
CP ratio = 100/(100 + x) : 100/(100 − y)
For example:
25% profit and 10% loss:
100/125 : 100/90
This quickly gives the CP ratio without calculating the individual selling prices.
💡 Banking Tip
In advanced Profit and Loss questions, always identify what the percentage is based on—CP, SP, MP, discount price, or effective cost. Most calculation mistakes happen because the wrong base is used.
🔥 Challenge Question
A milkman mixes water with pure milk, with water available completely free of cost. He marks up the effective baseline cost of pure milk by 50% and sells the entire mixture at that price. If he achieves an overall net profit of 80% on his actual investment, find the percentage of water mixed in the final mixture relative to the quantity of pure milk.
