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Question

R’s weighing machine shows 400 gm when the actual weight is 350 gm. The cost price of almonds is ₹880 per kg and packets of 200 gm are made using the faulty machine. What should be the selling price (in ₹) of each packet to get a profit of 25%?

This question was previously asked in
SSC CGL 2023 (Tier-II) Paper 1 Previous Year Paper (26-Oct-2023) (Shift-1)
The correct answer is

192.50

Understanding the Faulty Weighing Machine Problem

This problem involves calculating the selling price of almond packets when a faulty weighing machine is used. We are given the machine's error, the cost price of almonds, the size of the packets shown by the machine, and the desired profit percentage. Our goal is to find the selling price per packet.

Analyzing the Faulty Machine

The weighing machine shows a higher weight than the actual weight. This means the seller gives less quantity than what is displayed.

  • The machine shows $\text{400 gm}$ when the actual weight is $\text{350 gm}$.
  • This gives us a ratio of Shown weight to Actual weight: $\frac{\text{Shown weight}}{\text{Actual weight}} = \frac{\text{400 gm}}{\text{350 gm}} = \frac{40}{35} = \frac{8}{7}$.
  • This ratio $\frac{8}{7}$ means that for every 8 units shown by the machine, the actual quantity is 7 units.

Calculating Actual Weight in Each Packet

Packets are made to show $\text{200 gm}$ using the faulty machine. We need to find the actual weight of almonds in such a packet.

  • Let the shown weight be $\text{W}_{\text{shown}} = \text{200 gm}$.
  • Using the ratio from the faulty machine: $\text{Actual weight} = \text{W}_{\text{shown}} \times \frac{7}{8}$.
  • Actual weight in a packet $= \text{200 gm} \times \frac{7}{8} = \text{(25 \times 8) gm} \times \frac{7}{8} = \text{25 gm} \times 7 = \text{175 gm}$.

So, each packet that is shown as $\text{200 gm}$ actually contains only $\text{175 gm}$ of almonds.

Determining the Cost Price of Each Packet

The cost price of almonds is given as $\text{₹880}$ per kg ($\text{1000 gm}$). We need to find the cost of the actual quantity of almonds in each packet ($\text{175 gm}$).

  • Cost price per gram $= \frac{\text{₹880}}{\text{1000 gm}} = \text{₹0.88}$ per gm.
  • Cost price of $\text{175 gm} = \text{175 gm} \times \text{₹0.88}$/gm.
  • Cost price of each packet $= \text{175} \times \text{0.88}$.
    • $\text{175} \times \text{0.88} = \text{175} \times \frac{88}{100} = \text{175} \times \frac{22}{25}$.
    • $= \text{(7 \times 25)} \times \frac{22}{25} = 7 \times 22 = \text{154}$.

The cost price of almonds in each packet is $\text{₹154}$.

Calculating the Selling Price for a 25% Profit

The desired profit is 25% on the cost price. We need to calculate the selling price per packet.

  • Cost Price (CP) of each packet $= \text{₹154}$.
  • Desired Profit $= \text{25% of CP}$.
  • Profit amount $= \text{25% of ₹154} = \frac{25}{100} \times 154 = \frac{1}{4} \times 154 = \frac{154}{4}$.
  • $\frac{154}{4} = \frac{77}{2} = \text{38.50}$.
  • Profit amount $= \text{₹38.50}$.
  • Selling Price (SP) = CP + Profit.
  • SP $= \text{₹154} + \text{₹38.50} = \text{₹192.50}$.

Alternatively, Selling Price (SP) can be calculated directly:

  • SP = CP $\times (1 + \frac{\text{Profit Percentage}}{100})$.
  • SP $= \text{₹154} \times (1 + \frac{25}{100}) = \text{₹154} \times (1 + 0.25) = \text{₹154} \times 1.25$.
  • $\text{154} \times \text{1.25} = \text{154} \times \frac{5}{4} = \frac{154 \times 5}{4} = \frac{770}{4} = \text{192.50}$.

The selling price of each packet should be $\text{₹192.50}$ to get a profit of 25%.

Here is a summary of the calculations:

Item Value Calculation / Source
Faulty Machine Ratio (Shown/Actual) 8/7 400 gm / 350 gm
Packet Shown Weight 200 gm Given
Packet Actual Weight 175 gm 200 gm * (7/8)
Cost Price per kg ₹880 Given
Cost Price per gm ₹0.88 ₹880 / 1000 gm
Cost Price of 175 gm ₹154 175 gm * ₹0.88/gm
Desired Profit 25% Given
Selling Price (for 25% profit) ₹192.50 ₹154 * 1.25

The selling price of each packet needs to be $\text{₹192.50}$ to achieve the desired 25% profit margin, considering the faulty machine reduces the actual quantity of almonds in each packet.

Revision Table: Faulty Scale Profit

Concept Explanation Formula/Calculation
Faulty Machine Ratio Relates shown weight to actual weight. >1 for machines showing more than actual. $\frac{\text{Shown Weight}}{\text{Actual Weight}}$
Actual Weight Calculation Finding the real quantity based on shown weight and machine ratio. $\text{Actual Weight} = \text{Shown Weight} \times \frac{\text{Actual Ratio}}{\text{Shown Ratio}}$
Cost Price (CP) Calculation Cost of the actual quantity of goods sold. $\text{CP} = \text{Actual Quantity} \times \text{Cost per Unit}$
Selling Price (SP) with Profit Price at which goods are sold to achieve a desired profit margin. $\text{SP} = \text{CP} \times (1 + \frac{\text{Profit \%}}{100})$

Additional Information: Faulty Weight Problems

Problems involving faulty weighing machines are common in profit and loss calculations. The key is to understand how the error affects the actual quantity being measured or sold.

  • If the machine shows more than actual: The seller gives less quantity than marked. The actual quantity is less than the shown quantity. This usually benefits the seller if they calculate cost based on actual quantity and sell based on shown quantity.
  • If the machine shows less than actual: The seller gives more quantity than marked. The actual quantity is more than the shown quantity. This usually causes a loss or reduced profit for the seller if not accounted for.
  • Always calculate the cost price based on the actual weight or quantity of the goods.
  • Calculate the selling price or profit/loss based on the price charged for the shown weight or quantity, or the total revenue received.
  • In this problem, the cost is tied to the actual $\text{175 gm}$, but the packet size is advertised (implicitly by the machine setting) as $\text{200 gm}$. The profit is calculated on the actual cost incurred.
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Similar Questions

  1. A shopkeeper sells an item at a profit of 15% and uses a weight which is 20% less. Find his actual profit percentage.

  2. A grocer claims that he is selling sugar at Rs. 48/kg, which costs him Rs. 50/kg, but he is giving 900 g instead of 1000 g. What will be the approximate percentage profit?

  3. A dishonest merchant sells goods at a 12.5% loss on the cost price, but uses 28 g weight instead of 36 g. What is his percentage profit or loss?

  4. A trader has a weighing balance that shows 1300 g for a kg. He further marks up his cost price by 15%. The net profit percentage is :

  5. A dishonest dealer marks up his goods by 50% and then gives a discount of 20% on the marked price. Apart from this, he uses a faulty balance which reads 1kg for 900 gm. What is his net profit percentage (rounded off to the nearest integer)?

  6. A dishonest shopkeeper sells mangoes at Rs. 30/kg bought at Rs. 20/kg and he is giving 800 g instead of 1 kg. The shopkeeper's actual profit percentage is:

  7. A dishonest dealer sells articles at 15% loss on cost price but uses the weight of 20 g instead of 25 g. What is his profit or loss percentage?

  8. A dishonest trader says to customers that he sells his goods at a cost price, but he uses a false weight and gains 12.5% as profit. How many grams does he use to weigh 1 kg?

  9. Ramesh claims that he is selling onions at Rs. 36 per kg, which costs him Rs. 40 per kg, but he gives 800 grams instead of 1 kg. Find Ramesh's percentage gain or loss.

  10. A shopkeeper advertises for selling cloth at 7% loss. However, by using a false scale of length 1 metre he actually gains 24%. What will be the actual length he uses instead of 1 metre ?


Important Questions from Dishonest Dealings

  1. A merchant claims that he sells his goods at CP. But uses a weight of 900 g for the 1 kg weight. find his gain %

  2. A shopkeeper cheats to the extent of 9% while buying and selling fruits, by using tampered weights. His total gain in percentage is:

    A. 18.25

    B. 18.81

    C. 19.78

    D. 18.5

  3. What is the faulty weight used by a dishonest shopkeeper instead of the original weight of 1 kg to get a profit of 25%?

  4. A dishonest financier claims to be lending money at simple interest, but he includes the interest every four months for calculating the principal. If he is charging an interest of 3%, the effective rate of interest becomes:

  5. A dishonest shopkeeper claims to sell rice at the cost price of ₹95 per kg, but the weight he uses has 1 kg written on it, while it actually weighs 950 g. The profit he thus earns on selling rice having an actual weight of 95 kg rice is:

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