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Question

The marked price of mustard oil is 25% more than its cost price. At what percentage less than the marked price should it be sold to have no profit and no loss?

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

20%

Calculating Discount Percentage for No Profit No Loss

The question asks about finding the percentage discount needed on the marked price of mustard oil so that there is no profit or loss when sold. This means the selling price must be equal to the cost price.

We are given that the marked price is 25% more than the cost price. Let's assume a value for the cost price to make the calculation easier.

Step 1: Assume a Cost Price (CP)

Let the Cost Price (CP) of the mustard oil be $\text{Rs } 100$.

Step 2: Calculate the Marked Price (MP)

The marked price is 25% more than the cost price.

Increase in price = 25% of CP

Increase in price $= \frac{25}{100} \times 100 = \text{Rs } 25$

Marked Price (MP) = CP + Increase in price

MP $= 100 + 25 = \text{Rs } 125$

Step 3: Determine the Selling Price (SP) for No Profit No Loss

For a transaction to have no profit and no loss, the selling price must be equal to the cost price.

Selling Price (SP) = Cost Price (CP)

SP $= \text{Rs } 100$

Step 4: Calculate the Discount Amount

The discount is the difference between the marked price and the selling price.

Discount Amount = Marked Price (MP) - Selling Price (SP)

Discount Amount $= 125 - 100 = \text{Rs } 25$

Step 5: Calculate the Discount Percentage on Marked Price

The discount percentage is always calculated on the marked price unless otherwise specified.

Discount Percentage $= \left( \frac{\text{Discount Amount}}{\text{Marked Price}} \right) \times 100\%$

Discount Percentage $= \left( \frac{25}{125} \right) \times 100\%$

Discount Percentage $= \left( \frac{1}{5} \right) \times 100\%$

Discount Percentage $= 20\%$

So, the mustard oil should be sold at 20% less than the marked price to have no profit and no loss.

Let's summarise the values we found:

Concept Value (assuming CP = Rs 100)
Cost Price (CP) Rs 100
Marked Price (MP) Rs 125
Selling Price (SP) for No Profit/Loss Rs 100
Discount Amount Rs 25
Discount Percentage on MP 20%

Revision Table: Key Terms in Profit and Loss

Term Description Relationship
Cost Price (CP) The price at which an item is bought. Basis for calculating profit/loss.
Marked Price (MP) The price listed on the tag; often higher than CP. Basis for calculating discount.
Selling Price (SP) The price at which an item is sold. Determines profit or loss (SP - CP).
Profit When SP > CP. Profit = SP - CP
Loss When SP < CP. Loss = CP - SP
Discount Reduction offered on MP. Discount = MP - SP
No Profit, No Loss When SP = CP. Profit = 0, Loss = 0

Additional Information: Profit, Loss, and Discount Concepts

  • Profit Percentage: Calculated on CP. $\text{Profit \%} = \left( \frac{\text{Profit}}{\text{CP}} \right) \times 100\%$.
  • Loss Percentage: Calculated on CP. $\text{Loss \%} = \left( \frac{\text{Loss}}{\text{CP}} \right) \times 100\%$.
  • Discount Percentage: Calculated on MP. $\text{Discount \%} = \left( \frac{\text{Discount}}{\text{MP}} \right) \times 100\%$.
  • In problems involving marked price and selling price, the relationship is often: $\text{SP} = \text{MP} \times \left( \frac{100 - \text{Discount \%}}{100} \right)$.
  • When there is 'no profit, no loss', it simply means the selling price is exactly equal to the cost price.
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Similar Questions

  1. An electronic store owner allows two successive discounts of 20% and 25% on each item. The store has a reward points scheme which enables a customer to get free shopping worth ₹0.10 on every 1 reward point credited to the customer’s account on previous purchases from the store. A customer decides to buy a laptop that is marked at ₹72,000. What will be its net selling price if he has 2850 reward points to his credit?

  2. A trader allows a 20% trade discount and a 30% cash discount. If the list price is Rs. 1,200, then the selling price (in Rs.) is:

  3. Three successive discounts of 15%, 20% and 25% are given. What will be the net discount in percentage?

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  5. The successive discounts of 12%, 20% and 25% are equivalent to a single discount of:

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  8. On purchase of articles worth Rs. 10,000, a shopkeeper offers a flat discount of Rs. 500 to his customers. Further, by shopping using a credit card, he gives an additional discount of 7%. If a customer purchases article worth Rs.10000 using a credit card, then how much is he/she required to pay?

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Important Questions from Discount and MP

  1. A single discount equivalent to two successive discounts of 15% and 25% is:

  2. Ramesh purchases 75 articles for ₹ 10800 and sells them at a loss equal to the selling price of 5 articles. What will be the selling price of one article?

  3. A TV was available for Rs. 14,500. The price came down to Rs. 11,890 during the Diwali sale. What is the percentage discount?

  4. A shopkeeper marks the marked price of an article 30% more than its real price and offers 10% discount. What is the gain percentage?

  5. An article was sold for Rs. 1,215 after giving a discount of 19%. If a discount of 17.5% is given, then for how much (in Rs.) should the article be sold?

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