Profit and Loss Questions for SSC GD

Basic Definitions

Cost Price (CP) is the price at which you BUY an item. Selling Price (SP) is the price at which you SELL it. If SP is more than CP, you make a Profit. If SP is less than CP, you make a Loss. Always remember: Profit and Loss are calculated ON the Cost Price, not on Selling Price — this is where most students slip.

• Profit = SP - CP (when SP > CP)
• Loss = CP - SP (when CP > SP)
• Profit% = (Profit / CP) x 100
• Loss% = (Loss / CP) x 100
• SP = CP x (100 + Profit%) / 100
• CP = SP x 100 / (100 + Profit%) — use this to find CP when SP and profit% are given

Marked Price and Discount

Marked Price (MP) is the printed or labelled price on the item — like the MRP tag. Discount is a reduction given on the Marked Price. After discount, what you actually pay is the Selling Price. So SP = MP minus Discount. Discount percent is always calculated on Marked Price, NOT on Cost Price.

• Discount = MP - SP
• Discount% = (Discount / MP) x 100
• SP = MP x (100 - Discount%) / 100
• To find overall discount when two discounts are given: use successive discount formula
• Successive discounts of a% and b% = a + b - (ab/100)

Dishonest Shopkeeper (False Weight)

A very popular SSC GD trap question: a shopkeeper claims to sell at cost price but uses a false weight (for example, uses 900g weight instead of 1000g). He earns profit without actually raising the price. The profit percent here is based on the difference between true weight and false weight.

• Profit% = [(True Weight - False Weight) / False Weight] x 100
• Example: claims to sell 1kg but actually gives 800g — Profit% = (1000-800)/800 x 100 = 25%
• Remember: denominator is FALSE weight (what he actually gives), not the true weight
• This type of question appears directly in SSC GD — memorise the formula

Selling Two Items — Equal SP or Equal CP

Another favourite SSC GD question type: two items sold at the same selling price, one at x% profit and one at x% loss. Here there is ALWAYS a net loss. The formula gives the overall loss percent directly. Do not assume profit and loss cancel out — they do not.

• When two items are sold at same SP, one at x% profit and one at x% loss — there is always a net loss
• Net Loss% = (x squared) / 100
• The loss is on total cost price, not selling price
• This trap question is asked almost every year in SSC papers

• Calculating profit% on Selling Price instead of Cost Price — always divide by CP, never SP
• In successive discounts, simply adding the two percentages (like 20% + 10% = 30%) instead of using the correct formula (actual answer is 28%)
• In false weight problems, dividing by True Weight instead of False Weight in the denominator
• Thinking profit% and loss% cancel out when two items are sold at same SP — there is always a net loss
• Confusing Marked Price with Cost Price — discount is always on MP, profit/loss is always on CP

• PCSL Rule: Profit and Loss are always Calculated on the Selling side? NO — on CP. Remember: PC = Profit on Cost.
• For false weight: GIVE is the denominator. What the shopkeeper GIVES (false weight) goes in the bottom.
• Same SP = net LOSS always. Think of it as two sides of a seesaw that always tips toward loss when the percentages are equal.
• Successive discount trick: Two discounts a and b are NEVER simply a+b. Always subtract the overlap: a+b minus ab/100. Think of a Venn diagram — the overlapping part gets counted twice so you subtract it once.

• SSC GD typically asks 2-3 questions from this topic. Most are direct formula-based: given CP and profit%, find SP — do not overthink.
• The false weight shopkeeper question and the equal SP (both sold at same percentage) question appear almost every exam cycle — practise these two types until they feel automatic.
• Questions use round numbers like 400, 800, 1200, 1500 — avoid long division by using percentage shortcuts (20% of 400 = 80).
• If a question gives you marked price and two successive discounts, always apply the formula rather than calculating step by step — it saves 30-40 seconds.
• Difficulty level is easy to medium. Target to solve each Profit and Loss question in under 60 seconds. Skip and return if you see a multi-step word problem taking too long.