If Sohan, while selling two goats at the same price, makes a profit of 10% on one goat and suffers a loss of 10% on the other
- (a) he makes no profit and no loss.
- (b) he makes a profit of 1%.
- (c) he suffers a loss of 1%. ✓ UPSC's answer
- (d) he suffers a loss of 2%.
Why the answer is (c)
• Let the same selling price of each goat be 100.
• For the goat sold at 10% profit, cost price = 100 / (11/10) = 1000/11.
• For the goat sold at 10% loss, cost price = 100 / (9/10) = 1000/9, so total cost price = 1000/11 + 1000/9 = 20000/99 and total selling price = 200.
• Loss = 20000/99 - 200 = 200/99, and loss percentage = (200/99) / (20000/99) * 100 = 1%, so option (c) follows.
Why the other options are wrong
- (a) he makes no profit and no loss.
- Total cost price 20000/99 is greater than total selling price 200, so there is a loss, not no profit and no loss.
- (b) he makes a profit of 1%.
- Total selling price 200 is less than total cost price 20000/99, so the result is a loss, not a profit of 1%.
- (d) he suffers a loss of 2%.
- The computed loss percentage is (200/99) / (20000/99) * 100 = 1%, not 2%.
Asked in the CSAT Paper II of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2014, held on 24 August 2014. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.