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Profit and loss practice questions for bank exams

By the PrepMatic team · Updated 9 Oct 2026 · 3 min read

Profit and loss questions link cost price (CP), selling price (SP), marked price (MP) and discount. Profit and loss are always worked on the cost price, and a discount is always worked on the marked price. Most bank-exam questions are one idea in a short story, so the skill is spotting which idea it is. Try the five below at prelims pace.

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Five practice questions

Question 1

The cost price of 12 articles equals the selling price of 10 articles. What is the profit percentage?

• A. 16 2/3%
• B. 20%
• C. 25%
• D. 10%

Question 2

A shopkeeper marks an article 40% above its cost price and allows a discount of 15%. What is his profit percentage?

• A. 19%
• B. 21%
• C. 25%
• D. 15%

Question 3

A sells an article to B at a profit of 20%. B sells it to C at a loss of 10%, and C pays ₹4,860. What was the cost price of the article for A?

• A. ₹4,000
• B. ₹4,200
• C. ₹4,500
• D. ₹4,860

Question 4

A trader sells two articles at ₹1,980 each. On one he gains 10% and on the other he loses 10%. What is his overall result?

• A. No profit, no loss
• B. 1% profit
• C. 2% loss
• D. 1% loss

Question 5

A shopkeeper sells goods at cost price but uses a weight of 900 g in place of 1 kg. What is his gain percentage?

• A. 10%
• B. 11 1/9%
• C. 12.5%
• D. 9 1/11%

Answers and explanations

1. B. Let one article cost ₹1, so 12 articles cost ₹12. That amount is the selling price of 10 articles, so one article sells for ₹1.20 and the profit is 20%. The 16 2/3% option divides by 12, the wrong base.
2. A. Take CP as 100. The marked price is 140, and the selling price is 140 × 0.85 = 119. The profit is 19%.
3. C. Let A's cost be x. B pays 1.2x, and C pays 1.2x × 0.9 = 1.08x. So 1.08x = 4,860, and x = 4,860 ÷ 1.08 = 4,500.
4. D. The first article cost 1,980 ÷ 1.1 = 1,800. The second cost 1,980 ÷ 0.9 = 2,200. Total cost is 4,000 and total sales are 3,960, a loss of ₹40, or 1% of the cost. The shortcut p²/100 = 100/100 = 1% agrees.
5. B. For every 900 g he hands over, he is paid for 1,000 g. The gain is 100 on a base of 900, so 100 ÷ 900 × 100 = 11 1/9%. The 9 1/11% option uses 1,100 as the base.

How to prepare profit and loss

• Fix the base before you calculate. Profit and loss use CP, and discount uses MP. Write "base = CP" on your rough sheet until it is automatic.
• Chain the multipliers. A 20% profit then a 10% loss is ×1.2 × 0.9 = 1.08 (as in Question 3). Work with CP = 100 and avoid fractions.
• Memorise the same-SP result. The overall loss in Question 4 follows from p²/100. If p = 20, the loss is 4%.
• Convert "x for y" statements with the formula in the table. The wrong base is the favourite distractor, so test which option comes from dividing by the wrong number.
• Practise discount series. Two successive discounts of a% and b% equal a + b − ab/100 together.
• Sense-check the answer. If SP is greater than CP, the result must be a profit, and a marked price above the cost price still does not guarantee one after discount.

Mains-level sets can combine profit and loss with ratio or partnership. After this page, try ratio and proportion in the same sitting.

The full profit and loss topic test is on PrepMatic (about 15 questions, 30 minutes). Check the Quantitative Aptitude guide for where this topic sits in the Quant section, and the bank exam hub for each exam's pattern.

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