Question

A shopkeeper marks an article at Rs 2,500 and offers a discount of 20%. If the cost price of the article is Rs 1,700, what is the profit percentage earned?

• A. 15.5%
• B. 17.6%
• C. 20%
• D. 22.4%

Hint:

Always remember that discount is computed on the Marked Price ($MP$), while profit or loss percentage is calculated on the Cost Price ($CP$).
To speed up calculations during the exam, use multiplier decimals: a 20% discount is equivalent to multiplying the $MP$ by 0.8 directly, which yields the $SP$ instantly.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Step 1: Note down what is given.
The marked price is $2500$, the discount is $20\%$, and the cost price is $1700$. We want the profit percent.

Step 2: Find the selling price quickly.
A $20\%$ discount means the buyer pays $80\%$ of the marked price. So just take $80\%$ of $2500$.

Step 3: Do the multiplication.
\[ SP = 2500 \times \frac{80}{100} = 2000 \]

Step 4: Find the profit in rupees.
Profit is selling price minus cost price, so $2000 - 1700 = 300$.

Step 5: Turn the profit into a percent.
Profit percent is the profit divided by the cost price, times $100$. \[ \frac{300}{1700} \times 100 \]

Step 6: Simplify the fraction.
$\frac{300}{1700}$ is the same as $\frac{3}{17}$, and $\frac{3}{17} \times 100 \approx 17.6$.

Step 7: State the answer.
The shopkeeper earns about $17.6\%$ profit. \[ \boxed{17.6\%} \]