Easy Tutorial
For Competitive Exams

A merchant buys 80 articles, each at Rs. 40. He sells n of them at a profit of n% and the remaining at a profit of (100 – n)%. What is the minimum profit the merchant could have made on this trade?

Rs. 2160
Rs. 1420
Rs. 1580
Rs. 2210
Explanation:

CP = 80 × 40
Profit from the n objects = n% × 40 × n.
Profit from the remaining objects = (100 – n)% × 40 × (80 – n).
We need to find the minimum possible value of n% × 40 × n + (100 – n)% × 40 × (80 – n).
Or, we need to find the minimum possible value of n^2 + (100 – n) (80 – n).
Minimum of n^2 + n^2 – 180n + 8000
Minimum of n^2 – 90n + 4000
Minimum of n^2 – 90n + 2025 – 2025 + 4000
We add and subtract 2025 to this expression in order to crate an expression that can be expressed as a perfect square.

Minimum of n^2 – 90n + 2025 + 1975 = (n – 45)^2 + 1975
This reaches minimum when n = 45.
When n = 45, the minimum profit made
45% × 40 × 45 + 55% × 40 × 35
18 × 45 + 22 × 35 = 810 + 770 = 1580

The question is "What is the minimum profit the merchant could have made on this trade?"
Hence, the answer is Rs. 1580.
Additional Questions

A merchant can buy goods at the rate of Rs. 20 per good. The particular good is part of an overall collection and the value is linked to the number of items that are already on the market. So, the merchant sells the first good for Rs. 2, second one for Rs. 4, third for Rs. 6…and so on. If he wants to make an overall profit of at least 40%, what is the minimum number of goods he should sell?

Answer

Rakesh bought 20 chairs for Rs.1000. He repaired and sold them at the rate of Rs.500 per pair. He got profit of Rs.100 per chair. How much did he spend on repairs?

Answer

There were three partners, A, B, C in a business, and each had a share of the profits in proportion to his capital. A’s capital was Rs.240; B’s Rs.640; and A’ share was Rs.15 in every Rs.100. Find B’s share of profits and C’s capital.

Answer

The marked price of a Pant and a T-Shirt are in the ratio of 2 : 3. The shopkeeper gives 40% discount on the Pant. If the total discount on the Pant and the T-Shirt is 40% the discount offered on the T-Shirt is

Answer

A, B and C participated in a burger eating competition. A beat C by 18 burgers. A also beat B by eating 50% more burger than B. Also B had eaten 5 percentage points more burger than C. Find the overall number of burgers that were eaten.

Answer

Rahim marks up all Jeans in his shop 20% higher. He gave 25% discount on 2/5th of the total Jeans and 12% discount on 1/4th of the total Jeans. If Rahim gets an overall profit of 2.3%, then what percentage of discount should be given by Rahim to customers on the remaining Jeans.

Answer

A shopkeeper gives 25% discount on an article and makes a profit of 10%. If the cost price of the article is Rs 300 then what is the marked price?

Answer

Vivek bought 5 dozen apples at the rate of Rs.15 per dozen. He spent Rs.15 on transportation. If he sold the apples at the rate of Rs.24 per dozen, what was his profit percentage?

Answer

A merchant buys 80 articles, each at Rs. 40. He sells n of them at a profit of n% and the remaining at a profit of (100 – n)%. What is the minimum profit the merchant could have made on this trade?

Answer

A merchant can buy goods at the rate of Rs. 20 per good. The particular good is part of an overall collection and the value is linked to the number of items that are already on the market. So, the merchant sells the first good for Rs. 2, second one for Rs. 4, third for Rs. 6…and so on. If he wants to make an overall profit of at least 40%, what is the minimum number of goods he should sell?

Answer
Share with Friends
Privacy Copyright Contact Us