Top 70 CAT Profit, Loss and Interest Questions With Solutions

To help students overcome this difficulty, we have compiled a comprehensive collection of CAT profit and loss questions from CAT previous years' papers in pdf format with accompanying video solutions. Every question has its video solution that is explained by CAT experts. One can also download the PDF for free without signing up. Click the link below to download the CAT profit, loss and interest questions PDF with detailed video solutions.

CAT Profit, Loss And Interest Questions Weightage Over Past 5 Years

Year

Weightage

2022

4

2021

5

2020

8

2019

7

2018

2

CAT Profit, Loss and Interest Equations Formulas PDF

Profit and loss, Simple interest and Compound interest are some of the essential topics in the quantitative aptitude section, and it is vital to have a clear understanding of the formulas related to them. To help the aspirants to ace this topic, we have made a PDF containing a comprehensive list of formulas, tips, and tricks that you can use to solve Profit, loss and interest questions with ease and speed. Click on the below link to download the CAT profit, loss and interest formulas PDF.

CAT 2022 Profit, Loss and Interest questions

Question 1

Mr. Pinto invests one-fifth of his capital at 6%, one-third at 10% and the remaining at 1%, each rate being simple interest per annum. Then, the minimum number of years required for the cumulative interest income from these investments to equal or exceed his initial capital is


Question 2

Nitu has an initial capital of ₹20,000. Out of this, she invests ₹8,000 at 5.5% in bank A, ₹5,000 at 5.6% in bank B and the remaining amount at x% in bank C, each rate being simple interest per annum. Her combined annual interest income from these investments is equal to 5% of the initial capital. If she had invested her entire initial capital in bank C alone, then her annual interest income, in rupees, would have been


Question 3

Amal buys 110 kg of syrup and 120 kg of juice, syrup being 20% less costly than juice, per kg. He sells 10 kg of syrup at 10% profit and 20 kg of juice at 20% profit. Mixing the remaining juice and syrup, Amal sells the mixture at ₹ 308.32 per kg and makes an overall profit of 64%. Then, Amal’s cost price for syrup, in rupees per kg, is


Question 4

Alex invested his savings in two parts. The simple interest earned on the first part at 15% per annum for 4 years is the same as the simple interest earned on the second part at 12% per annum for 3 years. Then, the percentage of his savings invested in the first part is

CAT 2021 Profit, Loss and Interest questions

Question 1

Raj invested ₹ 10000 in a fund. At the end of first year, he incurred a loss but his balance was more than ₹ 5000. This balance, when invested for another year, grew and the percentage of growth in the second year was five times the percentage of loss in the first year. If the gain of Raj from the initial investment over the two year period is 35%, then the percentage of loss in the first year is


Question 2

Amal purchases some pens at ₹ 8 each. To sell these, he hires an employee at a fixed wage. He sells 100 of these pens at ₹ 12 each. If the remaining pens are sold at ₹ 11 each, then he makes a net profit of ₹ 300, while he makes a net loss of ₹ 300 if the remaining pens are sold at ₹ 9 each. The wage of the employee, in INR, is


Question 3

Anil invests some money at a fixed rate of interest, compounded annually. If the interests accrued during the second and third year are ₹ 806.25 and ₹ 866.72, respectively, the interest accrued, in INR, during the fourth year is nearest to


Question 4

Bank A offers 6% interest rate per annum compounded half-yearly. Bank B and Bank C offer simple interest but the annual interest rate offered by Bank C is twice that of Bank B. Raju invests a certain amount in Bank B for a certain period and Rupa invests ₹ 10,000 in Bank C for twice that period. The interest that would accrue to Raju during that period is equal to the interest that would have accrued had he invested the same amount in Bank A for one year. The interest accrued, in INR, to Rupa is


Question 5

Anil, Bobby, and Chintu jointly invest in a business and agree to share the overall profit in proportion to their investments. Anil’s share of investment is 70%. His share of profit decreases by ₹ 420 if the overall profit goes down from 18% to 15%. Chintu’s share of profit increases by ₹ 80 if the overall profit goes up from 15% to 17%. The amount, in INR, invested by Bobby is

CAT 2020 Profit, Loss and Interest questions

Question 1

For the same principal amount, the compound interest for two years at 5% per annum exceeds the simple interest for three years at 3% per annum by Rs 1125. Then the principal amount in rupees is


Question 2

In the final examination, Bishnu scored 52% and Asha scored 64%. The marks obtained by Bishnu is 23 less, and that by Asha is 34 more than the marks obtained by Ramesh. The marks obtained by Geeta, who scored 84%, is


Question 3

A person spent Rs 50000 to purchase a desktop computer and a laptop computer. He sold the desktop at 20% profit and the laptop at 10% loss. If overall he made a 2% profit then the purchase price, in rupees, of the desktop is


Question 4

A person invested a certain amount of money at 10% annual interest, compounded half-yearly. After one and a half years, the interest and principal together became Rs.18522. The amount, in rupees, that the person had invested is


Question 5

A man buys 35 kg of sugar and sets a marked price in order to make a 20% profit. He sells 5 kg at this price, and 15 kg at a 10% discount. Accidentally, 3 kg of sugar is wasted. He sells the remaining sugar by raising the marked price by p percent so as to make an overall profit of 15%. Then p is nearest to


Question 6

Anil buys 12 toys and labels each with the same selling price. He sells 8 toys initially at 20% discount on the labeled price. Then he sells the remaining 4 toys at an additional 25% discount on the discounted price. Thus, he gets a total of Rs 2112, and makes a 10% profit. With no discounts, his percentage of profit would have been


Question 7

In a group of people, 28% of the members are young while the rest are old. If 65% of the members are literates, and 25% of the literates are young, then the percentage of old people among the illiterates is nearest to


Question 8

Veeru invested Rs 10000 at 5% simple annual interest, and exactly after two years, Joy invested Rs 8000 at 10% simple annual interest. How many years after Veeru’s investment, will their balances, i.e., principal plus accumulated interest, be equal?

CAT 2019 Profit, Loss and Interest questions

Question 1

Amal invests Rs 12000 at 8% interest, compounded annually, and Rs 10000 at 6% interest, compounded semi-annually, both investments being for one year. Bimal invests his money at 7.5% simple interest for one year. If Amal and Bimal get the same amount of interest, then the amount, in Rupees, invested by Bimal is


Question 2

The income of Amala is 20% more than that of Bimala and 20% less than that of Kamala. If Kamala's income goes down by 4% and Bimala's goes up by 10%, then the percentage by which Kamala's income would exceed Bimala's is nearest to


Question 3

Meena scores 40% in an examination and after review, even though her score is increased by 50%, she fails by 35 marks. If her post-review score is increased by 20%, she will have 7 marks more than the passing score. The percentage score needed for passing the examination is


Question 4

A person invested a total amount of Rs 15 lakh. A part of it was invested in a fixed deposit earning 6% annual interest, and the remaining amount was invested in two other deposits in the ratio 2 : 1, earning annual interest at the rates of 4% and 3%, respectively. If the total annual interest income is Rs 76000 then the amount (in Rs lakh) invested in the fixed deposit was


Question 5

On selling a pen at 5% loss and a book at 15% gain, Karim gains Rs. 7. If he sells the pen at 5% gain and the book at 10% gain, he gains Rs. 13. What is the cost price of the book in Rupees?


Question 6

A shopkeeper sells two tables, each procured at cost price p, to Amal and Asim at a profit of 20% and at a loss of 20%, respectively. Amal sells his table to Bimal at a profit of 30%, while Asim sells his table to Barun at a loss of 30%. If the amounts paid by Bimal and Barun are x and y, respectively, then (x − y) / p equals


Question 7

Mukesh purchased 10 bicycles in 2017, all at the same price. He sold six of these at a profit of 25% and the remaining four at a loss of 25%. If he made a total profit of Rs. 2000, then his purchase price of a bicycle, in Rupees, was

CAT 2018 Profit, Loss and Interest questions

Question 1

John borrowed Rs. 2,10,000 from a bank at an interest rate of 10% per annum, compounded annually. The loan was repaid in two equal instalments, the first after one year and the second after another year. The first instalment was interest of one year plus part of the principal amount, while the second was the rest of the principal amount plus due interest thereon. Then each instalment, in Rs., is


Question 2

Gopal borrows Rs. X from Ankit at 8% annual interest. He then adds Rs. Y of his own money and lends Rs. X+Y to Ishan at 10% annual interest. At the end of the year, after returning Ankit’s dues, the net interest retained by Gopal is the same as that accrued to Ankit. On the other hand, had Gopal lent Rs. X+2Y to Ishan at 10%, then the net interest retained by him would have increased by Rs. 150. If all interests are compounded annually, then find the value of X + Y.

CAT 2017 Profit, Loss and Interest questions

Question 1

Ravi invests 50% of his monthly savings in fixed deposits. Thirty percent of the rest of his savings is invested in stocks and the rest goes into Ravi's savings bank account. If the total amount deposited by him in the bank (for savings account and fixed deposits) is Rs 59500, then Ravi's total monthly savings (in Rs) is


Question 2

If a seller gives a discount of 15% on retail price, she still makes a profit of 2%. Which of the following ensures that she makes a profit of 20%?


Question 3

The manufacturer of a table sells it to a wholesale dealer at a profit of 10%. The wholesale dealer sells the table to a retailer at a profit of 30% Finally, the retailer sells it to a customer at a profit of 50%. If the customer pays Rs 4290 for the table, then its manufacturing cost (in Rs) is


Question 4

Suppose, C1, C2, C3, C4, and C5 are five companies. The profits made by Cl, C2, and C3 are in the ratio 9 : 10 : 8 while the profits made by C2, C4, and C5 are in the ratio 18 : 19 : 20. If C5 has made a profit of Rs 19 crore more than C1, then the total profit (in Rs) made by all five companies is


Question 5

Mayank buys some candies for Rs 15 a dozen and an equal number of different candies for Rs 12 a dozen. He sells all for Rs 16.50 a dozen and makes a profit of Rs 150. How many dozens of candies did he buy altogether?


Question 6

In a market, the price of medium quality mangoes is half that of good mangoes. A shopkeeper buys 80 kg good mangoes and 40 kg medium quality mangoes from the market and then sells all these at a common price which is 10% less than the price at which he bought the good ones. His overall profit is


Question 7

If Fatima sells 60 identical toys at a 40% discount on the printed price, then she makes 20% profit. Ten of these toys are destroyed in fire. While selling the rest, how much discount should be given on the printed price so that she can make the same amount of profit?

CAT 2008 Profit, Loss and Interest questions

Question 1

Five horses, Red, White, Grey, Black and Spotted participated in a race. As per the rules of the race, the persons betting on the winning horse get four times the bet amount and those betting on the horse that came in second get thrice the bet amount. Moreover, the bet amount is returned to those betting on the horse that came in third, and the rest lose the bet amount. Raju bets Rs. 3000, Rs. 2000 and Rs. 1000 on Red, White and Black horses respectively and ends up with no profit and no loss.

Which of the following cannot be true?


Question 2

Five horses, Red, White, Grey, Black and Spotted participated in a race. As per the rules of the race, the persons betting on the winning horse get four times the bet amount and those betting on the horse that came in second get thrice the bet amount. Moreover, the bet amount is returned to those betting on the horse that came in third, and the rest lose the bet amount. Raju bets Rs. 3000, Rs. 2000 and Rs. 1000 on Red, White and Black horses respectively and ends up with no profit and no loss.

Suppose, in addition, it is known that Grey came in fourth. Then which of the following cannot be true?

CAT 2007 Profit, Loss and Interest questions

Question 1

The maximum guaranteed return to Shabnam is


Question 2

What strategy will maximize the guaranteed return to Shabnam?


Question 3

How many units should Mr. David produce daily?


Question 4

What is the maximum daily profit, in rupees, that Mr. David can realize from his business?

CAT 2001 Profit, Loss and Interest questions

Question 1

Two men X and Y started working for a certain company at similar jobs on January 1, 1950. X asked for an initial monthly salary of Rs. 300 with an annual increment of Rs. 30. Y asked for an initial monthly salary of Rs. 200 with a rise of Rs. 15 every 6 months. Assume that the arrangements remained unaltered till December 31, 1959. Salary is paid on the last day of the month. What is the total amount paid to them as salary during the period?


Question 2

The owner of an art shop conducts his business in the following manner: every once in a while he raises his prices by X%, then a while later he reduces all the new prices by X%. After one such updown cycle, the price of a painting decreased by Rs. 441. After a second up-down cycle the painting was sold for Rs. 1,944.81. What was the original price of the painting?

CAT 1999 Profit, Loss and Interest questions

Question 1

If Ghosh Babu stopped playing the game when his gain would be maximized, the gain in Rs. would have been


Question 2

The initial money Ghosh Babu had (before the beginning of the game sessions) was Rs. X. At no point did he have to borrow any money. What is the minimum possible value of X?


Question 3

If the final amount of money that Ghosh Babu had with him was Rs. 100, what was the initial amount he had with him?

CAT 1998 Profit, Loss and Interest questions

Question 1

A yearly payment to the servant is Rs. 90 plus one turban. The servant leaves the job after 9 months and receives Rs. 65 and a turban. Then find the price of the turban.


Question 2

What is the maximum current gain possible?


Question 3

If the USA dollar becomes cheap by 12% over its original cost and the cost of German mark increased by 20%, what will be the gain? (The selling price is not altered.)

CAT 1997 Profit, Loss and Interest questions

Question 1

After allowing a discount of 11.11%, a trader still makes a gain of 14.28%. At how many percentage above the cost price does he mark on his goods?


Question 2

A dealer buys dry fruits at Rs. 100, Rs. 80 and Rs. 60 per kilogram. He mixes them in the ratio 3 : 4 : 5 by weight, and sells at a profit of 50%. At what price per kilogram does he sell the dry fruits?


Question 3

A man earns x% on the first Rs. 2,000 and y% on the rest of his income. If he earns Rs. 700 from income of Rs. 4,000 and Rs. 900 from Rs. 5,000 of income, find x%.

CAT 1996 Profit, Loss and Interest questions

Question 1

Instead of a metre scale, a cloth merchant uses a faulty 120 cm scale while buying, but uses a faulty 80 cm scale while selling the same cloth. If he offers a discount of 20%, what is his overall profit percentage?


Question 2

The cost of diamond varies directly as the square of its weight. Once, this diamond broke into four pieces with weights in the ratio 1 : 2 : 3 : 4. When the pieces were sold, the merchant got Rs. 70,000 less. Find the original price of the diamond.


Question 3

Once I had been to the post office to buy five-rupee, two-rupee and one-rupee stamps. I paid the clerk Rs. 20, and since he had no change, he gave me three more one-rupee stamps. If the number of stamps of each type that I had ordered initially was more than one, what was the total number of stamps that I had when I left the post office?


Question 4

The price of a Maruti car rises by 30% while the sales of the car come down by 20%. What is the percentage change in the total revenue?


Question 5

I sold two watches for Rs. 300 each, one at the loss of 10% and the other at the profit of 10%. What is the percentage of loss(-) or profit(+) that resulted from the transaction?


Question 6

If he is able to sell only 1,200 out of 1,500 watches he has made in the season (and the rest 300 are sold out of season), then he has made a profit of


Question 7

If he produces 1,500 watches, what is the number of watches that he must sell during the season in order to break-even, given that he is able to sell all the watches produced?


Question 8

What is the actual price per piece?


Question 9

What is the actual quantity sold?

CAT 1991 Profit, Loss and Interest questions

Question 1

Gopal went to a fruit market with certain amount of money. With this money he can buy either 50 oranges or 40 mangoes. He retains 10% of the money for taxi fare. If he buys 20 mangoes, then the maximum number of oranges he can buy is


Question 2

A sum of money compounded annually becomes Rs.625 in two years and Rs.675 in three years. The rate of interest per annum is


Question 3

An outgoing batch of students wants to gift PA system worth Rs.4200 to their school. If the teachers offer to pay 50% more than the students, and an external benefactor gives three times teachers. contribution, how much should the teachers donate?

CAT 1990 Profit, Loss and Interest questions

Question 1

In a stockpile of products produced by three machines M1, M2 and M3, 40% and 30% were manufactured by M1 and M2 respectively. 3% of the products of M1 are defective, 1% of products of M2 defective, while 95% of the products of M3 are not defective. What is the percentage of defective in the stockpile?


Question 2

Gopal went to a fruit market with certain amount of money. With this money he can buy either 50 oranges or 40 mangoes. He retains 10% of the money for taxi fare. If he buys 20 mangoes, then the number of oranges he can buy is


Question 3

The amount of property in gold and silver possessed by Ghosh Babu is


Question 4

Total property of Ghosh Babu (in Rs.lakh) is


Question 5

If the ratio of the gold to silver bars that Ghosh Babu had is 7:27, the number of silver bars he has is


Question 6

For the maximum profit, the number of colour TVs and VCRs that he should respectively stock are


Question 7

If the dealer would have managed to get an additional space to stock 20 more items, then for maximizing profit, the ratio of number of VCRs and number of TVs that he should stock is


Question 8

The maximum profit, in rupees lakh, the dealer can earn from his original stock if he can sell a colour TV at Rs. 12200 and VCR at Rs.18300 is

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