Instead of a metre scale, a cloth merchant uses a faulty 120 cm scale

Question

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 (in percentage)?

A. 20
B. 30
C. 40
D. 45
E. 50

This is a  PS Butler Question

Check the links to other Butler Projects:

Data Sufficiency Butler  
  Critical Reasoning Butler  
  Sentence Correction Butler  
  Reading Comprehension Butler  
  Integrated Reasoning Butler

Krunaal · Answer

Let's assume price of 1cm cloth = $1

He buys 120 cm of cloth for the price of 100 cm => Buying Price = $100

He uses a faulty 80 cm scale to sell the cloth i.e. he sells 80 cm of cloth for the price of 100 cm, and offers a 20% discount => Selling Price = 0.8 * 100 = $80

Now, he has 40cm of cloth left with him, its value is $40

His Profit is =>  Selling Price - Buying Price + Value of cloth left with him 
=> 80 - 100 + 40 =  $20

Profit % = Profit / Buying Price = 20 / 100 =  20%

Answer A.

Rod728 · Answer

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 (in percentage)?

A. 20
B. 30
C. 40
D. 45
E. 50

I solved this in 3 steps, please check:

- He is buying 120cm of cloth for the price of 100cm ->>> he gets 120/100= 1.2 times the cloth he is paying for
- He is selling 80 cm of cloth but the price is for 100 cm ->> he is selling 100/80 = 1.25 times more the price than the actual cloth's length
- Finally, he sells the cloth at 80% of the price (20% discount) ->> 1.25*0.8 = 1 ->> this means that the final price with the discount included its 1 and the profit only comes from the cost.

Overall profit = (1.2-1) *100 = 20%
Why? Because you received 1.2 quantity and you are selling it for P=1 ->>> Answer = A

tgsankar10 · Answer

Merchant uses  120cm  scale while buying. So merchant pays for  100cm  and gets  120cm  of cloth. So profit while buying is    20	ext{%}

Merchant uses  80cm  scale for selling. Merchant receives money for  100cm  but delivers only  80cm . So profit while selling is  25	ext{%} .

Merchant gives  20	ext{%}  on the sale price. While selling  100cm , merchant gets money for  80cm . So the profit gained earlier with using  80cm  scale is equalized.

Overall profit obtained is with profit gained while buying.  20	ext{%}

Answer: A

Edoua · Answer

Merchant uses 120cm while buying and 80cm while selling.

For a quantity of LCM(120,80) =240cm

For 100$ per scale used for each measurement the merchant will spend 200$ while buying and earn 300 $ while selling

Considering that he offers discounts of 20% selling price because 300*(80/100)=240$

Profit percentage = (240-200/200)*100= 40/200)*100 =20%

Answer A

Posted from my mobile device

sayan640 · Answer

Lets Say , the merchant gets 120cm in 100$ because 100 cm costs 100$.
While selling he sells 80 cm at the cost of 100 cm cloth i.e at the price of 100$
He sells 1 cm at the price of 100/80
He sells 120cm at the price of ( 100 / 80) * 120 = 150
A discount 20% or 1/5 is given ; Hence the final price at which he sells = 150 * 4/5 = 120$
Profit = 120 - 100 = 20

Ans is A.
 GMATinsight

faisal230 · Answer

Assume, 120 cm buy for 100$ 
80 cm sell for 100$ so, 
120cm sell for 150$
20% discount on selling price 
so 20/100 * 150 - 150$ = 120$ 
is selling price

So,
buying price 100$
Selling price 120$

So answer is 20%

Instead of a metre scale, a cloth merchant uses a faulty 120 cm scale

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Problem Solving (PS) Questions

Instead of a metre scale, a cloth merchant uses a faulty 120 cm scale

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards