Question

A merchant buys two articles for Rs.800. He sells one of them at a profit of 13% and the other at a loss of 7% and makes no profit or loss in the end. What is the selling price of the article that he sold at a loss?

• A. Rs. 520
• B. Rs. 483.6
• C. Rs. 280
• D. Rs. 316.4

Answer 1

The correct option is B Rs. 483.6

Let the CP of the two articles be x and 800-x
Loss from article which was sold at 13% profit $=x\times \left(\frac{13}{100}\right)$
Profit from article sold at 7% loss $=(800-x)\left(\frac{7}{100}\right)$
Overall profit/loss = 0
Then, $x\times \left(\frac{13}{100}\right)+(800-x)(-\frac{7}{100})=0$
Solving, we get x=280
SP of article sold at 7% loss $=520(1-\left(\frac{7}{100}\right)=Rs.483.6$
(PS: Method of alligation can be used for a simpler solution)