Concept 5 of 7
Indian Money: Rupees, Paise and Profit or Loss
Today's big idea
Profit or loss is the gap between CP and SP, and the percent is always on CP.
Dividing profit by the selling price is the classic slip; divide by cost price.
How it works
👀 What's going on?
A shopkeeper pays one price and asks for another. The gap between those two prices is where the whole business lives. Its name depends on which price is bigger.
💡 Here's the trick
Look at the flow above. Cost price is what the seller paid, and selling price is what the buyer pays. If the selling price is higher, the gap is profit. If it is lower, the gap is loss. One rupee is 100 paise. Profit percent is always worked out on the cost price.
🪄 How to do it
- 1.Label the two amounts in the flow above as cost price and selling price.
- 2.Take the smaller away from the bigger to get the gap.
- 3.For a percent, divide the gap by the cost price and times 100.
✍️ Try it
A lamp costs a shop ₹250 and sells for ₹300. Find the profit and the profit percent on cost price. Then: a bag marked ₹750 sells for ₹625, so what is the discount?
The gap is 300 minus 250, which is ₹50. Divide 50 by 250 and times 100 to get 20 percent. The discount on the bag is 750 minus 625, or ₹125.
⚠️ Watch out
You might be thinking profit percent is the gap divided by the selling price. It is not. Divide by the cost price, or a ₹50 profit on ₹250 looks smaller than it really is.
🌟 Why this matters
Every shop, stall and online sale runs on the gap between cost price and selling price. Knowing it tells you whether a discount is truly a bargain.
Exam tip: Write CP and SP beside the numbers first, because half the errors here are mix-ups.
Watch me solve one
Quanta solves it
“Watch how I think through one of these — then you try.”
THE PROBLEM
“CP = ₹120, SP = ₹150. Find the profit.”
- 1
Compare SP and CP
150 > 120 → there is a PROFIT. ₹
- 2
Use the formula
Profit = SP − CP
- 3
Subtract
150 − 120 = 30.
- 4
Answer ✓
Profit = ₹30.
Now you try one — same steps, different story 👇
See it in action
⚡ Time to play!
CP = cost price · SP = selling price · MP = marked price. Compare first, then subtract.
MONEY · ROUND 1 OF 3
Cost price ₹250, selling price ₹310.
Quick check
✅ VERIFICATION
A cycle bought for ₹4,000 is sold for ₹3,600. What is the LOSS?
⚡ Finish the activity above first to answer.
Keep going!
Up next: Foreign Currency
₹ ÷ rate = foreign. Pick the direction first.