On an item with a marked price of Rs 10,000 there is a listed discount of 12%. However, the item is finally sold for Rs 8,360. What additional discount percentage, beyond the original 12% discount, did the customer effectively receive on the already discounted price?

Difficulty: Medium

Correct Answer: 5 percent

Explanation:


Introduction / Context:
This question examines the idea of successive discounts. An item first receives a standard discount on the marked price, and then the final selling price is even lower than expected. You must calculate the extra discount that has effectively been given beyond the initial advertised discount.


Given Data / Assumptions:

  • Marked price of the item = Rs 10,000.
  • Advertised discount on marked price = 12 percent.
  • Expected price after 12 percent discount = unknown.
  • Actual selling price to the customer = Rs 8,360.
  • We assume the extra discount is applied on the already reduced price after the first discount.


Concept / Approach:
First we compute the price after the original 12 percent discount. Then we compare this discounted price with the final selling price 8,360. The difference between these two prices is treated as an extra discount on the already discounted price. The extra discount percent is then: Extra discount percent = (Extra discount amount / Price after first discount) * 100.


Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Marked price = Rs 10,000. Step 2: Price after 12 percent discount = 10,000 * (1 - 12/100) = 10,000 * 0.88 = Rs 8,800. Step 3: Actual selling price = Rs 8,360. Step 4: Extra discount amount = 8,800 - 8,360 = Rs 440. Step 5: Extra discount percent = (440 / 8,800) * 100. Step 6: Simplify 440 / 8,800 = 1 / 20. Step 7: (1 / 20) * 100 = 5 percent.


Verification / Alternative check:
We can check the effective overall discount from the marked price. Overall effective discount = 10,000 - 8,360 = Rs 1,640. Effective discount percent = (1,640 / 10,000) * 100 = 16.4 percent. The sequence 12 percent first and then 5 percent on the reduced price gives an effective discount of: 10,000 * (1 - 0.12) = 8,800, then 8,800 * (1 - 0.05) = 8,360. This matches the final price, confirming that the extra discount is 5 percent.


Why Other Options Are Wrong:
4 percent: Gives a smaller reduction and would not bring the price down to Rs 8,360. 6 percent or 7 percent: These would reduce the price too much and lead to a selling price lower than Rs 8,360. 8 percent: This is even larger and clearly inconsistent with the given final price.


Common Pitfalls:
One frequent mistake is to compute the extra discount as a percentage of the marked price instead of the already discounted price. Another error is to subtract the percentages directly (for example assuming 16.4 percent minus 12 percent equals extra 4.4 percent) without realising that the base changes after the first discount. Always determine the intermediate selling price after the first discount, then calculate any further percentage reductions on that intermediate value.


Final Answer:
The customer obtained an additional discount of 5 percent on the already discounted price.

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