Mr. Kiran sells a bus for Rs. 18700 and incurs a loss of 15 percent. At what price should he sell the bus in order to earn a profit of 15 percent on its cost price instead?

Introduction / Context:
This question is a straightforward profit and loss problem where the same asset, a bus, is sold under two different conditions. The first sale incurs a known percentage loss, which allows us to determine the cost price. The second sale is hypothetical and asks for a selling price that would give a specified profit percentage on the same cost price. It uses standard percentage relationships between cost price, selling price, profit, and loss.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• First selling price of the bus is Rs. 18700.
• At this price there is a loss of 15 percent.
• The cost price remains the same for both situations.
• We want to find the selling price that generates a 15 percent profit instead.
• We use the usual definitions of profit and loss based on cost price.

Concept / Approach:
When there is a loss of 15 percent, the selling price is 85 percent of the cost price. We can therefore express cost price in terms of the known selling price. Once we know the cost price, we simply compute the selling price corresponding to a 15 percent profit, which is 115 percent of the cost price. This two step procedure is common in questions where the same item is sold at different profit or loss percentages.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Let cost price of the bus be C rupees.There is a 15 percent loss when the bus is sold for 18700 rupees.A 15 percent loss means selling price equals 85 percent of cost price, so 18700 equals 0.85 * C.Therefore C equals 18700 divided by 0.85.Compute C as 18700 / 0.85 equals 22000 rupees.Now we want a 15 percent profit on this cost price.A 15 percent profit corresponds to a selling price of 115 percent of cost price, so required selling price equals 1.15 * 22000.Compute 1.15 * 22000 equals 25300 rupees.

Verification / Alternative check:
We can verify by checking percentage changes. At a selling price of 18700 rupees, the loss is 22000 minus 18700 which is 3300 rupees. The loss percentage is 3300 divided by 22000 multiplied by 100 which is 15 percent, as given. At the new selling price of 25300 rupees, the profit is 25300 minus 22000 which is 3300 rupees. This profit is also 3300 divided by 22000 times 100 which equals 15 percent. Thus both the loss and the profit percentages match the problem conditions, confirming that the calculations are correct.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Options 25523, 25522, and 25521 are close numerically but do not correspond to exactly 15 percent profit on a cost price of 22000 rupees. They would give profits slightly more than 3300 rupees and therefore profit percentages slightly above 15 percent. Only 25300 rupees gives a profit of exactly 3300 rupees, which is 15 percent of 22000 rupees.

Common Pitfalls:
Some learners mistakenly treat 18700 as the cost price and directly increase it by 15 percent to find a new selling price, which is incorrect. The cost price must first be computed using the loss information. Others confuse loss percent and profit percent and attempt to average them or combine percentages directly. Always treat each scenario separately, find the common cost price, and then apply the required percentage for the new selling price.

Final Answer:
To earn a profit of 15 percent, Mr. Kiran should sell the bus for Rs. 25300.