Komal buys an article at a discount of 25%. At what percentage above the cost price should he sell it to make a profit of 25% over the original list price?
Aptitude
Profit and Loss
Difficulty: Medium
Choose an option
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A25
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B30
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C40
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D66.67
Answer
Correct Answer: 66.67
Explanation
### Concept & Markup on Cost Price
The phrasing "profit of 25% over the original list price" implies the new Selling Price should be 25% higher than the original list price. The target markup is calculated based on Komal's Cost Price.
$$ \text{Markup Percentage} = \frac{\text{Target SP} - \text{Komal's CP}}{\text{Komal's CP}} \times 100 $$
### Step-by-Step Solution
* Let the original list price (Marked Price) of the article be 100.
* Komal buys it at a 25% discount, so Komal's Cost Price (CP) = $100 - 25\% \text{ of } 100 = 75$.
* He wants to make a profit of 25% *over the original list price*. This means his target Selling Price (SP) should be the original list price plus 25% of the original list price.
* Target SP = $100 + 25\% \text{ of } 100 = 125$.
* Komal's Profit = Target SP - Komal's CP = $125 - 75 = 50$.
* The question asks: "At what percentage above the cost price should he sell it?". This is asking for the markup percentage relative to his CP.
* Percentage above cost price = $\frac{50}{75} \times 100 = \frac{2}{3} \times 100$.
* $\frac{2}{3} \times 100 = 66.66...\% \approx 66.67\%$.
### Exam Strategy & Shortcut
Let List Price = 4 units.
Komal buys at 25% off, so CP = 3 units.
He wants SP to be 25% *over* List Price, so SP = 4 + 1 = 5 units.
Markup on CP = SP - CP = 5 - 3 = 2 units.
Markup % = $\frac{2}{3} \times 100 = 66.67\%$.
Using small fractions (quarters) keeps calculations mental and instantaneous.
### Common Pitfall
Misinterpreting "make a profit of 25% over the original list price" as meaning his absolute profit is equal to 25% of the list price (which would make SP = 100 and markup = 33.33%, an option not listed). In commercial math, "profit over X" often means the final sale price is $X \times (1 + \text{profit \%})$.
### Final Answer
Therefore, the correct answer is **66.67**.