The marked price of a shirt and trousers are in the ratio 1 : 2. The shopkeeper gives 40% discount on the shirt. If the total discount on the set of the shirt and trousers is 30%, the discount offered on the trousers is
Aptitude
Profit and Loss
Difficulty: Medium
Choose an option
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A15%
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B20%
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C25%
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D30%
Answer
Correct Answer: 25%
Explanation
### Concept & Weighted Average
The total discount percentage on a set of items is the weighted average of the discount percentages on the individual items, weighted by their respective marked prices.
$$ \text{Total Discount} = \frac{(\text{MP}_1 \times D_1\%) + (\text{MP}_2 \times D_2\%)}{\text{MP}_1 + \text{MP}_2} $$
### Step-by-Step Solution
* Let the marked price of the shirt be $100x$ and the marked price of the trousers be $200x$ (since the ratio is 1 : 2).
* Total marked price of the set = $100x + 200x = 300x$.
* The shopkeeper gives a 40% discount on the shirt. Discount on shirt = $40\% \text{ of } 100x = 40x$.
* The total discount on the set is 30%. Total discount amount = $30\% \text{ of } 300x = 90x$.
* The discount on the trousers is the remaining total discount: $90x - 40x = 50x$.
* The percentage discount on the trousers = $\frac{50x}{200x} \times 100$.
* $\frac{50}{200} \times 100 = 25\%$.
### Exam Strategy & Shortcut
Use the method of alligation or weighted averages directly on the ratios.
Ratio of MP (Shirt : Trousers) = 1 : 2.
Let the discount on trousers be $x\%$.
$1(40) + 2(x) = 3(30)$
$40 + 2x = 90$
$2x = 50$
$x = 25\%$
### Common Pitfall
Simply averaging the discounts (e.g., trying to find a midpoint between 40% and 30% without accounting for the 1:2 weight of the marked prices) will lead to an incorrect result.
### Final Answer
Therefore, the correct answer is **25%**.