Mr Kashyap purchased an airconditioner for ₹ 12000 and sold it for ₹ 15000. What was the profit percentage? (Bank Recruitment, 2010)

### Concept & Profit Percentage Profit occurs when the Selling Price (SP) is greater than the Cost Price (CP). The profit percentage is always calculated based on the Cost Price. $$ \text{Profit \%} = \left( \frac{\text{SP} - \text{CP}}{\text{CP}} \right) \times 100 $$ ### Step-by-Step Solution Given: * Cost Price (CP) = ₹ 12000 * Selling Price (SP) = ₹ 15000 Calculation: 1. Find the total profit amount by subtracting CP from SP. $$ \text{Profit} = 15000 - 12000 = 3000 $$ 2. Substitute the values into the profit percentage formula. $$ \text{Profit \%} = \left( \frac{3000}{12000} \right) \times 100 $$ 3. Simplify the fraction to find the final percentage. $$ \text{Profit \%} = \frac{1}{4} \times 100 = 25\% $$ ### Exam Strategy & Shortcut Look at the ratio of the numbers to save time. 12000 and 15000 are in the ratio of 4:5. An increase from 4 to 5 is an increase of 1 over a base of 4. Since $1/4 = 25\%$, you can arrive at the answer instantly without writing zeros. ### Common Pitfall A common mistake is calculating the profit percentage over the Selling Price (3000/15000 = 20%), which leads to choosing the incorrect option (b). ### Final Answer Therefore, the correct answer is **25**.