All 22 Profit & Loss questions the Punjab PSC asked between 2016 and 2026, each with a worked answer and the exam it came from. First 10 free to read.
6 of these 22 were set in more than one exam — the Commission reuses this topic, which is the argument for working through it rather than skimming it.
Free to read, with the worked answer and the exam each one came from. The book prints this topic in the order the Commission favours, so these are the ones to know first.
Take the common selling price of each scooter as ₹100, so total SP = ₹200. > Overall loss 12% → total CP = 200 ÷ 0.88 ≈ 227.27 > First scooter sold at 10% profit → CP₁ = 100 ÷ 1.1 ≈ 90.91 > CP₂ = 227.27 − 90.91 ≈ 136.36 > Loss on second = (136.36 − 100) ÷ 136.36 ≈ 26.7% ≈ 27% So the other scooter was sold at about a 27% loss.
Work out the cost price of each refrigerator from its selling price. > First: CP = 72000 ÷ 1.20 = 60000 → profit = 12000 > Second: CP = 57000 ÷ 0.95 = 60000 → loss = 3000 > Net = 12000 − 3000 = 9000 profit Both cost prices come out at Rs. 60000, so the net profit is Rs. 9000.
When the profit % on one price equals the loss % on another, the cost price is the average of the two prices. > CP = (5760 + 3840) ÷ 2 = 4800 > SP for 40% profit = 4800 × 1.4 = 6720 So the article should be sold for Rs. 6720.
When two articles are sold at the same selling price, one at x% gain and the other at x% loss, there is always a net loss of (x/10)² %, here (10/10)² = 1%. > Let each cow sell for Rs. 990: CP₁ = 900 (gain 90), CP₂ = 1100 (loss 110) > Total CP = 2000, total SP = 1980 > Loss = 20/2000 = 1% The trader loses 1% overall.
A profit of 8% on the outlay of ₹ 1,35,000 means the car must fetch 1,35,000 × 1.08 = ₹ 1,45,800 after the discount. > Net receipt = 1,35,000 × 1.08 = 1,45,800 > Listed price × 0.9 = 1,45,800 → listed price = 1,45,800 ÷ 0.9 = 1,62,000 The buyer gets 10% off the listed selling price. So that price must be ₹ 1,62,000. Profit is counted on the cost (outlay). Discount is counted on the marked price.
Selling price is 112% of cost price. > CP × 1.12 = 14,056 → CP = 14,056 ÷ 1.12 = 12,550 Rs. 12,550 does not appear among (a)–(c) (12,500 is a near miss), so the answer is (d) None of these.
Find the cost and selling price of one mango. Then compare them. > CP per mango = 765 ÷ 170 = Rs 4.50 > SP per mango = 66 ÷ 12 = Rs 5.50 > Profit per mango = 5.50 − 4.50 = Re 1.00 > Profit % = (1 ÷ 4.5) × 100 = 200/9 = 22 2/9 % The selling price is higher than the cost price. So it is a profit of 22 2/9 %. Options (a) and (b) are wrong because there is no loss. Option (c) uses the selling price as the base instead of the cost price.
Two successive 20% discounts leave 0.8 × 0.8 = 0.64 of the marked price: 0.64 × MP = 3200, so MP = 5000. With a flat 40% discount he would pay 0.6 × 5000 = 3000. Extra saving = 3200 − 3000 = Rs 200. (Two successive 20% discounts equal a single 36% discount, not 40%.)
Cost price = 30 × 45 = ₹1,350. For a 25% overall profit the total sale must be 1,350 × 1.25 = ₹1,687.50. > 40% of 30 kg = 12 kg sold at ₹50 = ₹600 > remaining 18 kg must fetch 1,687.5 − 600 = ₹1,087.5 > price per kg = 1,087.5 ÷ 18 ≈ ₹60.4 So approximately ₹60 per kg.
A profit of 13 1/3% (= 2/15) means SP = CP × 17/15. > CP = 340 × 15/17 = ₹300 > Labelled price = 340 ÷ 0.85 = ₹400 > Profit without discount = (400 − 300)/300 × 100 = 33 1/3% With no discount the labelled price itself becomes the selling price, giving a 33 1/3% profit.
You have read the ten the Commission asks most. The rest of this topic — and all 4,239 questions across the book, each with a worked solution — come with either edition.
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See the printed book →The Commission set 22 Profit & Loss questions across 49 papers between 2016–2026. That is the whole set, not a sample — every one of them is in the book, and the 10 most-asked are on this page free.
Yes. 6 of these 22 were set in more than one exam, which is why they are worth working rather than reading. Each question here carries a badge showing how many sittings asked it.
Here. Every question on this page is a solved MCQ: the four options as printed, the correct answer, and a worked explanation in plain English — not just a letter. The rest of the 22 are in the book, in the same form.
Switch to Attempt mode at the top of the questions. You get one question at a time and it is marked the moment you pick an option, with the reason underneath — the same way the exam feels, on your phone.
The questions are on screen rather than in a downloadable file, so they stay current and correct. The printed book has all 22 of these plus the rest of the Reasoning & Aptitude section, and every buyer gets the whole thing online as well.
The exams behind these questions, most first. A paper here is a sitting: a question set in two papers of the same sitting counts once.
| Exam | Year | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Technical Assistants | 2019 | 3 |
| Superintendent Home | 2019 | 3 |
| Legal Assistant | 2019 | 3 |
| Research Officer | 2019 | 3 |
| Network Engineer | 2019 | 3 |
| Assistant Town Planner (Group A) | 2023 | 2 |
| Child Development Project Officer (Group-B) | 2026 | 1 |
| PPSC DDSWO | 2026 | 1 |
| Archaeological Officer (Group B) | 2025 | 1 |
| Assistant Archaeological Engineer (Group-A) | 2025 | 1 |
| Curator (Group A) | 2025 | 1 |
| Conservator (Group-B) | 2025 | 1 |