Discount and Markup — Prelims Strategy

Prelims Strategy

Write CP, MP and SP beside the given values and underline the base attached to each percentage. Convert increases to factors above one and discounts to factors below one. Multiply successive factors in the stated order, retaining enough precision to round only when the question requires it.

If the final price is known, divide by the relevant factor to recover the earlier price. Do not reverse a decrease by adding the same percentage to the reduced amount. For a target profit, calculate the required selling price from cost before undoing the discount. This separates the profit condition from the pricing mechanism.

Inspect distractors for base errors: markup minus discount, a simple sum of successive discounts, profit divided by selling price, or a reverse percentage applied to the wrong amount. A quick benchmark can reject implausible results, but use the exact calculation when options are close. Finally, state whether the result is a price, monetary profit, profit percentage on cost or margin on sales; these are different outputs from the same transaction.