Free IBPS Arithmetic Word Problems Questions and Answers — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A shopkeeper marks an article 50% above its cost price and then sells it after offering a discount of 20% on the marked price. What is his actual profit percentage?
- 25%
- 30%
- 15%
- 20% (Correct answer)
Correct answer: 20%
Let the Cost Price (CP) be ₹100. The Marked Price (MP) is 50% above CP, so MP = 100 + (50/100)*100 = ₹150. A discount of 20% is given on the MP. Discount = (20/100)*150 = ₹30. The Selling Price (SP) = MP - Discount = 150 - 30 = ₹120. The profit is SP - CP = 120 - 100 = ₹20. The profit percentage is (Profit/CP) * 100 = (20/100) * 100 = 20%.
Question 2: Pipe A can fill a cistern in 12 hours and Pipe B can fill it in 15 hours. Both pipes are opened together, but after 3 hours, Pipe A is turned off. How much more time will Pipe B alone take to fill the remaining part of the cistern?
- 8 hours
- 8 hours 15 minutes (Correct answer)
- 7 hours 45 minutes
- 9 hours
Correct answer: 8 hours 15 minutes
Let the total capacity of the cistern be the LCM of 12 and 15, which is 60 units. Pipe A's rate = 60/12 = 5 units/hour. Pipe B's rate = 60/15 = 4 units/hour. When both are open, their combined rate is 5 + 4 = 9 units/hour. In 3 hours, they fill 9 * 3 = 27 units. The remaining part is 60 - 27 = 33 units. Time taken by Pipe B alone to fill the remaining part = Remaining units / Pipe B's rate = 33 / 4 = 8.25 hours. 0.25 hours is equal to 0.25 * 60 = 15 minutes. So, the time required is 8 hours and 15 minutes.
Question 3: A 40-litre mixture of milk and water contains 10% water. How many litres of water must be added to the mixture to make the water content 20% in the new mixture?
- 5 litres (Correct answer)
- 4 litres
- 8 litres
- 10 litres
Correct answer: 5 litres
Initially, the mixture is 40 litres. Water = 10% of 40 = 4 litres. Milk = 90% of 40 = 36 litres. Let 'x' litres of water be added. The new quantity of water is (4 + x) litres, and the total mixture becomes (40 + x) litres. The quantity of milk remains constant at 36 litres. In the new mixture, water is 20%, which means milk is 80%. So, 80% of (40 + x) = 36. (4/5) * (40 + x) = 36. This gives 40 + x = 45. Therefore, x = 5 litres.
Question 4: The speed of a boat in still water is 15 km/hr, and the speed of the current is 3 km/hr. The boat travels to a destination and returns to the starting point. What is the average speed for the total journey?
- 15 km/hr
- 14.5 km/hr
- 14.4 km/hr (Correct answer)
- 12 km/hr
Correct answer: 14.4 km/hr
Speed of the boat downstream (with the current) = 15 + 3 = 18 km/hr. Speed of the boat upstream (against the current) = 15 - 3 = 12 km/hr. Since the distance to the destination and back is the same, the average speed can be calculated using the formula 2xy / (x+y), where x and y are the two speeds. Average Speed = (2 * 18 * 12) / (18 + 12) = 432 / 30 = 14.4 km/hr.
Question 5: The difference between the compound interest and simple interest on a certain sum of money for 2 years at an annual interest rate of 8% is ₹64. Which of the following is the principal sum?
- ₹10,000 (Correct answer)
- ₹8,000
- ₹12,500
- ₹9,600
Correct answer: ₹10,000
The formula for the difference between compound interest (CI) and simple interest (SI) for 2 years is: Difference = P * (R/100)², where P is the principal and R is the rate of interest. Given, Difference = ₹64 and R = 8%. So, 64 = P * (8/100)². This simplifies to 64 = P * (2/25)², which is 64 = P * (4/625). Solving for P, we get P = (64 * 625) / 4 = 16 * 625 = ₹10,000.
Question 6: A and B start a business. A invests ₹35,000 for 8 months and B invests ₹42,000 for 10 months. If the total profit at the end of the period is ₹34,950, what is B's share of the profit?
- ₹13,980
- ₹17,475
- ₹16,550
- ₹20,970 (Correct answer)
Correct answer: ₹20,970
The ratio of profit sharing between A and B is determined by the ratio of their investments multiplied by their respective time periods. Ratio of Profit (A : B) = (Investment_A × Time_A) : (Investment_B × Time_B). Ratio = (35,000 × 8) : (42,000 × 10). This simplifies to (35 × 8) : (42 × 10) = 280 : 420. Dividing both by 140 gives the simplified ratio 2 : 3. The sum of the ratio parts is 2 + 3 = 5. B's share of the profit = (3/5) × 34,950 = 3 × 6,990 = ₹20,970.
A shopkeeper marks an article 50% above its cost price and then sells it after offering a discount of 20% on the marked price.
What is his actual profit percentage?