Advanced Word Problems • Topic 5 of 5

Business Applications

Business problems use a few money relationships. Profit is selling price minus cost; profit percent is (profit/cost) × 100. Revenue is price times quantity sold. A discount of d percent multiplies the marked price by (1 − d/100). Break-even is where total profit covers fixed costs: fixed costs ÷ profit per unit gives the number of units to sell. The trick is naming each quantity — cost, selling price, marked price, fixed cost, per-unit profit — then choosing the one relationship the question needs. The arithmetic is simple once the right quantities are matched to the right formula.

Selling price is cost plus profitselling price = cost + profitcostprofitselling priceprofit % = (profit ÷ cost) × 100

✅ Solved examples

1. An item costs $80 and sells for $100. Profit?
100 − 80 = $20.
2. Cost $200, profit $50. Profit percent?
50/200 × 100 = 25%.
3. A shop sells 30 items at $15 each. Revenue?
30 × 15 = $450.
4. A $250 coat is sold at 20% off. Sale price?
250 × (1 − 0.20) = $200.

✏️ Practice — try these, take hints as needed

1. An item costs $120 and sells for $150. Profit?
SP − cost.
150 − 120.
—
$30.
2. Cost $400, profit $100. Profit percent?
(profit/cost) × 100.
100/400 × 100.
—
25%.
3. A stall sells 25 items at $8 each. Revenue?
price × quantity.
25 × 8.
—
$200.
4. A $300 jacket is sold at 25% off. Sale price?
300 × 0.75.
—
—
$225.
5. Fixed costs $600, profit $10 per unit. Units to break even?
fixed ÷ per-unit profit.
600/10.
—
60 units.

📝 Topic test — 8 questions

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