36 pens were bought for 2.00

Question

36 pens were bought for $2.00 each and sold at 3 for $8.00. What is the percentage of profit ?

Answer 1

If 36 pens were bought for $2.00 each, the total amount that was spent on the pens was $72 (36 x 2).

 

Three pens are sold for $8.00.  If there are 36 pens, then 12 groups of 3 pens can be sold.  Therefore, you multiply $8 (the amount for three pens) by 12 (there are 12 groups to be sold), which equals 96.  Therefore, the amount of money earned from selling the pens is $96.

 

Since the pens were bought for a total of $72, you subtract that from the total sale of $96 ($96-$72), which equals $24.  Therefore, the profit is $24. 

 

To figure out the percentage of the profit, you will divide the profit ($24) by the total earned ($96).  Thus, the profit is 25%.