4.

Buying price, selling price, profit, and loss

À What are you
going to learn?
In daily life we often buy or sell products or goods.
À To do a simulation
related to social In such an activity we recognize the terms buying
arithmetic in daily
economic price, selling price, profit, and loss. To understand
activities.
À To calculate total them, look at the following situation.
value, value per-
unit, and part of
value.
À To determine the A trader buys rice for Rp 2,500.00 per kg. Then he
amount and
percentage of sells it for Rp 2,750.00 per kg. In this case we say that
profit, loss, selling
price, buying the buying price is Rp 2,500.00 per kg and the selling
price, discount,
net, tax, interest in
price is Rp 2,750.00 per kg.
economic
Thus, the amount of money for buying a product or
activities.
À Key Terms: goods is called the buying price, while the price at which
• buying price
• selling price a product or goods is sold is called the selling price.
• profit
a. When is someone said to make a profit and when TO
• loss
• percentage have a loss?
b. When a trader sells his goods with a price more than
the buying price, what does he make?

c. But, if he sells them

less than the buying
price, what does he
have?
d. Formulate the relationship among profit, loss, and

Figure 4.15 selling and buying prices.

Mathematics for Junior High School Year 7 / 159

 Profit = selling price - buying price
Loss = buying price - selling price

In a trade, how do we determine the selling price,

buying price, and profit/loss if information on the
two of them is known? To understand it, do the
following problems.
Problem 1
A seller of fruits buys “rambutan” for
Rp 2,750.00 per kg. Then he sells it for Rp 3,000.00
per kg.
a. What does he make? Profit or loss?
b. In such a case, how many rupiahs does he make?

Figure 4.16

Amir buys a chicken for Rp 17,500.00, and then sells

Problem 2
it for Rp 16,000.00. What does he make? Profit or
loss? How much does he make?

Bu Ida sells a jewelry for Rp 450,000.00 and she

Problem 3
makes a profit of Rp 25,000.00. How much did she
par for the jewelry?

A seller of bikes bought a bike for Rp 210,000.00. But this

Problem 4 bike needs repairing before being sold. The cost for its
repair is
Rp 50,000.00. For what price did he sell the bike if, in fact,
he had a loss of Rp 12,500.00?
160 / Student’s Book – Linear Equations and Inequalities with One Variable
 The problems above lead us to a conclusion that
if in a trade we make a profit, then :

Selling price = ………… + …………

Buying price = ………… – …………
Figure 4.17

If in a trade we have a loss, then

Selling price = ………… – …………

Buying price = ………… + …………

Percentage of a profit or a loss with

respect to a buying price
In daily life a profit or a loss is sometimes
represented by a percent.

Suppose that Pak Rudi had a loss of 10% from selling

cars, while in selling motorbikes he made a profit of 15%.
In this case Pak Rudimade a loss of 10% with respect to
the buying price of those cars and made a profit of 15%
with respect to the buying price of motorbikes.

Ahmad bought a radio set for Rp 100,000.00. A few

days later he sold it to his friend for Rp 115,000.00.
What percent did he make a profit?

Mathematics for Junior High School Year 7 / 161

 Pak Ali bought a lamb for Rp 400,000.00. For some
reason he sold it for Rp 350,000.00. What percent did
he make a loss? After you have done problem 1 and
problem 2, you can conclude that:

profit
Percent of a profit = x 100%
buying price
loss
Percent of a loss = x 100%
buying price

Next, give an example of a sale process involving

certain buying and selling prices. Then find its
percent of the profit/loss.

Calculate the buying/selling price for

a given percent of a profit/loss

Look at the following situation.

A buyer bought a bookshelf for Rp 150,000.00. To
make a profit of 18%, how much should this shelf be
sold?

To solve this problem

we first have to
compute the profit in
rupiah as follows.
162 / Student’s Book – Linear Equations and Inequalities with One Variable
Figure 4.20
Remember that the profit of 18% means 18% of the
buying price. Hence,

Profit = 18% x Rp 150,000.00

18
= x Rp 150,000.00
100

= Rp 27,000.00

Thus, you know how much the bookshelf should be

sold.

Next, look at the following problem.

A computer seller said that the cost of assembling a

set of a computer was Rp 2,250,000.00. After the
computer was sold he had a loss of 15%. What was
the selling price of this sold computer?

To solve this problem we have to compute the loss first.

A loss of 15% means 15% of the buying price.

Hence,

Loss = 15% x Rp 2,250,000.00

15
= x Rp 2,250,000.00 = Rp 33,750.00
100

Thus, the selling price of the computer is

Rp 2,250,000.00 + Rp 337,500.00 = Rp 2,587,500.00

Next, look at the above problem.

Mathematics for Junior High School Year 7 / 163

 A rice grocer sold 20 kg of rice for Rp 56,000.00. In
this transaction he made a profit of 12%. What was
the buying price per kg?

Solution :

Given the profit = 12%

Let the buying price = 100%, then the selling price =

100% + 12% = 112%.

Since we know the selling price, the profit can be

calculated as follows.

profit (%)
Profit = × selling (rupiah)
buyingprice(%)

12%
= × Rp 560,000.00
112%
= Rp 60,000.00

Thus, the buying price of 20 kg of rice = Rp

60,000.00
The buying price of 1 kg of rice is Rp 3,000.00

A fruit shop bought watermelons for Rp 2,500.00 per

kg. Because of some damage, the shop had a loss of
6%. What was the selling price of that watermelon
per kg?

A rice grocer sold 50 kg of rice for Rp 150,000.00. He

got a loss of 5%. What was the buying price of the
rice per kg?
164 / Student’s Book – Linear Equations and Inequalities with One Variable
 Next, give an example about a sale process with two
given prices among selling and buying prices, and
profit/loss (in rupiah/percent). Then find the
unknown one.

Calculation involving discount, tax,

net, tare, and bonus

In a trade we know terms such as discount, gross,

net, tare and bonus. Here we shall consider each of
them.

1. Discount
At the end of the year or at other celebration events, many
shops usually offer a discount to attract new buyers. A
discount is also called price cutting. Thus a discount is
equivalent to a price reduction given to customers.

Last year Ida went to a department store for 1 suit of

Rp 135,000.00.
How much did she pay for it if the department store
gave her a 25% discount?

(Note: A 25% discount means 25% of the buying

price.)
Figure 4.21
a) How much money was for the discount?
b) How much money did she pay for this suit?

Mathematics for Junior High School Year 7 / 165

 Think it out . A suit is put on sale at 20% off the
regular price. The regular price was Rp 270,000.00.
How much is the sale price Ida has to pay?

2. Tax
When we buy something, usually the price which is
to be paid includes what so-called tax. Such a tax
sometimes is included in the price. This kind of tax is
called Value Added Tax (Pajak Pertambahan Nilai =
PPN) and the amount of tax is given by the
government, that is, 10%.
In addition, one who earns a wage is also to pay
some tax. This tax is so-called withholding tax or
income tax (Pajak Penghasilan abbreviated PPh), the
amount of which is determined by the government,
that is, 15%.

Now look at the following example.

Almost all prices attached at the supermarket

“BETA” have not included PPN at 10% yet. If Pak
Mega bought a television set for Rp. 1,500,000.00,
how much did he pay for it?

Solution :

PPN 10% = 10% x Rp 1,500,000.00 = Rp 150,000.00

Thus the amount of money that Pak Mega had to pay for
the TV set was

= Rp 1,500,000.00 + Rp 150,000.00
166 / Student’s Book – Linear Equations and Inequalities with One Variable
 = Rp 1,650,000.00

Think it out. If Pak Amin collected his income Rp

2,000,000.00 and was drawn for tax at 15%, how much did
he receive?

3. Gross, Net, Tare, and Bonus

A grocer received a shipping of 20 rice bags from
BULOG. Each bag contains this written information:

Gross 100 kg
Net 98 kg

Using a scale the employees weigh the bag again and

find:
a. Weight of rice is 98 kg, and
b. Weight of the bag is 2 kg.

Knowing this information the grocer is satisfied since the

information matches with the true weight of the rice,
what can you infer from this situation?
The gross weight of rice contained in a bag is the total
weight of rice together with the bag.

The net weight of rice in a bag is the weight of the rice

only (without the weight of the bag). The difference
between gross and net weights is called tare or weight
reduction.

Thus, we can say that

Mathematics for Junior High School Year 7 / 167

 Gross − net = tare

A fruit grocer bought 3 boxes of apples for Rp

840,000.00. Written in each box;

Gross 40 kg
Net 35 kg

The grocer then sold the apples for Rp 8,500.00 per

kg. Did he make a profit or a loss? What percent was
the profit/loss?

Solution :
Buying price = Rp 840,000.00
Total weight of apples = 3 x 35 kg = 105 kg
Selling price of apples per kg = Rp 8,500.00
Total selling price = 105 x Rp 8,500.00
= Rp 892,000.00

Since the selling price was greater than the buying price,
the grocer made a profit.

Profit = Rp 892,000.00 - Rp 840,000.00

= Rp 52,500.00
52,500
Percent of the profit = × 100% = 6,25%
840,000

A firm motivates the employees to achieve the best

performance. To this end, the firm offers some amount of
money to those who show the best performance. Such an
amount of money offered is called bonus.

168 / Student’s Book – Linear Equations and Inequalities with One Variable
To celebrate the “Lebaran”, Fia went to a clothing
store for a coat of Rp 200,000.00. How much did Fia
pay for it if the store gave a 35% discount?
(Note: A 35% discount means 35% of the normal
buying price)

A fruit grocer bought 5 boxes of orange for Rp

1,380,000.00. Written in each box;

Gross 50 kg
Net 46 kg

The grocer then sold them again for Rp 5,750.00 per kg.
Did he make a profit or a loss?
What percent was the profit/loss?

Calculation using percent in problems

of savings and cooperation
You know that when we save some amount of money in a
bank, in a certain period of time we receive an interest. he
interest rate varies from bank to bank.

To digest the meaning, solve the following problems.

Ifah saves her money Rp 1,000,000.00 in a bank at a

simple interest rate of 15% per year. (An interest rate

Mathematics for Junior High School Year 7 / 169

 is said to be simple if the rate remains unchanged
from time to time.)

Find the amount of interest given to Ifah at :

a. the end of the first year
b. the end of the fifth year
c. the end of the third month
d. the end of the tenth month

A farmer borrowed Rp 3,000,000.00 from KUD with the

monthly interest rate of 1%. If he wants to pay it back 15
times, how much does he pay each month?

170 / Student’s Book – Linear Equations and Inequalities with One Variable
1. A kind of good product is bought Rp 11,000.00 and
then is sold again. Determine the profit obtained if it was
sold for:
a. Rp 12,500.00 b. Rp 11,775.00

2. Amin purchased a radio set for Rp 135,000.00 and then

sold it again. Determine the loss if it was sold for :
a. Rp 128,500.00 b. Rp 131,750.00

3. Pak Ali sold a car for Rp 45,000,000.00.

Determine the buying price if :
a. he made a profit of Rp 2,050,000.00
b. he got a loss of Rp 1,500,000.00

4. Suppose a seller bought 20 kg of sugar for Rp 4,500.00

per kg. The sugar was then sold for Rp 3,750.00 per kg.
During the selling activity he found 2 kg sugar is
damaged and useless. Did he make profit or loss? How
much?
5. Pak Amat bought 10 watermelons for Rp 60,000.00. He
wanted a profit of Rp 10,000.00. For what price should Pak
Amat sell each of the watermelons?

6. Someone bought eggs for Rp 7,500.00 per kg. All

these eggs were then sold for Rp 7,750.00. If he
wanted to sell 15 kilograms with the same buying
price, how much profit would he get?

Mathematics for Junior High School Year 7 / 171

 7. Pak Ahmad bought 10 chickens for Rp 15,000.00
each. After selling these chickens he got a loss of Rp
10,000.00. What was the selling price he made for
each chicken?

8. A fruit shop sold 20 kilograms of apples for Rp

9,000.00 per kg. From this selling it made a loss of
Rp 40,000.00 because some of the apples were
damaged and unsold. How much money did the
shop spend for each kilogram of those apples?

9. Find the selling price if :

a. buying price of Rp 17,500.00, profit of 10%
b. buying price of Rp 25,000.00, loss of 11%
c. buying price of Rp 250,000.00, profit of 9%
d. buying price of Rp 375,000.00, loss of 6%

10. A buyer bought a used-bicycle for Rp 300,000.00 and

then sold it with a profit of 15%. What was its selling
price?

11. A trader sold a unit of a production for Rp

75,000.00. He made a profit of 25%. What was the
buying price?

12. A book shop bought 50 writing books. The shop

wanted a profit of 12 1 %. All of the books were sold

2
out and it collected Rp 90,000.00. Find the buying
price of those 50 books.

172 / Student’s Book – Linear Equations and Inequalities with One Variable
 13. Once upon a time Pak Amir bought a new bike.
For some reason the bike was sold for Rp
212,500.00, but he had a loss of 15%. What was
the buying price of that bike?
14. A fruit grocer sold “rambutan” for Rp 2,700.00 per kg
and knew that he had a loss of 10%. What was the buying
price if he sold 50 kg of “rambutan”?

15. A buyer bought a bike for Rp 150,000.00. He then

sold it for Rp 180,000.00. What percent did he make
the profit?

16. Pak Udin bought 500 coconuts for Rp 2,000.00

Gambar 4.19
each. Because of low demand, the price of those 500
coconuts was down to Rp 875,000.00. How much was
the loss? Represent it in percent.

17. A school shop bought 2 boxes of writing books for Rp

54,000.00 per box. Each box consisted of 50 books. Then each
book was sold to students for Rp 1,350.00. Find :
a. buying price c. profit
b. selling price d.percent of the profit
4. Ibu Rita purchased one dozen of bags for Rp
52,500.00 per bag. Later she sold all for Rp
840,000.00. What percent did she make the
profit/loss?

18. A school shop bought 8 sheets of multiplex for Rp

36,750.00 per sheet, and paid Rp 6,000.00 for the
shipment. Every sheet was divided into 16 equal parts for

Mathematics for Junior High School Year 7 / 173

 a handy craft-making class. Then each part was sold to
the students for
Rp 2,400.00 per piece.
a. What was the buying price for those 8 sheets of
multiplex?
b. What was the selling price?
c. Did the school shop make a profit or a loss?
Give the amount of the profit or loss.
d. Find the corresponding percent of the profit or
loss.

19. Ifah went shopping for the preparation of the

Lebaran. She bought a hand bag for Rp 35,000.00, a
pair of shoes for Rp 50,000.00 and a coat for Rp
105,000.00. How much did she pay for these items if
the store gave a 15% discount?

20. A shoe seller bought one dozen pairs of shoes for Rp

600,000.00. Since he paid them in cash he received a 15%
discount.
a. How much did he pay?
b. If he wanted a 25% profit, how much should he
sell each pair?

21. The shop owner “Bahagia” received a

shipping of 10 bags of flour for Rp 39,000.00 per
bag. Written in each bag :

Gross 20 kg
Net 19,5 kg

174 / Student’s Book – Linear Equations and Inequalities with One Variable
Find the profit made if the flour was sold Rp 2,400.00
per kg, and each bag was sold for Rp 500.00.

22. A building material shop bought 1 box of nails for

Rp 99,000.00.
a. If the box and nails inside it weighed 100 kg and a
1,5% tare, what was the net weight?
b. If the nails were retailed for Rp 1,100.00 per kg,
what was the profit?
23. A school foundation offers a bonus to each of its
teachers with 100% of attendance. The bonus is 2,5% of
his/her monthly wage. What is a teacher’s income for the
month if his/her attendance is 100% and his/her monthly
wage is Rp 450,000.00?
24. A bookshop bought 500 Science books, and 1,000
mathematics books from a publisher. Each Science
book cost Rp 5,400.00 and each mathematics book
cost Rp 6,600.00. The publisher gave a 15% discount
to the book shop. How much did the bookshop pay
for the books?

25. Calculate the simple interest of a savings account

Rp 150,000.00 for 1½ years, if the amount of interest
obtained per year is :
a. 12% c. 13% e. 15%
b. 16% d. 16.5%

Mathematics for Junior High School Year 7 / 175

176 / Student’s Book – Linear Equations and Inequalities with One Variable