UPSC Maths Problems Challenge : A Problem A Day! (Day 5)

Today's question is not a conventional problem from Maths.It is,relevant to Maths for sure but it requires more analytical logic than Mathematical Skill.However,it fared to be a very interesting problem for me and I am sure the head scratching part is something many of you will really enjoy! (At least those nerds who love Maths and are preparing for UPSC or any other exam for holding administrative posts,since they ask a lot of analytical and logical questions.)The problem here is as described in m4maths,simple,yet challenging and confusing!






Today's Problem(17/06/2015)


Question Credit : http://www.m4maths.com




A very simple but confusing puzzle.
A lady buys goods worth rs.200 from a shop. (shopkeeper selling the goods with zero profit).
The lady gives him 1000 rs note. The shopkeeper gets the change from the next shop and keeps 200 for himself and returns rs.800 to d lady.
Later the shopkeeper of the next shop comes with the 1000rs note saying "duplicate" and takes his money back.
"How much LOSS did the shopkeeper face ?"
A. 200
B. 800
C. 1200
D. 1800
E. 2000
F. 1600
G. 1000
H. Other

Pay attention to that Rs.1000 note. What does it imply? Just a piece of paper,right? It is not a mode of verifiable record,that is,it is not money at all!It is a fake note.So,we will dismiss its value at one go.

Next,how much profit was the shopkeeper earning?It has been already mentioned that he was earning zero profit.So,that lady just took the lamp by exchanging no resources at all,that is the shopkeeper already looses Rs.200 here.Now when he keeps Rs.200 for himself,his loss is dismissed as he now gains the same amount. After this,the fellow shopkeeper comes back with the Rs.1000 note and takes his money back.How much money did he give the lady implies the amount of change (since he looses Rs.200 and keeps Rs.200,so what he gives to the fellow shopkeeper is his loss.)that is,Rs.1000.So,the sum of total loss is Rs.1000.


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12 Comments

  1. A brilliant and logical math, nice post Titas :)

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  2. The shopkeeper hasn't suffered any loss until the next shop's owner comes over and demands his 1000 rupees back. The shopkeeper hasn't gained anything either, since his profit margin is zero.
    Thus, after he reimburses the next shop's owner, he's out 1000 rupees. 😃😃

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  3. Lady comes with 1000rs duplicate note which is just like a piece of paper and takes away 200rs worth goods and 800rs legal money with her. So shopkeeper's loss is 1000rs at this point of time. When neighbor shopkeeper comes with the 1000rs note saying "duplicate" and takes his money back, he again bears 1000rs loss. So total loss would be 2000rs. Isn't it?

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    Replies
    1. No,the second shopkeeper just exchanges a worthless note of 1000 for real 1000 rupees.And all this time,the only exchange involved is this,since the money used has value.You are right,the woman does take away 200 rs of goods and 800 rs of legal money.And this she does take from the second shopkeeper in exchange of paper.So,the first shopkeeper just has to pay the real value instead of paper and that is Rs.1000.

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    3. So the shopkeeper1 has to pay back shopkeeper 2 real 1000 rupees right, which he has to pay from his pocket only, so this 1000 + 800 (which lady took away) is his complete loss which means its 1800 real loss and not 1000,

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  4. What about the cost of goods that he sold? Did he get the value for that? I think monetary loss is rs. 1000 but total loss is 1200

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What are your perspectives?