A man loses 28% by selling an article for ₹144. If he sells it for ₹288, what will be his gain/loss percentage?

Correct — B. A 28% loss means the selling price is only 72% of the cost price, so recover the cost by dividing, not by adding 28% back.

CP = 144 ÷ 0.72 = ₹200
New SP = ₹288, so gain = 288 − 200 = ₹88
Gain% = 88 ⁄ 200 × 100 = 44% → option (b)

Shortcut: doubling the selling price doubles the 72%, giving 144% of cost — a 44% gain without ever writing ₹200 down.

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Loss, 43% — Loss, 43% — the second sale cannot be a loss. ₹288 is above the ₹200 cost, so every loss option dies the moment the cost price is found.
• (c)
  Gain, 41% — Gain, 41% — a 41% gain needs a cost price of about ₹204.26. The stated 28% loss pins the cost at exactly ₹200, because 144 = 0.72 × CP.
• (d)
  Loss, 46% — Loss, 46% — another loss, and doubling the selling price of an article sold at a 28% loss always ends in a gain, since 2 × 72% = 144% of cost.

Profit and loss percentages are always measured on the cost price, never on the selling price. That single anchor decides the whole question.

A 28% loss means SP = (100 − 28)% of CP = 72% of CP. Undoing it is a division by 0.72, and the reverse operation — adding 28% to the selling price — lands somewhere else entirely.

Once CP is fixed, any new selling price converts straight to a percentage: 288 is 144% of 200, which reads as a 44% gain.

Key facts

• CP = SP × 100 ⁄ (100 − loss%), so 144 × 100⁄72 = ₹200.
• Profit and loss percentages are taken on cost price, not on selling price.
• Selling price ₹288 against cost ₹200 is 144% of cost, a gain of 44%.

Common traps

• Multiplying ₹144 by 1.28 to undo a 28% loss instead of dividing by 0.72
• Taking the gain percentage on the ₹288 selling price rather than on the ₹200 cost
• Picking a loss option because the stem opens with the word loses

No directly related past PYQ was found.