Profit, loss and commission: selling oranges
A farmer sells a crate of oranges through a dealer: set the cost, the selling price and the dealer's commission, and see the profit or loss.
Core concept
Profit or loss = SP − CP, and its percentage is worked out on the cost price; commission is a percentage of the selling price
Topic: Profit, loss and commission
A farmer in Dhankuta grows oranges. Producing one crate costs Rs 800: that is the cost price (CP). The crate is sold for Rs 1,000: the selling price (SP). The profit is SP − CP = Rs 200, and the profit percentage is always found on the cost price: 200 ÷ 800 × 100 = 25%. If the crate sells for less than it cost, there is a loss. The farmer sells through a dealer, who keeps a commission, a percentage of the selling price, so the farmer's real gain is smaller.
What you will learn
- Find profit or loss and their percentages from CP and SP.
- Calculate commission as a percentage of the selling price.
- Explain how commission changes the seller's real gain.
Before you start
- Percentages of an amount.
Materials
- A price list from a local market
Equipment
- A calculator
Procedure
- Tap − or + to change the cost price, the selling price and the commission.
- Read the bars: the gap between CP and SP is the profit or loss.
- Record a 25% profit, a 10% loss and a sale with no profit and no loss.
- Find a sale that makes a profit before commission but a loss after it.
How this simulation is simplified
- Commission is paid on the selling price.