Percentage Questions with Answers: Quick Answer
These 20 percentage questions are original practice questions written for this page. They are not previous year questions and are not copied from any book, test series or website. Every answer was computed in code from the stated numbers, including the successive-percentage and discount questions where the commonest error is adding the percentages together. The set covers the forms SSC and bank exams actually ask: finding a percentage of a number, percentage increase and decrease, successive changes, votes and elections, pass marks, and "A is x% more than B" comparisons. Work each question with the method box first, then check the solution. As of 2 November 2026.
If you need the method before the questions, read the percentage tricks for SSC CGL note and the percentage questions for SSC CGL note. The method box below is the minimum you need to attempt this set.
Percentage Formulas and Shortcuts
Percentage of a number: x% of N = (x × N) ÷ 100. Learn the common fractions: 10% = 1/10, 20% = 1/5, 25% = 1/4, 12.5% = 1/8, 33.33% = 1/3, 37.5% = 3/8.
Percentage change: (Change ÷ Original) × 100. The denominator is always the original value, never the new one.
Successive changes: never add percentages. A rise of a% followed by a fall of b% gives a net factor of (1 + a/100) × (1 − b/100). Two successive discounts of a% and b% give a single discount of (a + b − ab/100)%.
"A is x% more than B" means A = B × (1 + x/100). "B is x% less than A" means B = A × (1 − x/100). The two statements are not mirror images: 20% more and 20% less use different bases.
Keeping expenditure the same: if the price rises by x%, consumption must fall by (x ÷ (100 + x)) × 100% to keep the bill unchanged.
| Situation | Method |
|---|---|
| x% of N | (x × N) ÷ 100 |
| Increase or decrease % | Change ÷ original × 100 |
| Two changes in a row | Multiply the factors, never add |
| Two discounts | Single discount = a + b − ab/100 |
| Price up, bill same | Consumption falls by x/(100 + x) |
20 Percentage Questions with Answers and Solutions
Q1. What is 35% of 240?
(A) 72 (B) 84 (C) 96 (D) 80
Answer: (B) 84.
35% of 240 = (35 × 240) ÷ 100 = 8,400 ÷ 100 = 84. Shortcut: 10% of 240 is 24, 30% is 72, 5% is 12, and 72 + 12 = 84.
Q2. A number increases from 450 to 540. What is the percentage increase?
(A) 18% (B) 20% (C) 22% (D) 25%
Answer: (B) 20%.
Increase = 540 − 450 = 90. Percentage increase = (90 ÷ 450) × 100 = 20%. The base is the original 450, not the new 540.
Q3. A price falls from ₹800 to ₹680. What is the percentage decrease?
(A) 12% (B) 15% (C) 18% (D) 20%
Answer: (B) 15%.
Decrease = 800 − 680 = 120. Percentage decrease = (120 ÷ 800) × 100 = 15%.
Q4. In an exam of 500 marks, the pass mark is 40%. How many marks must a student score to pass?
(A) 180 (B) 200 (C) 220 (D) 250
Answer: (B) 200.
40% of 500 = (40 × 500) ÷ 100 = 200 marks.
Q5. In an election, the winner gets 55% of the votes and wins by 6,000 votes. How many votes were cast in total?
(A) 50,000 (B) 60,000 (C) 66,000 (D) 55,000
Answer: (B) 60,000.
The loser gets 45%, so the margin is 55% − 45% = 10% of the total. 10% of the total is 6,000, so the total is 6,000 × 10 = 60,000 votes. The trap is treating 6,000 as 55% of the total.
Q6. A price rises by 20% and then falls by 10%. What is the net percentage change?
(A) 10% increase (B) 8% increase (C) 12% increase (D) No change
Answer: (B) 8% increase.
Multiply the factors: 1.20 × 0.90 = 1.08, which is an 8% net increase. Adding 20 and −10 to get 10% is the commonest error in this topic.
Q7. A shopkeeper offers two successive discounts of 20% and 25%. What is the single equivalent discount?
(A) 45% (B) 40% (C) 35% (D) 42%
Answer: (B) 40%.
Single discount = 20 + 25 − (20 × 25 ÷ 100) = 45 − 5 = 40%. On ₹100, the price falls to ₹80, then to ₹60 — a total discount of ₹40.
Q8. A town has 80,000 people. The population rises by 12.5% in the first year and falls by 10% in the second year. What is the population after two years?
(A) 80,000 (B) 81,000 (C) 79,200 (D) 82,000
Answer: (B) 81,000.
After year one: 80,000 × 1.125 = 90,000. After year two: 90,000 × 0.90 = 81,000. The rise and fall do not cancel, because the fall acts on the larger number.
Q9. An article costs ₹640. It is sold at a profit of 25%. What is the selling price?
(A) ₹760 (B) ₹800 (C) ₹820 (D) ₹700
Answer: (B) ₹800.
Selling price = 640 × 1.25 = ₹800. A 25% profit means the selling price is 125% of the cost price.
Q10. 105 is what per cent of 350?
(A) 25% (B) 28% (C) 30% (D) 35%
Answer: (C) 30%.
(105 ÷ 350) × 100 = 30%. Check: 30% of 350 is 105.
Q11. A man spends 75% of his income and saves ₹9,000 a month. What is his monthly income?
(A) ₹30,000 (B) ₹36,000 (C) ₹40,000 (D) ₹27,000
Answer: (B) ₹36,000.
Savings are 100% − 75% = 25% of income. 25% of income is ₹9,000, so income = 9,000 × 4 = ₹36,000.
Q12. A 40-litre solution contains 25% salt. How many litres of salt does it contain?
(A) 8 litres (B) 10 litres (C) 12 litres (D) 15 litres
Answer: (B) 10 litres.
25% of 40 = (25 × 40) ÷ 100 = 10 litres. The remaining 30 litres are water.
Q13. In an exam, 1,200 candidates appear and 65% pass. How many candidates pass?
(A) 720 (B) 780 (C) 800 (D) 750
Answer: (B) 780.
65% of 1,200 = (65 × 1,200) ÷ 100 = 780 candidates. The number who fail is 1,200 − 780 = 420.
Q14. Express 7/20 as a percentage.
(A) 30% (B) 32% (C) 35% (D) 38%
Answer: (C) 35%.
(7 ÷ 20) × 100 = 35%. Shortcut: multiply numerator and denominator by 5 to get 35/100.
Q15. A salary of ₹42,000 is increased by 18%. What is the new salary?
(A) ₹48,560 (B) ₹49,560 (C) ₹50,000 (D) ₹47,600
Answer: (B) ₹49,560.
New salary = 42,000 × 1.18 = ₹49,560. The increase itself is 42,000 × 0.18 = ₹7,560.
Q16. A is 20% more than B. If B is 500, what is A?
(A) 550 (B) 600 (C) 620 (D) 580
Answer: (B) 600.
A = 500 × 1.20 = 600. The base is B's value, 500.
Q17. B is 20% less than A. If A is 600, what is B?
(A) 480 (B) 500 (C) 450 (D) 520
Answer: (A) 480.
B = 600 × 0.80 = 480. Note the pair with Q16: 500 to 600 is +20%, but 600 to 480 is −20%. The same 20% means different amounts because the base changes.
Q18. A quantity rises by 10%, then by 20%, then falls by 25%. What is the net percentage change?
(A) 5% increase (B) 1% decrease (C) 5% decrease (D) No change
Answer: (B) 1% decrease.
Multiply the factors: 1.10 × 1.20 × 0.75 = 0.99, which is a 1% net decrease. Adding the percentages (+10 + 20 − 25 = +5%) gives the wrong answer in option (A).
Q19. The price of rice rises by 25%. By what percentage must a family reduce consumption to keep its rice bill unchanged?
(A) 25% (B) 20% (C) 16.67% (D) 30%
Answer: (B) 20%.
Reduction = (25 ÷ 125) × 100 = 20%. If the family bought 100 kg for ₹100, the new price buys only 80 kg for the same ₹100.
Q20. 30% of a number is 45. What is the number?
(A) 120 (B) 135 (C) 150 (D) 180
Answer: (C) 150.
Number = 45 ÷ 0.30 = 150. Check: 30% of 150 is 45.
Percentage Questions with Answers FAQs
How do you calculate successive percentage changes?
Multiply the change factors, never add the percentages. A 20% rise followed by a 10% fall is 1.20 × 0.90 = 1.08, an 8% net rise. See Q6 and Q18 above, and the percentage tricks for SSC CGL note for the full shortcut table.
What is the difference between percentage points and per cent?
Percentage points measure the arithmetic difference between two percentages. A rise from 40% to 50% is a rise of 10 percentage points, but a 25% increase relative to the original 40%. Exams usually ask for the relative change, as in Q2.
How do you find the original number from a percentage?
Divide the given value by the percentage as a decimal. If 30% of a number is 45, the number is 45 ÷ 0.30 = 150, as in Q20. If a price after a 20% discount is ₹800, the original price is 800 ÷ 0.80 = ₹1,000.
Why do two successive discounts not add up?
Because the second discount acts on the already reduced price, not the original. Discounts of 20% and 25% give 40%, not 45% — the second discount's 25% applies to ₹80, not ₹100, as Q7 shows.
Which percentage questions appear most in SSC and bank exams?
Successive changes, discounts, votes and election margins, pass marks, and "x% more/less than" comparisons. These five forms cover most of the percentage questions in SSC CGL, CHSL and GD papers and in IBPS and SBI Prelims papers.