A shopkeeper bought some pencils at Rs. 18 a dozen and sold them at a profit of 20%. Find the selling price per pencil :

Question

Accepted Answer

To determine the selling price per pencil, we need to follow these steps:

1. **Calculate the Cost Price per Pencil:**
   - The shopkeeper bought pencils at Rs. 18 per dozen.
   - A dozen consists of 12 pencils.
   - Therefore, the cost price per pencil is Rs. 18 / 12 = Rs. 1.50.

2. **Calculate the Selling Price per Pencil with 20% Profit:**
   - The profit percentage is 20%.
   - To find the selling price, we add the profit to the cost price.
   - Profit per pencil = 20% of Rs. 1.50 = (20/100) * 1.50 = Rs. 0.30.
   - Therefore, the selling price per pencil = Cost price + Profit = Rs. 1.50 + Rs. 0.30 = Rs. 1.80.

Thus, the selling price per pencil is Rs. 1.80, which corresponds to Option 2.

**Explanation for Other Options:**

- **Option 1 (Rs. 1.50):** This is the cost price per pencil without any profit. Since the shopkeeper sells at a 20% profit, this option is incorrect.

- **Option 3 (Rs. 2.50):** This selling price would imply a profit of Rs. 1.00 per pencil, which is significantly higher than the 20% profit margin calculated. Therefore, this option is incorrect.

- **Option 4 (Rs. 2.60):** Similar to Option 3, this selling price suggests an even higher profit margin, which does not align with the 20% profit specified in the question. Hence, this option is incorrect.

In conclusion, the correct selling price per pencil, considering a 20% profit on the cost price, is Rs. 1.80, making Option 2 the correct choice.