The total number, n, of employees at a company depends on the company's yearly gross profits according to the equation according to the equation n=10p+20, where p is the yearly profit in millions of dollars. if the yearly gross profit declined from 20 million dollars to 15 million dollars, what was the decrease in the number of employees?

 
The number of employees will decrease by 50.

Solution:
The total number of employees depend on the yearly profit in millions by the following equation:

n = 10p + 20

For a yearly profit of $ 20 million, p = 20. So in this case:
n = 10(20) + 20 = 220 employees.

For a yearly profit of $15 million, p=15. So in this case:
n = 10(15) + 20 = 170 employees.

Thus, if the yearly gross profit declined from 20 million dollars to 15 million dollars the number of employees declined from 220 to 170, which is a decrease of 50 employees.