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Write an algebraic equation for the following problem and then solve it.
A town's employment statistics show that 867 of its residents were unemployed last month. This is a decrease of 
15% from the previous month. How many residents were unemployed in the previous month?

Write an algebraic equation for the following problem and then solve it.\newlineA town's employment statistics show that 867867 of its residents were unemployed last month. This is a decrease of 15% 15 \% from the previous month. How many residents were unemployed in the previous month?

Full solution

Q. Write an algebraic equation for the following problem and then solve it.\newlineA town's employment statistics show that 867867 of its residents were unemployed last month. This is a decrease of 15% 15 \% from the previous month. How many residents were unemployed in the previous month?
  1. Define variable for previous month: Step 11: Define the variable for the previous month's unemployment.\newlineLet pp be the number of unemployed residents in the previous month.\newlineCurrent unemployment = p15%p - 15\% of pp.\newlineCalculation: 867=p0.15p867 = p - 0.15p
  2. Simplify equation to solve: Step 22: Simplify the equation to solve for pp. Combine like terms. 0.85p=8670.85p = 867
  3. Solve for p: Step 33: Solve for p by dividing both sides by 0.850.85.\newlinep=8670.85p = \frac{867}{0.85}\newlinep=1020.5882352941176p = 1020.5882352941176