Abus makes a stop at 2: 30, letting off 14 people and letting on 9. the bus makes another stop ten minutes later to let off 5 more people. how does the number of people on the bus after the second stop compare to the number of people on the bus before the 2: 30 stop?

There had to be at least 14 on from the start.
Lets say x = the number from the start.
x - 14 + 9 - 5 = after 2:30
Compare like terms.
14+9 = 23. 23 - 5 = 18.
Lets say there was 15 people on the bus from the start...
15-14+9-5 = 5
We went from 15 to 5.

Q: How does the number of people on the bus after the second stop compare to the number of people on the bus before the 2:30 stop?
A: -10 people (10 people less)

The answer would be 27 because assuming that each package has 1 bar of soap and 1 tube of toothpaste, after 27 packages they would run out of toothpaste