The product of two numbers is equal to 40. How will the product change if one of the factors decreases 5 times?

Let us denote the first of the factors by a1, and the second of the factors by a2.

In the initial data for this task, it is reported that if we multiply these two factors, then the result will be four tens, therefore, the following relationship holds:

a1 * a2 = 40.

If the first of the factors is reduced by five times, then the resulting factor will be equal to a1 / 5.

Then the product of the resulting factor and the second factor will be:

(a1 / 5) * a2 = (a1 * a2) / 5 = 40/5 = 8.

Consequently, the work will be reduced by five times.

Answer: the work will decrease by five times.