This one was tough... because I kept mis-reading the question:
4.25 men reap a field in 20 days . when should 15 men leave the work.if the whole field is to be reaped in 37-1/2 days after they leave the work?
A 5 days
B 10 days
Here is the base equation that we want to set up:
let A = number of days where 25 people are working
let B = number of days where only 10 people are working (ie. after the 15 people leave)
(Rate of 25 people working)*(A)+(Rate of 10 people working)*(B) = 1 job
The trick is the figure out the rate of 10 people working:
If it takes 25 people to finish 1 job in 20 days, then it would take one person 20*25 days to finish 1 job or...
X number of people "X/(20*25)" days to complete 1 job.
So...
(Rate of 25 people working)*(A)+(Rate of 10 people working)*(B) = 1 job
(1/20)*A + (10/(20*25))*B = 1
We already know that B = 37.5
(1/20)*A + (10/(20*25))*37.5 = 1
A = 5
ANSWER A. 5