If 5 boys write 5 pages in 5 minutes, then 3 boys will write 3 pages in

The key is to find how much one boy writes in one unit of time. Each boy works independently at the same rate, so the time taken depends only on the pages each boy must write, not on the total number of boys or pages.

In the first case, 5 boys write 5 pages in 5 minutes. That means each boy writes 1 page in 5 minutes. Now 3 boys each write 1 page, which gives 3 pages. Since each boy still needs only 5 minutes for one page, the time is still 5 minutes. So the answer is C.

• Option A (1 minute): Would require each boy to write a page five times faster than the given rate. Wrong.
• Option B (3 minute): Treats the number of pages or boys as the time, a proportionality error. Wrong.
• Option D (9 minute): Has no consistent link with the given rate. Wrong.

Core concept: time and work, where work done equals rate multiplied by time for each worker. Scaling workers and work together leaves the time unchanged. This reasoning appears in CSAT and helps in quick data interpretation for Mains GS-IV.

Trap: Aspirants apply a blind 'more work, more time' rule and pick B or D without first finding the work done by one boy in one unit of time.