I'm always putting my foot in it, especially with errors like that. It's often easier to see other's errors than your own.
Having looked a bit further into this, I see there is a further possibility. The idea of area magnification does not seem to be common, so I'll leave that for now. But the magnification achieved by a lens does depend on where you hold the object and form the image.
The maximum mag is achieved when the image is at the near point and the object is nearer than f. That is the situation we are looking at here.
But "normal adjustment" of an optical instrument assumes the image is at ∞ and the object at f. This is supposed to be the most comfortable position, but gives a lower magnification.
Maybe, they are defining magnification at normal adjustment and asking us to find out the focal length, then use this to calculate the object distance for maximum magnification. (There is actually a simpler procedure, since it turns out that MNP = M∞ + 1)
The magnification in normal adjustment, when the object is held at f, is
##M = \frac{\ angle\ subtended\ by\ the\ image\ }{\ angle\ subtended\ by\ object\ at\ closest\ viewing\ point\ }##
##M = \frac{\ the\ angle\ subtended\ by\ the\ object\ when\ at\ f\ }{\ the\ angle\ subtended\ by\ the\ object\ when\ at\ the\ NP\ }##
##M = \frac{ h}{f}## / ## \frac{h}{25cm}## = ##\frac{25cm}{f}##
Since this is a HW Q, I'll pause there. You can look these formulae up on Hyperphysics or somewhere, or ask for further explanation as you choose.