Problem of the Week

Buy a Slurpee

You walk into a 7-11 store and select four items to buy (7-11 is a convenience in the USA with almost 9,500 locations). One of the four items you purchase is an ice cold slurpee (7-11 slushee).  The clerk at the counter informs you that the total of your four items is $7.11 (without any tax).You are surprised that the total cost is the same as the name of the store. The clerk tells you that he simply multiplied the cost of each item and arrived at the total. As a math lover you calmly inform the clerk that the items should be added together, not multiplied.  Your cost without tax should be the sum of the four items not product. The clerk adds the items together and shares that the total is still exactly $7.11. By the way, there is no sales tax on these items in this state.  The four items each have a distinct cost and there is no need for rounding.  If the cost of the slurpee is the third most expensive item item of the four, what is the cost of the slurpee?  For example, if the prices are 2, 5, 7, 9, the third most expensive is 7.