I think they mean that there were 209 items sold, made up of some number of salads (x) and some number of drinks (y) such that X + Y = 209, and that $6.50X + $2

I think they mean that there were 209 items sold, made up of some number of salads (x) and some number of drinks (y) such that X + Y = 209, and that $6.50X + $2.00Y = $836.50 The question is horribly worded, but I hope that helps clear some ambiguity. It's a system of equations -- 2 equations, 2 unknowns, which makes it a slightly harder problem.