In a competitive market, the equilibrium price is determined by matching buyers and sellers at a price where the quantity demanded equals the quantity supplied. In this case, we have nine buyers and nine sellers with different values for the good.
To find the equilibrium price, we can arrange the values in descending order:
Buyer Values: $10, $9, $8, $7, $6, $5, $4, $3, $2
Seller Values: $10, $9, $8, $7, $6, $5, $4, $3, $2
In a competitive market, the equilibrium price will be the value of the lowest buyer who can still find a seller willing to sell at that price. In this case, the lowest buyer value is $2, and there is at least one seller willing to sell at that price (since there is a seller with a value of $2). Therefore, the equilibrium price in this market is $2.
So, none of the provided options (a. $5, b. $6, c. $7, d. $8) are correct. The equilibrium price is $2.