Final answer:
The total cost to produce 8700 units is $91,500. The cost of the 8701st item, which reflects the marginal cost, is $5.
Step-by-step explanation:
The total cost to produce 8700 units is computed by substituting q = 8700 into the cost function C(q) = 5q + 48000.
This yields a total cost of C(8700) = 5(8700) + 48000 = $91500.
The cost of the 8701st item is the marginal cost, which is the cost of producing one more unit beyond the 8700 units.
Since the cost function is linear, the marginal cost is constant and equal to the coefficient of q, which is $5.