Final answer:
The opportunity cost in the student's question refers to how many units of fish must be given up to produce two additional units of coconuts, based on the production possibility curve (PPC).
Step-by-step explanation:
The concept of opportunity cost is a fundamental principle in economics that refers to the cost of the next best alternative that is forgone when making a decision. In the scenario provided, increasing coconut production from 6 to 8 involves considering the opportunity cost of this decision based on the production possibilities curve (PPC). If the country increases its coconut production, it would need to sacrifice the production of another good, in this case, fish. The question asks for the opportunity cost of increasing coconut production, which would be the amount of fish that has to be given up.
To answer the student's question precisely, we refer to the tradeoff between coconuts and fish. We must assume the PPC shows a constant tradeoff rate since we do not have specific data points. Correctly understanding the opportunity cost concept requires thinking at the margin, which means considering the effects of producing one additional unit of a good. The answer to the question would be the amount of fish forgone to produce two additional coconuts.