To calculate the sales tax, we first need to find 5% of the price, which can be done by multiplying the price by 0.05:
Sales tax = $34.50 x 0.05 = $1.725
To find the total cost, we need to add the price and the sales tax:
Total cost = Price + Sales tax = $34.50 + $1.725 = $36.225
Rounding to two decimal places, the total cost is $36.23.
Therefore, the sales tax is $1.725 and the total cost, including the tax, is $36.23.