Final answer:
The equivalent units of production for materials for January in the given scenario are 80,000 units, as all materials are added at the beginning and thus all units started are considered 100% complete for materials.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student is asking about the calculation of equivalent units of production for materials in a manufacturing process where raw materials are added at the beginning and conversion costs are incurred uniformly throughout the process. With no beginning inventory, 80,000 units started, and 20,000 units 40% complete at the end of January, the calculation for equivalent units for materials is straightforward.
For materials, every unit that was started would have been 100% complete with respect to materials since the materials are added at the beginning of the process. Therefore, the equivalent units of production for materials would simply be the total units started, regardless of the completion percentage of the ending work in process inventory. This amounts to:
80,000 units (started) + 0 units (40% complete, but already fully accounted for in materials) = 80,000 equivalent units of production for materials in January.