Final answer:
The Berkley Company has $24,000 worth of goods available for sale during the period. Selling half of its inventory does not change this amount since the calculation of goods available for sale is based on the beginning inventory plus purchases before accounting for sales.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Berkley Company had a beginning inventory of $4,000 and made additional purchases amounting to $20,000. To determine the goods available for sale during the period, we sum the beginning inventory and the purchases. The calculation is as follows: $4,000 (beginning inventory) + $20,000 (purchases) = $24,000 goods available for sale.
If the company sold half of its inventory, we would then calculate half of the goods available for sale, which is $24,000 divided by 2, equating to $12,000 worth of goods sold. Consequently, the remaining goods available for sale would still be $24,000, as the selling of the goods does not change the initial amount available for sale within the period.