Fields Company purchased equipment on January 1 for 180,000 This system has a useful life of 8 years and a salvage value of 20,000 The company estimates that the equipment will produce 40,000 units over its 8-year useful life . Actual units produced are: Year 1 - 4,000 units;Year 2. -6 ,000 units; Year 3 - 8,000 units Year 4-5,000 units; Year 5 -4,000 units; Year 6-5,000 units; Year 7 - 7,000 units; Year 8 - 3 ,000 units. What would be the depreciation expense for the second year of its useful life using the straight-line method? 45,000 24,000 33,750 16,000 20,000

To calculate the depreciation expense using the straight-line method, we first need to determine the annual depreciation expense. The formula for straight-line depreciation is:<br /><br />\[<br />\text{Annual Depreciation Expense} = \frac{\text{Cost of the Asset} - \text{Salvage Value}}{\text{Useful Life}}<br />\]<br /><br />Given:<br />- Cost of the Asset = \( \$180,000 \)<br />- Salvage Value = \( \$20,000 \)<br />- Useful Life = 8 years<br /><br />Plug these values into the formula:<br /><br />\[<br />\text{Annual Depreciation Expense} = \frac{\$180,000 - \$20,000}{8} = \frac{\$160,000}{8} = \$20,000<br />\]<br /><br />Therefore, the depreciation expense for the second year using the straight-line method is \(\$20,000\).<br /><br />The correct answer is: \(\$20,000\).