What is the value of sin(30°)?

• A. 0
• B. 0.25
• C. 0.5
• D. 1

Answer: (C)

The value of sin(30°) is 0.5. This can be understood through the properties of the sine function and the special angles in trigonometry. The sine of an angle in a right triangle is defined as the ratio of the length of the opposite side to the length of the hypotenuse.

For a 30° angle in a right triangle, if you consider an equilateral triangle where each side measures 1 unit, splitting it in half creates two 30°-60°-90° triangles. In this particular configuration, the side opposite the 30° angle is half the length of the hypotenuse. Since the hypotenuse is 1 unit, the length of the side opposite the 30° angle is 0.5 units.

Therefore, when you compute the sine of 30°:

[

\sin(30°) = \frac{\text{opposite}}{\text{hypotenuse}} = \frac{0.5}{1} = 0.5

]

This fundamental value of sin(30°) is often memorized in trigonometry because it is one of the key angles commonly encountered. Understanding this helps with solving other problems in