SAT · Additional Topics in Math · Right triangle trigonometry
Question sat-q-00178
Medium Multiple choice No calculator
The question
What is the value of sin(30°)?
- ½
- 1
- 0
- √3/2
Show answer & worked solution
Answer: ½
Worked solution. Recall the unit circle: sin(30°) = ½.
Why each wrong choice is wrong. The classic distractor swaps sine and cosine values for the same angle. Drilling the unit circle eliminates this entirely.
Test-day tactic. Memorize sine and cosine at 0°, 30°, 45°, 60°, and 90°. The values are short and they appear constantly.
About this question type
Items test the basic trig ratios (sine, cosine, tangent), the special right triangles (30-60-90 and 45-45-90), and the Pythagorean theorem. Common surface forms include finding a missing side given an angle and a side, finding an angle given two sides, or recognizing a Pythagorean triple in disguise.
You will see a question shaped like this one on roughly every other official SAT form, typically at a moderate position in the section — solidly within the range that separates a 600-band student from a 700-band student. Treat any miss in this subtopic as a signal to drill the subtopic page before you do another full practice test.