What is the value of sin(15 degrees) using the unit circle?
To find the value of $ \sin(15^\circ) $ using the unit circle, we use the angle addition formula:
$$ \sin(a + b) = \sin(a) \cos(b) + \cos(a)\sin(b) $$
Here, let $ a = 45^\circ $ and $ b = -30^\circ $. Then,
$$ \sin(45^\circ – 30^\circ) = \sin(45^\circ)\cos(30^\circ) + \cos(45^\circ)\sin(30^\circ) $$
Substituting the values, we get:
$$ \sin(15^\circ) = \frac{\sqrt{2}}{2} \cdot \frac{\sqrt{3}}{2} + \frac{\sqrt{2}}{2} \cdot \frac{1}{2} $$
Simplify the expression:
$$ \sin(15^\circ) = \frac{\sqrt{6}}{4} + \frac{\sqrt{2}}{4} $$
Combine the fractions:
$$ \sin(15^\circ) = \frac{\sqrt{6} + \sqrt{2}}{4} $$