In a triangle ABC, with angles A, B, and C and sides AB, BC, and AC, angle B is a right (90°) angle. If the sin of angle A is 0.5 and side BC is 8 inches long, what is the length of side AC?
In a right triangle, the sine of an angle is defined as the ratio of the length of the opposite side to the length of the hypotenuse. In this case, sin(A) = opposite side / hypotenuse = BC / AC.
We know that sin(A) = 0.5 and BC = 8 inches, so we can substitute these values into the equation:
0.5 = 8 inches / AC.
Rearranging the equation to solve for AC, we get:
AC = 8 inches / 0.5 = 16 inches.
Therefore, the length of side AC is 16 inches.