now, 6 months is not even a year, since there are 12 months in a year, then 6 months is really just 6/12 of a year, or just 1/2, then,
[tex]\bf ~~~~~~ \textit{Simple Interest Earned}\\\\
I = Prt\qquad
\begin{cases}
I=\textit{interest earned}\\
P=\textit{original amount deposited}\to& \$500\\
r=rate\to 6\%\to \frac{6}{100}\to &0.06\\
t=years\to \frac{6}{12}\to &\frac{1}{2}
\end{cases}
\\\\\\
I=500\cdot 0.06\cdot \cfrac{1}{2}[/tex]