>In order to type the degree symbol, press and hold >down the Alt key while on the numeric key pad typing >0176. (The '0' is needed.)
Why not
$^\circ$, or
\usepackage{gensymb}
\degree
I like the output of these commands better than the Alt+0176 symbol.
See also:
http://anthony.liekens.net/index.php/LaTeX/DegreesNotation
Vincent
