How to get select box option value in jQuery

Answer 1

I did so,

<select id='coprede' name='cop_rede'>
<option value='1'>Cop Rio de Janeiro</option>
    <option value='2'>Cop Nordeste</option>
    <option value='3'>Cop Vitoria</option>
    <option value='4'>Cluster Norte</option>
    <option value='5'>Cluster Centro Oeste</option>
</select>

within the script:

$(function(){

$('#coprede').change(function(){
    alert($('#coprede :selected').val());
    });
});