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Prove the identity: cos (2x) = cos^2(x) - sin^2(x)?

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  • 1 decade ago
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    cos(2x) = cos(x+x)

    by the formula for cosine of sum of two angles, which you probably have already learned,

    cos(x+x) = cos(x)cos(x) - sin(x)sin(x) = cos^2(x) - sin^2(x)

    also, because cos^2(x) + sin^2(x) = 1 by the pythagorean identity, cos(2x) = 1-sin^2(x) - sin^2(x) = 1-2sin^2(x)

    by similar reasonining, cos(2x) = 2cos^2(x) - 1

    so cos(2x) = cos^2(x) -sin^2(x) = 2cos^2(x) - 1 = 1 - 2sin^2(x)

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