Trig Identity: How do I go about proving this?
cos3x = cos^3 x - sin^2 xcosx
Here's how far I am:
cos3x = cos^3 x - sin^2 xcosx
cosx(cos^2 x - sin^2 x)
cosx(cos2x)
Not sure how I go about combining these at this point.
Alternatively, I also tried using the other side:
cos3x =
cos2xcosx - sin2xsinx =
(cos^2 x - sin^2 x)(cosx) - 2sin^2 xcosx
cos^3 x - sin^2 xcosx - 2sin^2 xcosx
cos^ 3 - 3sin^2 xcosx
Help. I have no idea what to do at this point.
Posted Dec 2, 2011, 3:20 AM UTC
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