Quadruple Angle Formulas/Sine/Mistake
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Source Work
1964: Murray R. Spiegel: Theory and Problems of Complex Variables
- Chapter $1$: Complex Numbers
- Supplementary Problems: De Moivre's Theorem: $93 \ \text{(a)}$
This mistake can be seen in the 1981 printing of the second edition (1974) as published by Schaum: ISBN 0-070-84382-1
Mistake
- Prove that:
- $\dfrac {\sin 4 \theta} {\sin \theta} = 8 \cos^3 \theta - 4 = 2 \cos 3 \theta + 6 \cos \theta - 4$
Correction
The correct expression is:
- $\dfrac {\sin 4 \theta} {\sin \theta} = 8 \cos^3 \theta - 4 \cos \theta = 2 \cos 3 \theta + 2 \cos \theta$
as demonstrated in Quadruple Angle Formulas for Sine: Corollary 1 and Quadruple Angle Formulas for Sine: Corollary 2
The mistake in the second expression probably arose from taking the incorrect result of the first expression:
- $\dfrac {\sin 4 \theta} {\sin \theta} = 8 \cos^3 \theta - 4$
and substituting for $\cos^3 \theta$ from Power Reduction Formulas/Cosine Cubed.
Sources
- 1981: Murray R. Spiegel: Theory and Problems of Complex Variables (SI ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): $1$: Complex Numbers: Supplementary Problems: De Moivre's Theorem: $93 \ \text{(a)}$