Further Application of de Moivre's Theorem

1. Trigonometric Functions of Multiple Angles

de Moivres Theorem can help to express cos n, sin n and tan n in terms of cos , sin and/or tan
, which is often useful in simplifying trigonometric expressions or solving trigonometric equations:

sin 2 = 2 sin cos

sin 3 = 3 sin 4 sin3
sin 4 = 4 sin cos 8 sin3 cos
sin 5 = 5 sin 20 sin3 + 16 sin5
sin 6 = 6 sin cos 32 sin3 cos + 32 sin5 cos

cos 2 = 2 cos2 1
cos 3 = 4 cos3 3 cos
cos 4 = 8 cos4 8 cos2 + 1
cos 5 = 16 cos5 20 cos3 + 5 cos
cos 6 = 32 cos6 48 cos4 + 18 cos2 1

Example 1
(i) cos 5
= Re (cos 5 + i sin 5)
= Re (cos + i sin )5 by de Moivres Theorem
= Re (c + is)5 where c = cos , s = sin
= Re [ c5 + 5c4is + 10c3(is)2 + 10 c2(is)3 + 5c(is)4 + (is)5 ]
= Re (c5 + 5c4is 10c3s2 10 c2is3 + 5cs4 + is5) since i2 = 1
5 3 2 4
= c 10c s + 5cs
= c5 10 c3 (1 c2) + 5 c(1 c2)2 using s2 + c2 = 1
5 3 5 2 4
= c 10 c + 10 c + 5 c(1 2 c + c )
= 16 cos5 20 cos3 + 5 cos
(ii) sin 5 = Im (cos 5 + i sin 5)
= Im (c5 + 5c4is 10c3s2 10 c2is3 + 5cs4 + is5) from part (i)
= 5c4s 10 c2s3 + s5
= 5(1 s2)2 s 10 (1 s2) s3 + s5 using s2 + c2 = 1
2 4 3 5 5
= 5(1 2s + s ) s 10s + 10 s + s
= 5 sin 20 sin3 + 16 sin5
(iii) tan 5
sin 5
=
cos 5
5cos4 sin 10 cos2 sin3 + sin5
= from parts (i) and (ii)
cos5 10cos3 sin2 + 5cos sin4
5 tan 10 tan + tan
3 5
= (by dividing throughout by cos5 )
1 10 tan2 + 5 tan4

2. Powers of Trigonometric Functions

de Moivres Theorem can also help to express powers of cos and sin in terms of cosines and sines
of multiple angles. This is helpful for integrating powers of cos and sin :

1 1
sin2 = 2 (1 cos 2) cos2 = 2 (1 + cos 2)

1
 1 1
sin3 = 4 (3 sin sin 3) cos3 = 4 (3 cos + cos 3)
1 1
sin4 = 8 (3 4 cos 2 + cos 4) cos4 = 8 (3 + 4 cos 2 + cos 4)
1 1
sin5 = 16 (10 sin 5 sin 3 + sin 5) cos5 = 16 (10 cos + 5 cos 3 + cos 5)
1 1
sin6 = 32 (10 15 cos 2 + 6 cos 4 cos 6) cos6 = 32 (10 + 15 cos 2 + 6 cos 4 + cos 6)

1 1
If z = cos + i sin , we know that z = cos i sin , so that z + z = 2 cos
1
z z = 2i sin
1
Similarly, using zn = cos n + i sin n and zn = (cos + i sin )n
= cos (n) + i sin (n) by de Moivres Theorem
= cos n i sin n
1
we get zn + zn = 2 cos n
1
zn zn = 2i sin n
Example 2
1
(i) (2 cos )5 = ( z + )5
z
1 1 1 1 1
25 cos5 = z5 + 5z4 + 10z3 2 + 10z2 3 + 5z 4 + 5
z z z z z
1 1 1
32 cos5 = z5 + 5z3+ 10z + 10 z + 5 z3 + z5
1 1 1
= ( z5 + z5 ) + 5( z3 + z3 ) + 10(z + z )
= 2 cos 5 + 10 cos 3 + 20 cos
1 5 5
cos5 = 16 cos 5 + 16 cos 3 + 8 cos
1 5 5
cos5 d = 16 cos 5 + 16 cos 3 + 8 cos d
1 5 5
= 80 sin 5 + 48 sin 3 + 8 sin + C
1
(ii) (2i sin )5 = ( z z )5
1 1 1 1 1
25 i5 sin5 = z5 5z4 + 10z3 2 10z2 3 + 5z 4 5
z z z z z
1 1 1
32i sin5 5 3
= z 5z + 10z 10 + 5 3 5
z z z
5 1 3 1 1
= ( z z5 ) 5( z z3 ) + 10(z z )
= 2i sin 5 10i sin 3 + 20i sin
1 5 5
sin5 = sin 5 sin 3 + sin
16 16 8
1 5 5
sin5 d = 16 sin 5 16 sin 3 + 8 sin d
1 5 5
= 80 cos 5 + 48 cos 3 8 cos + C