2.

2 de Moivres Theorem
de Moivres theorem states that:

for all real values of n,

(cos + i sin )n = cos n + i sin n.
This is a very important relationship we need to know about complex numbers.
before we start using it, lets try to prove it first.

PROOF
When n = 1,
(cos + i sin )1 = cos + i sin
and so the theorem hold for n = 1.
Now, we assume that the theorem is true for n = k, so
(cos + i sin )k = cos k + i sin k
if the equation is true for n = k, it should be true for n = k + 1, and therefore
(cos + i sin )k+1 = (cos k + i sin k)(cos + i sin )
= cos k cos + 2i cos k sin sin k sin
= cos (k + 1) + i sin (k + 1)
which is true.
.. by mathematical induction, de Moivres Theorem is true for all integers n > 0.

Lets try proving for negative numbers too.

Let n = p.

since p = n, cos (-n) i sin (-n) = cos n + i sin n.

.. once again, this theorem is proven.

So we see that actually de Moivres Theorem is true for all values of n, where n is
any integer. We can also show that it is true for fractions, but this is beyond what we
can learn. However, one thing to note that if n is not an integer, cos n + i sin n is
only one of the possible values. I will elaborate more on the next post in the section
on roots of unity.
The most important thing for this section, is that you need to remember how to prove
this theorem, and know how to use it. You will be able to simplify a lot of complex
number equations by changing the exponents into just multiplication of numbers.
Another thing you should note is the relations of negative angles.
cos (-) = cos
sin (-) = - sin
You will be dealing with all these a lot. It is good to memorize it, and be careful not to
make mistakes.

APPLICATIONS
1. Ill show you an example how de Moivres Theorem help you in proving
trigonometric identities.
Express sin 3A in terms of sin A.
sin 3A = Im (cos 3A + i sin 3A) [here, Im means imaginary, while Re means
real.]
= Im (cos A + i sin A) 3
= Im ( cos3 A + 3 cos2 A i sin A - 3 cos A sin2 A i sin3 A)
= 3 cos2 A sin A sin3 A
= 3 sin A 4 sin3 A
Okay, I need to explain this. Here, we are trying to project the term sin 3A in terms of
a complex number, which can be dealt with using de Moivres Theorem. So sin 3A,
is actually the imaginary part of cos 3A + i sin 3A, and we put the Im there
because sin 3A belongs to the imaginary part (this means that if our question
was cos 3A, we have to put Re in front of it instead). We evaluate it, and when we
remove the Im sign, we remove all the real parts (terms without the i), leaving the
imaginary part without the i in it. Try using this method to solve cos 3A, you will
understand more by then.
2. If we set z = cos + i sin , then

From here, you can further deduce that

With all these, we can do the above example backwards.

Express sin3 A in terms of sines of multiple angles.