De Moivre 1 Running Head: DE MOIVRE Go to Mr. de Moirve; he knows these things better than I do.

Stephen Schoupp Western Governors University De Moivre 2 Go to Mr. de Moirve; he knows these things better than I do. Abraham de Moivre was a French mathematician (1667-1754) whom made numerous definitive contributions to the disciplines of trigonometry and probability. A contemporary and peer of Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz, De Moivre is best known for the formula bearing his name: the De Moivre theorem, z = r(cos u + i sin u), then zn = rn(cos nu + i sin nu). Published in 1722, the De Moivre theorem colligates complex numbers and trigonometry for positive integrals and was lucubrated into the field of complex analysis for all real numbers in 1749 by Leonhard Euler. This paper will attempt to validate the De Moivre theorem for n = 2. De Moivres theorem states: z = r(cos u + i sin u), then zn = rn(cos nu + i sin nu), and n = 2 the equation becomes: z2 = r2(cos 2u + i sin 2u) To corroborate this equation we return to De Moivres theorem: z = r(cos u + i sin u), then zn = rn(cos nu + i sin nu) and with n = 2, square both sides of the equation by the principle of powers theorem: z(z) = {r(cos u + i sin u)}{ r (cos u + i sin u)} By the associative power of multiplication: z2 = r2(cos u + i sin u)(cos u + i sin u) De Moivre 3 and in multiplying binomial expressions by FOIL (first, outer, inner, last), the equation becomes: z2 = r2{cos2 u + (i sin u cos u) + (i sin u cos u) + i2 sin2 u}

Through the associative property of addition: z2 = r2{cos2 u + i2 sin2 u + 2(i sin u cos u)} and with the definition of imaginary numbers (i2= -1), the equation becomes: z2 = r2{(cos2 u - sin2 u) + 2(i sin u cos u)} Then, using the angle difference identity: cos2 u - sin2 u = (cos u)(cos u) - (sin u)(sin u) = cos (u + u) = cos 2u and using the angle sum identity: 2(sin u cos u) = {(sin u)(cos u) + (sin u)(cos u)} = sin (u + u) = sin 2u By trig substitution, the angle identity sum and difference components can be inserted into the original equation: z2 = r2(cos 2u + i sin 2u) which validates De Moivres theorem for n = 2. De Moivres theorem can also be demonstrated using any integer, positive or negative through the induction method or by using Eulers formula, eix = cos x + i sin x for any real De Moivre 4 number n. It remains a significant formula for finding derivatives of trigonomic functions. De Moivre 5 Endnotes See OConner, J., and Robertson, E. (2004). Abraham de Moivre. Retrieved from: http://www-history.mcs.standrews.ac.uk/ Biographies/De_Moivre.html. Ibid.