Can Euler's formula accurately calculate arcsine?

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around the use of Euler's formula for calculating arcsine, specifically through the lens of arctan. Participants are exploring the accuracy of this method when applied to various input values, particularly those close to 1.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to use an infinite series representation of arctan to compute arcsine and questions the accuracy of results for specific inputs. Other participants discuss the implications of truncating the series and suggest that the accuracy may depend on the number of terms used in the calculation.

Discussion Status

Some participants have provided insights into the convergence of the series and the potential for achieving a certain level of accuracy with a limited number of terms. There is an ongoing exploration of the relationship between the input values and the resulting accuracy of the calculations.

Contextual Notes

There is mention of the challenges associated with truncating an infinite series and the potential errors that arise from this process. The discussion also highlights the need for clarity in the original question posed by the poster.

Marie Cury
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1. I use Euler formula of arctan to calculate arcsine
2. This equation[tex]\arctan x = \frac{x}{1+x^2} \sum_{n=0}^\infty \prod_{k=1}^n \frac{2k x^2}{(2k+1)(1+x^2)}.[/tex]
If I input 0.9999999999, I will not be able to get the expected result. If input = 0.9 then it is pretty correct, but 0.99 is definitely wrong and more wrong when the decimal digits get higher till uncomputable.
Could someone help me ? :wink:
 
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2 weeks already and everyone stopped breathing into my thread!
you ignore my post I guess!
 
It sounds like you just need a better calculator, try using Mathematica.
 
It wasn't clear what you were asking. It's an infinite series, so you must be truncating it at some point, and so of course the result is not exact.
 
Marie Cury said:
1. I use Euler formula of arctan to calculate arcsine



2. This equation[tex]\arctan x = \frac{x}{1+x^2} \sum_{n=0}^\infty \prod_{k=1}^n \frac{2k x^2}{(2k+1)(1+x^2)}.[/tex]

If I input 0.9999999999, I will not be able to get the expected result. If input = 0.9 then it is pretty correct, but 0.99 is definitely wrong and more wrong when the decimal digits get higher till uncomputable.
Could someone help me ? :wink:

I don't see what the problem is, I get at least 4 digits correct If I evaluate the sum for n<=13 and 10 digits correct for n<=32. (I don't think n=0 should count).
Because [tex]\frac{2k x^2}{(2k+1)(1+x^2)}[/tex] is smaller than 1/2 for all x, the error must halve for each increase of n.

I used the following python program

Code:
rom math import *

x = 0.9999
limit = 20

sum = 0
for n in range (1, limit):
    prod = 1
    for k in range (1, n):
        prod *= 2*k*x*x/((2*k+1)*(1+x*x))
    sum += prod
    print n, atan(x), sum * x / (1+x*x)


1 0.785348160897 0.4999999975
2 0.785348160897 0.666649995833
3 0.785348160897 0.733303328833
4 0.785348160897 0.761866186262
5 0.785348160897 0.77455952004
6 0.785348160897 0.780328640213
7 0.785348160897 0.782991044782
8 0.785348160897 0.784233375995
9 0.785348160897 0.784817943983
10 0.785348160897 0.785094816918
11 0.785348160897 0.785226647987
12 0.785348160897 0.785289691324
13 0.785348160897 0.785319949099
14 0.785348160897 0.7853345162
15 0.785348160897 0.785341547891
16 0.785348160897 0.785344949982
17 0.785348160897 0.785346599315
18 0.785348160897 0.78534740034
19 0.785348160897 0.785347789989
20 0.785348160897 0.785347979799

Converges nicely as you can see.
 

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