Finding the sum of an infinite series

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Homework Statement


I am supposed to find the value of the infinite series:

\sum_{n=0}^{+\infty}\frac{\pi\cos(n)}{5^n}

Homework Equations



I asked this question before on this forum and micromass told me that I should use cos(n)=((e^i)^n+(e^(-i))^n)/2. That equation worked and I was able to find the correct answer. I used that equation to find a "a" and an "r" in order to find the solution using =a/(1-r).

But my instructor said he would like me to try and solve it by only using real numbers.

How would I start to solve that without the imaginary numbers?

Thanks
 
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just an idea, but how about considering angle sum formulas...
ie what is
cos(n)
cos(2n)
cos(3n)
in terms of only n?
 
try multiplying by cos(1) …

S*cos(1) = ∑ π cos(n)cos(1)/5n = … ? :wink:
 
There are two things I don't understand about this problem. First, when finding the nth root of a number, there should in theory be n solutions. However, the formula produces n+1 roots. Here is how. The first root is simply ##\left(r\right)^{\left(\frac{1}{n}\right)}##. Then you multiply this first root by n additional expressions given by the formula, as you go through k=0,1,...n-1. So you end up with n+1 roots, which cannot be correct. Let me illustrate what I mean. For this...

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