khemist
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Homework Statement
Use a line integral to find the area of the region enclosed by astroid
x = acos3\phi
y = asin3\phi
0 \leq \phi \leq 2\pi
Homework Equations
I used Green's Theorem:
\oint_C xdy - ydx
The Attempt at a Solution
I solved for dx and dy from my parametric equations. I then plugged in x, y, dx, and dy into the integral to solve for the area.
After simplifying, I came out with:
\frac {3a}{2} \int_0^{2\pi} cos^2\phi sin^2\phi d\phi
Now in order to solve this, I used a half angle formula, cos\phi sin\phi = (\frac{1}{2}sin2\phi)^2 = \frac {1}{4}sin^2 2\phi
Which then I used a different angle formula to get:\frac{1}{8}(1-cos4\phi)
Am I on the right track? I would then integrate to solve...
The latex on my computer isn't working, but hopefully its working on everyone else's?