Trouble computing the cosine of a complex number

Join the discussion
Ask a follow-up here, or get your own question answered by working scientists, mathematicians and engineers — people, not an autocomplete.
Real named experts · corrections over time · the nuance an AI answer skips
4 replies · 2K views
gex
Messages
36
Reaction score
2
Mentor note: Thread moved from technical section, so missing the homework template.
Hi all, I have a homework problem which asks me to compute the complex number cos(π/4 + π/4 i).
I've been playing around with it for a while now and just can't seem to get the answer I get when using Wolfram Alpha to verify. Attached is my most recent attempt at solving the problem, I'd love some input as to where I'm going wrong. Thank you in advance.
Capture.JPG
 

Attachments

  • Capture.JPG
    Capture.JPG
    17.4 KB · Views: 883
Last edited by a moderator:
Physics news on Phys.org
gex said:
Hi all, I have a homework problem which asks me to compute the complex number cos(π/4 + π/4 i).
I've been playing around with it for a while now and just can't seem to get the answer I get when using Wolfram Alpha to verify. Attached is my most recent attempt at solving the problem, I'd love some input as to where I'm going wrong. Thank you in advance.View attachment 224899
You have a sign error. In your "therefore" line (the line with ∴), in the middle expression, the part in parentheses should be ##(\frac \pi 4 + i\frac \pi 4)##. You have a minus where it should be a plus.
 
Thank you so much everyone, I feel foolish for my careless sign error. Most of all I feel relieved that my approach wasn't flawed. I get the correct answer now :)