What's the best strategy to solving this Integral in 3 minutes?

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SUMMARY

The best strategy for solving the integral of cos^3(2x) in three minutes involves separating the function into (cos^2(2x))cos(2x) and applying the substitution u = sin(2x). This substitution simplifies the integral to $$\frac{1}{2}\int_0^{sin(8)}(1- u^2)du$$, which evaluates to $$sin(8) - \frac{sin^3(8)}{3}$$. The method effectively utilizes trigonometric identities and substitution techniques to streamline the integration process.

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  • Understanding of trigonometric identities, specifically cos^2(x) = 1 - sin^2(x)
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Please do not double post here, either.

-Dan
 
Separate cos^3(2x) as (cos^2(2x))cos(2x)= (1- sin^2(2x))cos(2x). Now use the substitution u= sin(2x) so that du= 2cos(2x)dx, cos(2x)dx= (1/2)du. When x= 0, u= sin(0)= 0 and when x= 4, u= sin(8). The integral becomes $$\frac{1}{2}\int_0^{sin(8)}(1- u^2)du=\left[u- \frac{u^3}{3}\right]_0^{sin(8)}$$$$= sin(8)- \frac{sin^3(8)}{3}$$.
 
$x = \dfrac{\pi}{4} \implies \text{ upper limit }, u= 1$
 
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Yes, and thank you!
 

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