Question

simplify cos(2x)^2

Answer 1

what does "simplify" mean in this context?

Answer 2

you can write
\[\cos(2x)=2\cos^2(x)-1\] to give you
\[\left(2\cos^2(x)-1\right)^2\] but that doesn't look any "simpler" to me

Answer 3

The actual problem I'm solving is finding the volume of a solid that revolves around the x axis, where y=cos2x y=0 x=0 x=pi/4

Answer 4

When I try to solve it I get pi integral of zero to pi over four (cos2x)^2-(0)^2 dx