Use the identities cos^2 x + sin^2 x =1

and

cos2x=cos^2 x -sin^2 x

to show that

cos^4 x -sin^4 x = cos2x

Im not sure how, I can solve my problem with half angle identities but im not sure where to start with this.

use x^2-y^2 = (x+y)(x-y)

c^4-s^4 = (c^2+s^2)(c^2-s^2)
= 1 (c^2-s^2)
= c 2x

To prove that cos^4 x - sin^4 x = cos2x using the given identities, we will break down each side of the equation one step at a time:

Starting with the left-hand side (LHS):

cos^4 x - sin^4 x

We can rewrite this expression using the difference of squares formula:

(cos^2 x + sin^2 x)(cos^2 x - sin^2 x)

Since we know that cos^2 x + sin^2 x is equal to 1 (from the identity cos^2 x + sin^2 x = 1), we can substitute this value:

(1)(cos^2 x - sin^2 x)

Now, let's use the identity cos2x = cos^2 x - sin^2 x:

(1)(cos2x)

Simplifying, we get:

cos2x

Therefore, we have shown that cos^4 x - sin^4 x = cos2x using the given identities.