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Ch. 7 - Transcendental Functions
Hass - Thomas' Calculus 15th Edition
Hass15th EditionThomas' CalculusISBN: 9780137616077Not the one you use?Change textbook
Chapter 7, Problem 7.7.8

Rewrite the expressions in Exercises 5–10 in terms of exponentials and simplify the results as much as you can.
8. cosh(3x) - sinh(3x)

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1
Recall the definitions of hyperbolic cosine and hyperbolic sine in terms of exponentials: \(\text{cosh}(x) = \frac{e^{x} + e^{-x}}{2}\) and \(\text{sinh}(x) = \frac{e^{x} - e^{-x}}{2}\).
Substitute \$3x$ into these definitions: \(\text{cosh}(3x) = \frac{e^{3x} + e^{-3x}}{2}\) and \(\text{sinh}(3x) = \frac{e^{3x} - e^{-3x}}{2}\).
Write the expression \(\text{cosh}(3x) - \text{sinh}(3x)\) using the exponential forms: \(\frac{e^{3x} + e^{-3x}}{2} - \frac{e^{3x} - e^{-3x}}{2}\).
Combine the fractions since they have the same denominator: \(\frac{(e^{3x} + e^{-3x}) - (e^{3x} - e^{-3x})}{2}\).
Simplify the numerator by distributing the minus sign and combining like terms: \(\frac{e^{3x} + e^{-3x} - e^{3x} + e^{-3x}}{2} = \frac{2e^{-3x}}{2}\), which simplifies further.

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Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Hyperbolic Functions

Hyperbolic functions, such as cosh(x) and sinh(x), are analogs of trigonometric functions but based on exponential functions. They are defined as cosh(x) = (e^x + e^(-x))/2 and sinh(x) = (e^x - e^(-x))/2, which allows rewriting expressions involving them in terms of exponentials.
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Exponential Function Properties

Exponential functions follow specific algebraic rules, such as e^(a+b) = e^a * e^b and e^(-x) = 1/e^x. Understanding these properties helps simplify expressions involving sums or differences of exponentials, which is essential when rewriting hyperbolic functions.
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Simplification of Expressions

Simplification involves combining like terms and reducing expressions to their simplest form. For hyperbolic functions expressed as exponentials, this often means canceling terms or factoring to reveal simpler equivalent expressions, making the result easier to interpret or use.
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Simplifying Trig Expressions