All you need are the formulas for cos(A+B) = cos(A)cos(B)-sin(A)sin(B) cos(A-B) = cos(A)cos(B)+sin(A)sin(B) If you add these equations, the second terms will cancel. So what you do is let A be the average of the two angles. The average angle is the exact same amount more than the smaller angle as it is less than the larger angle. So we let B be that common difference. The average of 14.3a and 7.1a is 10.7a, which is 3.9a more than 7.1a and 3.9a less than the l4.3a. So let A = 10.7a and B = 3.9a Then cos(14.3a) = cos(10.7a+3.9a) = cos(10.7a)cos(3.9a)-sin(10.7a)sin(3.9a) cos(7.1a) = cos(10.7a-3.9a) = cos(10.7a)cos(3.9a)+sin(10.7a)sin(3.9a) Adding the two equations above gives: cos(14.3a) + cos(7.1a) = 2cos(10.7a)cos(3.9a) That's all you need do. No need for another formula to memorize. Edwin