Lecture 15: Section 2.4 Complex Numbers Imaginary unit Complex numbers Operations with complex numbers Complex conjugate Rationalize the denominator Square roots of negative numbers Complex solutions of quadratic equations
L15 - 1 Consider the equation x2 = −1. Def. The imaginary unit, i, is the number such that √ i2 = −1 or i = −1
Power of i √ i1 = −1 = i i2 = −1 i3 = i4 =
i5 = i6 = i7 = i8 =
Therefore, every integer power of i can be written as i, −1, −i, 1.
In general, divide the exponent by 4 and rewrite: ex. 1) i85 2) (−i)85
3) i100 4) (−i)−18
L15 - 2 Def. Complex numbers are numbers of the form a + bi, where a and b are real numbers. a is the real part and b is the imaginary part of the complex number a + bi. a + bi is called the standard form of a complex number. ex. Write the number −5 as a complex number in standard form.
NOTE: The set of real numbers is a subset of the set of complex numbers. If b = 0, the number a + 0i = a is a real number. If a = 0, the number 0 + bi = bi, is called a pure imaginary number.
Equality of Complex Numbers a + bi = c + di if and only if
L15 - 3 Operations with Complex Numbers Sum: (a + bi) + (c + di) =
Difference: (a + bi) − (c + di) =
Multiplication: (a + bi)(c + di) =
NOTE: Use the distributive property (FOIL) and remember that i2 = −1. ex. Write in standard form: 1) 3(2 − 5i) − (4 − 6i)
2) (2 + 3i)(4 + 5i)
L15 - 4 Complex Conjugates Def. The conjugate (complex conjugate) of a complex number a + bi is ex. Find the conjugate of the following: 1) −1 − 3i
2) −2i
3) 5
NOTE: A real number is its own conjugate.
Theorem: The product of a complex number and its conjugate is a nonnegative real number:
L15 - 5 Rationalize the denominator To express a fraction with a complex number in the denominator in standard form, multiply the numerator and denominator by the conjugate of the denominator. ex. Rationalize and write in standard form. 1 3 + 2i
1 − 3i ex. Perform the operation and write in 4 + 2i standard form.
L15 - 6 Square Roots of Negative Numbers Def. If a is a positive real number then the principal square root of −a is given by √ √ −a = = ai ex. Evaluate: √ 1) −64
√ 2) −200
NOTE: Convert the negative radicand of a square root to a complex number before multiplying. √ √ √ ( a b = ab is NOT valid if both a and b are negative numbers) √ √ ex. 1) −3 −3
2) p(−3)(−3)
L15 - 7 ex. Perform the operations and simplify: √ √ 1) −8 + −18
√ √ 2) −5 −15
√ 3) (1 + −2)2
L15 - 8 Complex Solutions of Quadratic Equations
In the complex number system, the solutions of the quadratic equation ax2 +bx+c = 0, where a, b and c are real numbers and a =6 0 are given by the formula √ −b ± b2 − 4ac x = 2a ex. Solve the equation x2 + 4x + 10 = 0 in the complex number system.
NOTE: The complex solutions are always conjugates of each other!
L15 - 9 To summarize: For the equation ax2 + bx + c = 0 with real coeffi- cients, find the discriminant D = b2 − 4ac. 1. If D > 0, the equation has two unequal real number solutions. 2. If D = 0, the equation has a repeated real solution. 3. If D < 0, the equation has two complex conjugate solutions that are not real numbers. ex. Determine the character of the solution(s) of the following equation: 1) 2x(6 − x) = 18
2) x−2 − 3x−1 + 3 = 0
L15 - 10