Complex Number

A Complex Number is a combination of a

Real Number and an Imaginary Number

Real Numbers are numbers like:

1 12,38 −0,8625 3/4 √2 1998

Nearly any number you can think of is a Real Number!

Imaginary Numbers when squared give a negative result.

Normally this doesn't happen, because:

 when we square a positive number we get a positive result, and

 when we square a negative number we also get a positive result (because a
negative times a negative gives a positive),
 for example −2 × −2 = +4

But just imagine such numbers exist, because we will need them.

The "unit" imaginary number (like 1 for Real Numbers) is i, which is the square
root of −1

Because when we square i we get −1

i2 = −1
Examples of Imaginary Numbers:

3i 1,04i −2,8i 3i/4 (√2)i 1998i

And we keep that little "i" there to remind us we need to multiply by √−1

Complex Numbers

A Complex Number is a combination of a Real Number and an Imaginary Number:

Examples:
1+i 39 + 3i 0,8 − 2,2i −2 + πi √2 + i/2

Can a Number be a Combination of Two Numbers?

Can we make up a number from two other numbers? Sure we can!

We do it with fractions all the time. The fraction 3/8 is a number made up of a 3
and an 8. We know it means "3 of 8 equal parts".

Well, a Complex Number is just two numbers added together (a Real and an
Imaginary Number).

Either Part Can Be Zero

So, a Complex Number has a real part and an imaginary part.

But either part can be 0, so all Real Numbers and Imaginary Numbers are also
Complex Numbers.
 Complex
Real Part Imaginary Part
Number
3 + 2i 3 2
5 5 0
−6i 0 −6

Complicated?

Complex does not mean complicated.

It means the two types of numbers, real and imaginary, together form a
complex, just like a building complex (buildings joined together).

A Visual Explanation

You know how the number line goes left-right?

Well let's have the imaginary numbers go up-down:

And we get the Complex Plane

And a complex number can now be shown as a point:

 The complex number 3 + 4i

Adding

To add two complex numbers we add each part separately:

(a+bi) + (c+di) = (a+c) + (b+d)i

Example: add the complex numbers 3 + 2i and 1 + 7i

 add the real numbers, and

 add the imaginary numbers:

(3 + 2i) + (1 + 7i)
= 3 + 1 + (2 + 7)i
= (4 + 9i)

Let's try one visually:

Example: add the complex numbers 3 + 5i and 4 − 3i

 (3 + 5i) + (4 − 3i)
= 3 + 4 + (5 − 3)i
= 7 + 2i

Multiplying

To multiply complex numbers:

Each part of the first complex number gets multiplied by

each part of the second complex number

Just use "FOIL", which stands for "Firsts, Outers, Inners, Lasts" (see Binomial
Multiplication for more details):

 Firsts: a × c
 Outers: a × di
 Inners: bi × c
 Lasts: bi × di

(a+bi)(c+di) = ac + adi + bci + bdi2

Like this:

Example: (3 + 2i)(1 + 7i)

(3 + 2i)(1 + 7i) = 3×1 + 3×7i + 2i×1+ 2i×7i

= 3 + 21i + 2i + 14i2

= 3 + 21i + 2i − 14 (because i2 = −1)

= −11 + 23i

And this:
Example: (1 + i)2
(1 + i)2 = (1 + i)(1 + i) = 1×1 + 1×i + 1×i + i2

= 1 + 2i - 1 (because i2 = −1)

= 0 + 2i

But There is a Quicker Way!

Use this rule:

(a+bi)(c+di) = (ac−bd) + (ad+bc)i

Example: (3 + 2i)(1 + 7i) = (3×1 − 2×7) + (3×7 + 2×1)i

= −11 + 23i

Why Does That Rule Work?

It is just the "FOIL" method after a little work:

(a+bi)(c+di) = ac + adi + bci + bdi2 FOIL method

= ac + adi + bci − bd (because i2 = −1)

= (ac − bd) + (ad + bc)i (gathering like terms)

And there we have the (ac − bd) + (ad + bc)i pattern.

This rule is certainly faster, but if you forget it, just remember the FOIL
method.

Let us try i2

Just for fun, let's use the method to calculate i2

Example: i2

i can also be written with a real and imaginary part as 0 + i

i2 = (0 + i)2 = (0 + i)(0 + i)
 = (0×0 − 1×1) + (0×1 + 1×0)i

= −1 + 0i

= −1

And that agrees nicely with the definition that i2 = −1

So it all works wonderfully!

Learn more at Complex Number Multiplication.

Conjugates

We will need to know about conjugates in a minute!

A conjugate is where we change the sign in the middle like this:

A conjugate is often written with a bar over it:

Example:

5̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄͞͞͞͞͞͞ – 3⎺i‾ = 5 + 3i

Dividing

The conjugate is used to help complex division.

The trick is to multiply both top and bottom by the conjugate of the bottom.

Example: Do this Division:

2 + 3i

4 − 5i
Multiply top and bottom by the conjugate of 4 − 5i :

2 + 3i 4 + 5i 8 + 10i + 12i + 15i2

× =
4 − 5i 4 + 5i 16 + 20i − 20i − 25i2

Now remember that i2 = −1, so:

8 + 10i + 12i − 15
=
16 + 20i − 20i + 25

Add Like Terms (and notice how on the bottom 20i − 20i cancels out!):

−7 + 22i
=
41

We should then put the answer back into a + bi form:

−7 22
= + i
41 41

DONE!

Multiplying By the Conjugate

There is a faster way though.

In the previous example, what happened on the bottom was interesting:

(4 − 5i)(4 + 5i) = 16 + 20i − 20i − 25i2

The middle terms cancel out!

And since i2 = −1 we ended up with this:

(4 − 5i)(4 + 5i) = 42 + 52

Which is really quite a simple result

In fact we can write a general rule like this:

(a + bi)(a − bi) = a2 + b2

So that can save us time when do division, like this:

Example: Let's try this again

2 + 3i

4 − 5i

Multiply top and bottom by the conjugate of 4 − 5i :

2 + 3i 4 + 5i 8 + 10i + 12i + 15i2

× =
4 − 5i 4 + 5i 16 + 25

−7 + 22i
=
41

And then back into a + bi form:

−7 22
= + i
41 41

DONE!
The Mandelbrot Set
The beautiful Mandelbrot Set (pictured
here) is based on Complex Numbers.

It is a plot of what happens when we

take the simple equation z2+c (both
complex numbers) and feed the result
back into z time and time again.

The color shows how fast z2+c grows,

and black means it stays within a
certain range.

Here is an image made by zooming into

the Mandelbrot set

And here is the center of the previous

one zoomed in even further:
Examples:

Perform the indicated additions.

1.) ( 3 + 4i ) + ( -8 + 7i ) = 3 – 8 + 4i + 7i

= - 5 + ( 4 + 7 )i

= - 5 + 11i

2.) ( 16 – 7i ) + ( 5i ) = 16 – 2i

3.) ( 4 ) + ( 15 + 8i ) = 19 + 8i

Perform the indicated subtractions.

1.) ( 8 + 3i ) – ( 5 – 2i ) = 8 + 3i – 5 + 2i

= 8 – 5 + ( 3 + 2 )i

= 3 + 5i

2.) ( 13 ) – ( - 9 + 44i ) = 22 – 44i

3.) ( 6.3 – 7i ) – ( 5.1 – 7i ) = 6.3 – 5.1 – 7i + 7i

= 1.2

Find the following products.

1.) ( 2 + 3i ) ( 5 + 7i ) = 2 ( 5 + 7i ) + 3i ( 5 + 7i )

= 10 + 14i + 15i + 21i2

=
10 + 29i – 21
 = - 11 + 29i

2.) i ( 5 + 12i ) = 5i + 12i2

= - 12 + 5i

3.) ( 3 + 4i ) ( 5 – 12i ) = 15 – 36i + 20i – 48i2

= 15 – 16i + 48

= 63 – 16i

Find the quotient

- 11 + 29i is divided by 2 + 3i

- 11 + 29i = - 11 + 29i x 2 – 3i

2 + 3i 2 + 3i 2 – 3i

= - 22 + 33i + 58i – 87i2

4 + 9

= 65 + 91i

13

= 5 + 7i
Complex Plane

No, not that complex plane ...

... this complex plane:

(Also called an "Argand Diagram")

Real and Imaginary make Complex

A Complex Number is a combination of a Real Number and an Imaginary Number:

A Real Number is the type of number we use every day.

Examples: 12,38, ½, 0, −2000

When we square a Real Number we get a positive (or zero) result:

22 = 2 × 2 = 4
12 = 1 × 1 = 1
02 = 0 × 0 = 0

What can we square to get −1?

?2 = −1

Squaring −1 does not work because multiplying negatives gives a positive: (−1) × (−1) = +1,
and no other Real Number works either.

So it seems that mathematics is incomplete ...

... but we can fill the gap by imagining there is a number that, when multiplied by itself,
gives −1
(call it i for imaginary):

i2 = −1

An Imaginary Number, when squared gives a negative result

Examples: 5i, -3,6i, i/2, 500i

And together:

A Complex Number is a combination of a Real Number and an Imaginary Number

Examples: 3,6 + 4i, −0,02 + 1,2i, 25 − 0,3i, 0 + 2i

Putting a Complex Number on a Plane

You may be familiar with the number line:

But where do we put a complex number like 3+4i ?

Let's have the real number line go left-right as usual, and have the imaginary number line
go up-and-down:
 We can then plot a complex number like 3 + 4i :

 3 units along (the real axis),

 and 4 units up (the imaginary axis).

And here is 4 - 2i :

 4 units along (the real axis),

 and 2 units down (the imaginary axis).

And that is the complex plane:

 complex because it is a combination of real and imaginary,

 plane because it is like a geometric plane (2 dimensional).

Whole New World

Now let's bring the idea of a plane (Cartesian coordinates, Polar coordinates, Vectors etc) to
complex numbers.

It will open up a whole new world of numbers that are more complete and elegant, as you
will see.

Complex Number as a Vector

We can think of a complex number as a vector.

This is a vector.
It has magnitude (length) and direction.

And here is the complex number 3 + 4i

as a Vector:

Adding
You can add complex numbers as vectors, too:

To add the complex numbers 3 + 5i and 4 − 3i :

 add the real numbers, and

 add the imaginary numbers

separately, like this:

(3 + 5i) + (4 − 3i) =(3 + 4)+ (5 − 3)i

=7+ 2i
Polar Form
Let's use 3 + 4i again:

Here it is in polar form:

So the complex number 3 + 4i can also be shown as distance (5) and angle (0,927 radians).

Let's see how to convert from one form to the other using Cartesian to Polar conversion:

Example: the number 3 + 4i

From 3 + 4i :

 r = √(x2 + y2) = √(32 + 42) = √25 = 5

 θ = tan-1 (y/x) = tan-1 (4/3) = 0,927 (to 3 decimals)

And we get distance (5) and angle (0,927 radians)

Back again:

 x = r × cos( θ ) = 5 × cos( 0,927 ) = 5 × 0,6002... = 3 (close enough)

 y = r × sin( θ ) = 5 × sin( 0,927 ) = 5 × 0,7998... = 4 (close enough)

And distance 5 and angle 0,927 becomes 3 and 4 again

In fact a common way to write a complex number in Polar form is

x + iy =r cos θ + i r sin θ
= r(cos θ + i sin θ)

And "cos θ + i sin θ" is often shortened to "cis θ", so:

x + iy = r cis θ

cis is just shorthand for cos θ + i sin θ

So we can write:

3 + 4i = 5 cis 0,927

In some subjects, like electronics, "cis" is used a lot!

Summary
 The complex plane is a plane with:
o real numbers running left-right and
o imaginary numbers running up-down.
 To convert from Cartesian to Polar Form:
o r = √(x2 + y2)
o θ = tan-1 ( y / x )
 To convert from Polar to Cartesian Form:
o x = r × cos( θ )
o y = r × sin( θ )
 Polar form r cos θ + i r sin θ is often shortened to r cis θ

The End……

Thank You……