Module on Complex Numbers

Lesson 1: Basic Understanding and

Operations of Complex Numbers
(slides ?-?)
Lesson 2: Geometric
understanding of addition and
subtraction (slides ?-?)
Lesson 3: Applications (slides ?-?)

Lesson 1: Basic Understanding and Operations of

Complex Numbers

Introduction:

Why do we need new numbers?

The hardest thing about working with complex
numbers is understanding why you might want
to. Before introducing complex numbers, let's
backup and look at simpler examples of the need
to deal with new numbers.
If you are like most people, initially number
meant whole number, 0,1,2,3,... Whole numbers
make sense. They provide a way to answer
questions of the form "How many ... ?" You also
learned about the operations of addition and
subtraction, and you found that while subtraction
is a perfectly good operation, some subtraction
problems, like 3 - 5, don't have answers if we2

Then you find that if you are willing to

work with integers, ...,-2, -1, 0, 1, 2, ...,

then all subtraction problems do have
answers! Furthermore, by considering
examples such as temperature scales,
you see that negative numbers often
make sense.
Now that we have fixed subtraction we
will deal with division. Some, in fact
most, division problems do not have
answers that are integers. For example,
3 2 is not an integer. We need new
numbers! Now we have rational
numbers (fractions).
There is more to this story. There are 3

 The "problem" that leads to complex numbers

concerns solutions of equations.

What if we want to find a number that when
multiplied it by itself equals -1?"
Or can you solve the equation x2 + 4 = 0 for x?
*************************************************
***
The need to extend the real numbers was
prompted by the desire to solve problems like
the following, which appears in the 1545 book
Ars Magna by Cardana:
Divide 10 into two parts whose product
is 40.
15
To solve this problem, Cardano needed to solve
the equation
x(10-x)=40, which is equivalent to x2-10x+40=0.
4

In the real number system, the square root

of a negative number does not exist. That's

because there are no real numbers whose
squares are negative.
However, you can take the square root of a
negative number if you are willing to use a
non-real number to do it. This new number
was invented (discovered?) more than 400
years ago. It was called "i", standing for
"imaginary",
Theimaginary numberbecause
i isdefined toibewasn't
i 1 "real".
Imaginary number:
Then

i
2

But bewareof thefollowing: i

2

12 1 1
5

But i already squares to 1. So it cannot also square to 1.

This points out an important detail: when dealing with

imaginary numbers, you gain something (the ability to deal
with negatives inside square roots), but you also lose
something (some of the convenient rules you have when
dealing with square roots). Lacking these rules, we make
the following definition:
If x is a positive real number, then

Examples:

9 3i

18 3 2 i

You can check our answers on a calculator which permits

complex number arithmetic. The TI-84 is one such

calculator, and we will use it throughout this module. After
turning it on, press the MODE key. Move down to REAL and
over to a + bi. With the cursor blinking over a + bi,
press ENTER to save this complex mode of arithmetic. Now
go back to the home screen by pressing 2ND QUIT. You are
ready to take the square roots of negative numbers. Try it
6
on the examples above!

Powers of i:
i2 1
We have seen that

. It then

follows that
i 3 i 2 i 1
i i

i 4 i 2 i 2 ( 1)( 1) 1
i 5 i i 4 i 1 i
i 6 i 2 i 4 1 1 1
i 7 i 3 i 4 i 1 i
i 8 i 4 i 4 1 1 1

Notice that the powers of i cycle around four numbers:

i, -1, -i, 1
If the exponent is a multiple of 4, the power equals 1.
For example,

i 24 1

To calculate any high power of i, you can convert it to a

lower power by taking the closest multiple of 4 which is

no larger than the exponent and subtracting this multiple
from the exponent. For example,

27

243

24

i i i
3

You can confirm these answers by calculator: The i key

is found in the middle of the bottom row. To compute i to

the power 27, press 2ND i ^27 ENTER. Your answer
should be i, but perhaps you instead got something like
-3E-13 - i. What is going on here? The real part of this
result is -3 times 10 to the power -13, which is within
machine roundoff error of zero. So, you may assume that
the calculator has given an approximation to 0 i; in
other words, -i.
8

Pause and practice-1

Simplify

(a) i 55

(b) i 62

(c) i 73

First compute these by the rules above,

then check answers on your calculator.

Answer: (a) i (b) -1 (c) i

9

Complex numbers:
What if we want to combine a real number with

an imaginary number? We could say that 3 + 4i

is a number but it has more parts to it than a
normal number. We call it a complex number.
Every complex number can be written in the
form a + bi, where a and b are real numbers,
called the real part and the imaginary part of
the complex number, respectively.
For example, 2 + 3i is a complex number, with
real part 2 and imaginary part 3.

10

It's as though our imaginary number 'i' isn't on the

number line, but we must be able to put it

somewhere. And what about 2i and 3i and -7i? We
must be able to put them all somewhere. Why
don't we make our imaginary number line
perpendicular to the real number line through the
origin. then not only will we have a place for
imaginary numbers like 5i and -3i but also for
complex numbers like 2+4i and -2 - 5i. Its like we
now have a visual way for looking at complex
numbers.
A complex number can be visually represented

as an ordered pair of numbers specifying a

point in the xy-plane. This point is the tip of a
vector emanating from the origin, and this
vector also represents the complex number.

 Below is a graph of the vector representing the

number
2 + 3i . Note that the tip of the vector has
coordinates (2, 3).

In general, any complex number a + bi can be

plotted in the xy-plane (also called the complex
plane) as the point having coordinates (a, b).
This point is the tip of a vector emanating from
the origin. Important special cases: a pure 12

Arithmetic of complex numbers:

Given two complex numbers, we now

define how to add, subtract, multiply, and

divide them. We want to do this in a
natural way so that the usual rules for
arithmetic of real numbers continue to be
valid for complex numbers. In particular,
we want addition and multiplication to be
commutative, associative, and distributive.
Since the complex number a + bi looks a
bit like the linear polynomial a + bx, lets
use our knowledge of polynomials as
motivation. So, to add, subtract, or
multiply complex numbers, we simply
13

Operations:
Addition example:
(2 4 i) (3 i)

(2 3) (4 i i)
5 3i
Subtraction example:
(2 4 i) (3 i)

2 4i 3 i
(2 3) (4i i)
1 5i

14

Operations:
(2 4 i)(3 i)
Multiplication example:
6 2i 12i 4i2
6 1 0i 4 ( 1)
6 4 10i
10 10i

Note that we replaced by -1 in the above

calculation.

15

Pause and practice-2

Add, subtract, and multiply the complex

5 i
2 3i
numbers

and

First do these problems by hand, then

check your results by calculator.

16

What about division?

i
i
to eliminate the i in the

If the denominator is pure imaginary, we

can multiple by
denominator, as is seen in this example:
1
1 i
i

i
i
i i
1

This was simple enough, but what if you

have something more

such as
5 complicated,
2i
3 4i
In order to eliminate the i in the

denominator, we make use of the

conjugate.
17

The conjugate of a complex

number a + bi:
The conjugate of a complex number a + bi

is the same number, but with the opposite

sign in the middle: a bi. For example, the
conjugate of 3 + 4i is 3 4i.
The multiplication by conjugates produces
a sum of squares. You should
2
2 pause to
(a b i)(a b i) a b
verify this fact:

(a b )(a b ) a

This is similar to the more familiar

difference of squares:
18

5 2i
Division example:

3 4i
5 2i 3 4i

3 4i 3 4i
15 20i 6i 8i2

9 12i 12i 16i2

23 14i

25
23 14

i
2
5
2
5
Note that in the first step we multiplied both numerator
and denominator by the conjugate of the denominator.
In the last step, note how the fraction was split into two
pieces. This is because, technically speaking, a
complex number is expressed as a sum of two parts: a
+ bi.
To check this example on your calculator, enter
(5+2i)(3+4i) to get .92 - .56i. If you prefer fractions
19
over decimals, press MATH FRAC ENTER.

Pause and Practice -3

Divide: (3 + 4i) (5 2i) by hand, and

then check your answer by calculator.

20

Modulus (or, Absolute

Value):
We have seen how complex numbers can be

represented by points in the complex plane.

Unlike the real numbers, there is not a natural
way to order them. For example, 3 < 4, but
how would you compare 3 + 2i and 4 + i? We
do this by computing the distance each point
is from the
origin.
Using the
distance
formula,
2
2
2
2
3 2

13,

17

The modulus (or, absolute value ) of a complex

number a + bi is defined to be its distance to

2
2
a

b
i

b
the origin, and is denoted by
Note that this definition agrees with the

definition of absolute value of a real number.21

In our example, we would say that the

modulus
of 3 + 2i is less than the modulus of 4 + i.
You can check your answers on the
calculator using abs(a+ib), as seen in the
following example:
Select MATH NUM abs(3+2i) ENTER, giving
a decimal approximation to the square root
of 13. Since this number is irrational, you
cannot convert it to a fraction using FRAC.
22

Pause and practice-4

For each of the following complex numbers,

plot the complex number as a point in the

complex plane, connect the point to the
origin by a segment, and compute the
modulus (first by hand, then by calculator)
to obtain the length of this segment.
(a) 3 + 4i

(b) -5 + 12i

(c) 8 6i

23

Lesson 1 - Quiz
Try to answer each question twice,
without a calculator and then with
a calculator.
1.

2.

24

Lesson 1 - Quiz
3. Draw the vector representing 2-i .
4.

5.

25

Lesson 1 - Quiz
6.

7.

Answers: 1(b), 2(a), 4(c), 5(a), 6(b), 7(d)

26

Lesson 2: Geometric understanding of addition

and subtraction

Introduction:

In this discussion, it will be convenient to

denote a complex number by a single

variable name.
??

27

Let w = a + bi and z = c + di.

If O denotes the origin, then the following four

points form vertices of a parallelogram: O, w, z,
and w + z.
For example, if w = 2 + i and z = 1 + 2i, then
w + z = 3 + 3i. It is easy to see that (0, 0), (2,
1), (1, 2), and (3, 3) form vertices of a
parallelogram. The points (0, 0) and (3, 3) are
w+z
endpoints of one diagonal, while (2, 1) and (1,
2) are endpoints of the other diagonal.
z
In general, O and w + z are
endpoints of one diagonal,
w
while w and z are endpoints of
the other diagonal.
Please click the button
28
to ??.

Pause and practice-5

Sketch the parallelogram formed by the

complex numbers
w = 1 + 2i , z = -2 + I , origin and w+z.
Is this a rectangle? a square?

29

What about subtraction?

Once again, a parallelogram is formed: by

the four points: O, w, z, and w z.

However, in this case O and w are
endpoints of one diagonal, while z and w - z
are endpoints of the other diagonal.

30

Pause and practice-5

O and w are endpoints of one diagonal,

while z and w - z are endpoints of the other

diagonal.
Confirm this fact in the case where w = 1 +
2i and z = -2 + i.
And check with the applet

Complex numbers in polar form

In order to gain a geometric understanding of

multiplication, it will be convenient to represent

points in the complex plane using polar
coordinates. Suppose that z = a + bi. Rather
than represent this point using rectangular xycoordinates, we can use polar coordinates (r,
). The variable r represents the distance from
point z to the origin, and is the angle
(measured counterclockwise) the vector z
makes with the positive x-axis.

32

Using the definitions of the trigonometric

functions sine and cosine, we have

a r cos ,
b r sin .

Therefore, z can be written

z a bi
r c o s ir sin
r c o s i sin

The expression

arises so frequently that it is

customary to abbreviate
it as cis
. Then, z =

r cis is called the polar form of a complex

number.
Since the distance to the origin is represented by
r z
the modulus of z, we have
. The angle is
called the argument of z. Note that the argument
can have many possible values, but any two of
them must differ by a multiple of 360 degrees. 33

There is an interesting connection between

the polar form of a complex number and

the real function
, which is the inverse
function of the natural logarithm. In the
18th century, Leonhard Euler discovered
that
, provided that
is
measured in radians. Thus,
and
so the polar form of a complex number can
be written as
The polar form is available on the TI-84

calculator. Simply press MODE, then move

the cursor down to REAL and over to re^
, then press ENTER. The value of is
expressed in radians or degrees, depending
34
on the MODE setting.

Example: Find the polar form of z

= 1 + i.
The vector represented by z is the segment from the

origin to the point (1, 1). By drawing a sketch, one

easily sees that the argument is 45 degrees
y
( multiples of 360). In cases which are not
clear,
one
ta n
can use the formula
. In our example, bothx x and
y have value 1.
r z 12 12 2
To obtain the modulus,
. Thus,
the polar form is

z 2cis45

You can check this answer on your calculator by

typing:
1 + i ENTER. Of course, your MODE setting should
already be set to polar: re^
35

Example: Find the standard form of z = 2 cis 150.

We make use of the formulas
a r

cos,

b r sin .
This gives
Thus,

a 2cos150
3andb 2sin150 1.

z 3 i

We now check this answer on the calculator. Since

there is no cis key, we make use of the key 2ND

. Also, recall that Eulers formula
is valid only in
radians. So, we first must convert 150 degrees to
radians and enter our expression as ENTER.
This gives the desired result, but with an
approximation to
. Note that 2e^(150*i) ENTER
gives a very different (and wrong!) answer.
36

Pause and practice-6

Try these by hand, and then check with

your calculator.
(a) Find the polar form of z = 4 3i.
(b) Find the standard form of z = 2 cis 225.

37

Geometric understanding of
multiplication
We now show that the product of two complex

numbers has modulus equal to the product of

the individual moduli and argument equal to
the sum of the individual arguments.
Let w = |w| cis A and z = |z| cis B. Then,
wz = (|w| cis A)( |z| cis B)
= |w||z|(cos A + i sin A)(cos B + i sin B)
= |w||z|(cos A cos B sin A sin B + i sin A cos
B + i cos A sin B)

38

Using the trigonometric angle sum formulas,

this last expression can be written as

= |w||z|(cos(A + B) + i sin(A + B)).
Thus, the polar form of wz is
wz = |w||z|(cos(A + B) + i sin(A + B)),
which allows us to identify |w||z| as the modulus
of wz, and
A + B as the argument of wz.
39

Pause and practice-7

Let w = 2i, and let z = 1 + i.

(a) Find the product wz.

(b) Find the modulus of each of w, z, and wz, and then
try to decide how these three moduli are related to
each other. Relate your answers to the polar forms
of all three numbers (Check their polar forms on
your calculator.)
(c) Plot the three points w, z, and wz in the complex
plane, and connect each point to the origin with a
line segment. Try to decide how the angles
between the positive real axis and these three lines
are related to one another. Relate your answers to
the polar forms of all three numbers (Check their
polar forms on your calculator.)
40

De Moivres Theorem:
We can use the polar form to square a complex number:

where A is the argument of z.

where A is the argument of z. As you can see, we have
squared the modulus and doubled the argument.
Continuing to multiply a complex number by itself, we
get a result known as
n de nMoivres Theorem:

z z cis nA

1 i 8

Example: Simplify

2.

The modulus
18 i 8 of 1 + i is
= 452 degrees.
cis(845)
Thus,
=
=
= 16 cis(360)
= 16

, and we can choose A

41

Pause and practice-8

Simplify
3 i
3

After computing by hand as in the previous

example, check your answer by calculator.

42

Roots of complex numbers:

We now use de Moivres Theorem to find
n
w
z suppose
0
roots:

that
and we would
like to solve for w in terms of z. Writing the
n
n
w
i s n B equation,
z c is A
w
c
i
s
B

z
c
i
s
A

polar forms of both sides ofc this

we have
or
. w n z
Equating
w n z the moduli of each side, we have
,
hence
.
A 360k
nSince
the
arguments
of each side are equal
B
B A 360k
n
(or, differ by a multiple of 360 degrees),
there is an integer k so that
, hence
.
43

We conclude that the polar form of the nth

root of z is
n

A 360
z c is

Since k can be any integer, it may appear

that there are infinitely many roots. But

since cosine and sine have period equal to
360, we get different roots only for k = 0,
1, 2, , n-1: when k = n, we get the same
cis value that we got for k = 0; when k =
n+1, we get the same cis value that we
got for k = 1, etc. We conclude that a
nonzero complex number has exactly n nth
roots.
44

Example: Find the three cube roots of z = -8.

3
For the modulus, we have
8. For
2 the argument, we have

A = 180, so that for k = 0, 1, 2, the three values of

180 360k
3

are 60, 180, and 300. Thus, the three cube roots of -8
are: 2 cis 60, 2 cis 180, and 2 cis 300, which are
simplified as:

3,

2,

The first of these three is the principal root, the one

corresponding to k = 0.
You can try to check these answers on your calculator,
but dont expect to get all three answers. The TI-84
seems to give a real answer, is there is one. If none of
the roots are real, the calculator gives the principal root.
Let us check this for the cube root of -8. Entering (8)^(1/3) produces an answer of -2, which is the real root
but not the principal root.
45

Pause and practice-9

Find the four 4th roots of z = -16, and check

you answer on a calculator. You should find

that there are no real roots, so the
calculator displays the principal root:

46

Lesson 2 - Quiz
1. Let
and
. Sketch the
parallelogram determined by
Also sketch the parallelogram determined
by
.
2. Find the polar from of
.
(a) 2 cis 120
(b) 2 cis 150
cis 210

(c) 2

3. Find the standard form of z = 4 cis 135.

(a)
(b)
(c)

4. Sketch the vectors representing the two

complex numbers
5 cis 45 and 3 cis 90. Sketch and write
the product in polar form.
(a) 15 cis 135
(b) 8 cis 135
(c)
15 cis 4050
5. Explain why
6. The following are the cube roots of i.
Which one is principal?
(a)
(b)
(c)
Answers: 2(c), 3(b), 4(a), 6(b)

Lesson 3: Applications

Solving quadratic equations

Remember that the quadratic formula

solves the quadratic equation "ax2 + bx + c

= 0" for the values of x (called zeros of the
equation). They called zeros because they
are the values of x that make y = 0, in the
quadratic function y = ax2 + bx + c.
Recall that a quadratic equation has two,
one, or no real zeros, depending of the sign
of the discriminant2 , which appears under
b b 4ac
the square x root
in the quadratic formula:

2a

49

Two zeros occur when the discriminant is positive.

One zero occurs when the discriminant is zero.
There are no real zeros when the discriminant is

negative.
However, there are zeros if we allow complex numbers.
We illustrate by an example.
x2 2x c 0
Example: Find the zeros of
, where c = 0, 1, 2.
In simple cases such as this, it is more convenient to find

zeros by factoring than by

x 2 use
2 x ofx (the
x 2quadratic
)
formula.
In the case c = 0, we have
,
2
y 0 xand
x 2, and these are the x-intercepts
so the zeros are
of the graph of the parabola
x 2 2 x 1 ( x. 1 ) 2
2
In the case c = 1, we have
2 x only
1
, so x y= 1x is the
zero,
and the graph of the parabola
has it vertex at (1, 0).
In the case c = 2, the quadratic formula gives no real
2
y

x
roots, but two complex roots 1 i. The graph of the 2 x 2
parabola
50
lies above the x-axis and has no x-intercepts.

Comparison of the roots of 3 quadratic equations

Please compare

the three
equations and
the solutions.
Why the third
equation
doesnt have a
real solution?
Graphically,
can you
understand
whether or not
an equation
has a complex
root?

51

Pause and practice-10

4 x c ,0 find values of c which
illustrate each of the cases above.

For x

The example above shows the existence of

polynomials with no real zeros. By

contrast, polynomials always have zeros if
we allow complex numbers:

52

Fundamental Theorem of
Algebra:

53

Example: Find the zeros of

Using the quadratic formula, we get

=
=

Although the TI-84 calculator has a SOLVE

function, it can find only real zeros. Of

course, you can check if your zeros are
correct by substituting them back into the
original equation.

Pause and practice-11

Find the zeros of

your answers by substitution.

, and check

Further applications:
Engineers also use complex numbers in analyzing stresses and

strains on beams and in studying resonance phenomena in

structures such as planes and bridges. Instead of just one
differential equation, you may have a system of many
differential equations, which leads to matrix analysis. The
complex numbers come up when you seek the eigenvalues and
eigenvectors of a certain matrix. The eigenvalues are roots of a
certain polynomial equation associated with this matrix. The
matrices may be quite large, perhaps 1000 by 1000, and the
associated polynomials are of very high degree.
Complex numbers are also used in such fields as digital signal

processing, digital image processing, quantum mechanics, and

fluid dynamics. In this last case, complex functions are used to
describe two-dimensional flow, for example, flow around a pipe.
In summary, complex numbers are an indispensible tool of

engineers.

Applets and Links

Arithmetic Operations with Complex Numbers

http://www.walter-fendt.de/m14e/complnum.htm
Addition And Subtraction Of Complex Numbers

http://www.netsoc.tcd.ie/~jgilbert/maths_site/applets/complex_numbers/addition_and_subtra
ction_of_complex_numbers_.html
Addition and Subtraction Of Complex Numbers

http://www.poisonapplet.com/complex_numbers/addition_and_subtraction/
Everything about Complex Numbers: http://www.poisonapplet.com/complex_numbers/
Another http://www.ies.co.jp/math/java/comp/index.html
http://www.poisonapplet.com/complex_numbers/
Multiplication And Division

http://www.netsoc.tcd.ie/~jgilbert/maths_site/applets/complex_numbers/multiplication_and_div
ision.html
De Moivre's Theorem
http://www.netsoc.tcd.ie/~jgilbert/maths_site/applets/complex_numbers/de_moivre_s_theorem
.html
Conjugate Roots Theorem and plotting equations
http://www.netsoc.tcd.ie/~jgilbert/maths_site/applets/complex_numbers/conjugate_roots_theo
rem.html
Quiz:
http://www.glencoe.com/sec/math/studytools/cgi-bin/msgQuiz.php4?isbn=0-07-827999-2&c
57
hapter=5&lesson=9&headerFile=10&state=na

Fractal trip : Download program and install it:

http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/xaos/win
xaos31.pre3.zip

Julia and Mandelbrot Set Explorer

http://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/julia/explorer
.html

Fractal picture galary:

http://www.angelfire.com/art2/fractals/bestp

Fractals

The mathematics behind fractals are incredibly interesting and captivating. You need to have a grasp on
algebra and some complex number background is preferable. We already described how fractals are
created through applying functions, but never explained any functions and how they work. In this
section, we will describe the two most popular fractal sets and how they work, the Julia set and the
Mandelbrot set.

To understand fractals, you need to understand complex numbers. Complex numbers are a way to put
two coordinates (x,y) into one number with two parts. One is a real number, which is any regular
number like 3, 8.5, or 12/45. The other is an imaginary number, which is defined as the square root of a
negative number, and is characterized by i (defined as i^2=-1, therefore i=sqrt -1) times a
coefficient.When you take a number and square it, it always becomes positive. So how do you take the
square root of a negative number? You can't, that's why it's called imaginary. So, complex numbers are
made up of a real number plus an imaginary number. Examples include (1+.343i), (pi+343.6i), and
(0+3i). Complex numbers are used in fractals because the real number is used to represent the x
coordinate, and the complex number is used to represent the y coordinate. So, if the computer wanted
to iterate (3,8), it would apply the function to (3+8i). This way, the function is dealing with a number to
which most of the mathematical properties such as the associative and distributive laws can be applied,
instead of a set of x and y coordinates. It is important to note that the complex coordinates are not the
same coordinates of the pixel they represent. Pixel coordinates are always from 0 to the bounds of the
screen, usually something like (786, 233). The range we use depends on the fractal, but it is usually
something like x: -3 to 3; y: -2 to 2. Therefore, to apply the function to a pixel, we divide the units into
hundreds of tiny segments, and the computers deal with the tiny fractions.

We must also set a limit of iteration on our fractal. Since the points inside the Mandelbrot set never
leave the screen, we will iterate our function forever if we wait for them to leave our circle. To get
around this, we set a limit on the number of times we will iterate it. If the point is still in our circle after
that many iterations, we assume it is part of the set. The more iterations we use, the more exact and
detailed our image will be, but the longer it will take to generate. When we have done this with every
pixel, we have a fractal. Other equations than this one produce different fractals. Mandelbrot sets are

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