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Complex Arithmetic
1

We can carry out the arithmetic operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division
on complex numbers. For an introduction to complex numbers, see the document Complex
Numbers. For the purposes of this work the arithmetic operation will be applied to the general
complex numbers + and +. As an example, the arithmetic operators will be applied to
the complex numbers 2 +5 and 1 .
Addition
( +) + ( +) = ( +) +( +)
For example (2 +5) + (1 ) = (2 +1) +(5 +(1)) = 3 +4.
Subtraction
( +) ( +) = ( ) +( )
For example (2 +5) (1 ) = (2 1) +(5 (1)) = 1 +6.
Multiplication
( +) ( +) = + + +
2
= ( ) +( +). [Note
2
=-1.]
For example (2 +5) (1 ) = 2 2 +5 5
2
= 2 +3 +5 = 7 + 3.







Division
( +) ( + ) =
( +)
( +)

In order to simplify this, the next step is to make the denominator real and this can be achieved
by multiplying the numerator and the denominator by the complex conjugate of the
denominator:
( +)
( +)
=
( + )( )
( + )( )
=
( +) +( )
(
2
+
2
)
=
( + )
(
2
+
2
)
+
( )
(
2
+
2
)


1
Complex Arithmetic : Video Adding and Subtracting (8 min) : Video Multiplying (4 min) : Video Dividing (7 min)
( + ) ( ) =
2
+
2

2
=
2
+
2
.
Multiplication by complex conjugate
Multiplying a complex number by its complex conjugate gives a real number
equal to the square of its modulus:

For example (2 + 5) (2 5) = 4 10 +10 25
2
= 4 +25 = 29.



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For the example
(2 +5) (1 ) =
(2 +5)
(1 )
=
(2 +5)
(1 )
(1 +)
(1 +)
=
2 +2 +5 +5
2
1 +
2
=
3 +7
2
= 1.5 +3.5.
Spreadsheet
The accompanying spreadsheet carries out complex arithmetic.