COMPLEX NUMBERS

Im
2+3i
_4+2i
i
0
_i
_2-2i

Re

3-2i

FIGURE 1

Complex numbers as points in

the Argand plane

A complex number can be represented by an expression of the form a
bi, where a and
b are real numbers and i is a symbol with the property that i 2
1. The complex number a
bi can also be represented by the ordered pair
a, b and plotted as a point in a
plane (called the Argand plane) as in Figure 1. Thus, the complex number i
0
1
i is
identified with the point
0, 1.
The real part of the complex number a
bi is the real number a and the imaginary
part is the real number b. Thus, the real part of 4  3i is 4 and the imaginary part is 3.
Two complex numbers a
bi and c
di are equal if a
c and b
d, that is, their real
parts are equal and their imaginary parts are equal. In the Argand plane the horizontal axis
is called the real axis and the vertical axis is called the imaginary axis.
The sum and difference of two complex numbers are defined by adding or subtracting
their real parts and their imaginary parts:

a
bi

c
di

a
c

b
di

a
bi 
c
di

a  c

b  di
For instance,

1  i

4
7i

1
4

1
7i
5
6i
The product of complex numbers is defined so that the usual commutative and distributive
laws hold:

a
bi
c
di
a
c
di

bi
c
di

ac
adi
bci
bdi 2
Since i 2
1, this becomes

a
bi
c
di

ac  bd

ad
bci
EXAMPLE 1

1
3i
2  5i

1
2  5i
3i
2  5i

2
5i
6i  15
1
13
11i
Division of complex numbers is much like rationalizing the denominator of a rational
expression. For the complex number z
a
bi, we define its complex conjugate to be
z
a  bi. To find the quotient of two complex numbers we multiply numerator and
denominator by the complex conjugate of the denominator.
EXAMPLE 2 Express the number

1
3i
in the form a
bi.
2
5i

SOLUTION We multiply numerator and denominator by the complex conjugate of 2
5i,

namely 2  5i, and we take advantage of the result of Example 1:

Im

1
3i
1
3i 2  5i
13
11i
13
11





2


i
2

2
5i
2
5i
2  5i
2
5
29
29
z=a+bi

i
0

Re

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_i

The geometric interpretation of the complex conjugate is shown in Figure 2: z is the

reflection of z in the real axis. We list some of the properties of the complex conjugate in
the following box. The proofs follow from the definition and are requested in Exercise 18.
Properties of Conjugates

z=a-bi

z
w
z
w

zw
z w

zn
zn

FIGURE 2
1

2 COMPLEX NUMBERS

 

The modulus, or absolute value, z of a complex number z
a
bi is its distance

from the origin. From Figure 3 we see that if z
a
bi, then

Im

@ z=a+bi
b

+
@
a

bi

=
|z|

 z 
sa

Re

b2

Notice that
zz

a
bi
a  bi
a 2
abi  abi  b 2i 2
a 2
b 2

FIGURE 3

 

zz
z

and so

This explains why the division procedure in Example 2 works in general:

z
w

zw
ww

zw

w

Since i 2
1, we can think of i as a square root of 1. But notice that we also have

i2
i 2
1 and so i is also a square root of 1. We say that i is the principal
square root of 1 and write s1
i. In general, if c is any positive number, we write
sc
sc i
With this convention, the usual derivation and formula for the roots of the quadratic equation ax 2
bx
c
0 are valid even when b 2  4ac  0:
x

b  sb 2  4ac
2a

EXAMPLE 3 Find the roots of the equation x 2
x
1
0.

SOLUTION Using the quadratic formula, we have

x

1  s1 2  4
1
1  s3
1  s3 i




2
2
2

We observe that the solutions of the equation in Example 3 are complex conjugates of
each other. In general, the solutions of any quadratic equation ax 2
bx
c
0 with real
coefficients a, b, and c are always complex conjugates. (If z is real, z
z, so z is its own
conjugate.)
We have seen that if we allow complex numbers as solutions, then every quadratic equation has a solution. More generally, it is true that every polynomial equation
a n x n
a n1 x n1
  
a 1 x
a 0
0
of degree at least one has a solution among the complex numbers. This fact is known as
the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra and was proved by Gauss.
POLAR FORM

We know that any complex number z
a
bi can be considered as a point
a, b and that
any such point can be represented by polar coordinates
r,   with r  0. In fact,

Im

a+bi
r

a
r cos 

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b
r sin 

FIGURE 4

Re

as in Figure 4. Therefore, we have

z
a
bi

r cos  

r sin  i

COMPLEX NUMBERS 3

Thus, we can write any complex number z in the form

z
r
cos 
i sin  

 

r
z
sa 2
b 2

where

tan 

and

b
a

The angle  is called the argument of z and we write 
arg
z. Note that arg
z is not
unique; any two arguments of z differ by an integer multiple of 2.
EXAMPLE 4 Write the following numbers in polar form.

(a) z
1
i
SOLUTION

(b) w
s3  i

 

(a) We have r
z
s12
12
s2 and tan 
1, so we can take 


4.
Therefore, the polar form is
Im

1+i

z
s2

cos




i sin
4
4

 

(b) Here we have r
w
s3
1
2 and tan 
1

s3 . Since w lies in the
fourth quadrant, we take 

6 and

Re

    

w
2 cos 

3-i


6

i sin 


6

The numbers z and w are shown in Figure 5.

FIGURE 5

The polar form of complex numbers gives insight into multiplication and division. Let
z1
r1
cos 1
i sin 1 

z2
r2
cos  2
i sin  2 

be two complex numbers written in polar form. Then

Im

z1 z2
r1r2
cos 1
i sin 1 
cos  2
i sin  2 

r1r2 
cos 1 cos  2  sin 1 sin  2 
i
sin 1 cos  2
cos 1 sin  2 

Therefore, using the addition formulas for cosine and sine, we have

Re

z1z2
r1r2 cos
1
 2 
i sin
1
 2 

zz

This formula says that to multiply two complex numbers we multiply the moduli and add
the arguments. (See Figure 6.)
A similar argument using the subtraction formulas for sine and cosine shows that to
divide two complex numbers we divide the moduli and subtract the arguments.

FIGURE 6

Im

z1
r1


cos
1   2 
i sin
1   2 
z2
r2

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_
1
r

Re

In particular, taking z1
1 and z2
z, (and therefore 1
0 and  2
 ), we have the following, which is illustrated in Figure 7.

1
z

If
FIGURE 7

z2  0

z
r
cos 
i sin  ,

then

1
1


cos   i sin  .
z
r

4 COMPLEX NUMBERS

EXAMPLE 5 Find the product of the complex numbers 1
i and s3  i in polar form.
SOLUTION From Example 4 we have


  




i sin
4
4

1
i
s2 cos
s3  i
2 cos 

and

Im

z=1+i

zw

22

So, by Equation 1,

12

 


1
i(s3  i)
2s2 cos

Re

2s2 cos

w=
3-i
FIGURE 8


6

 

i sin 




4
6


6

 


i sin




4
6




i sin
12
12

This is illustrated in Figure 8.

Repeated use of Formula 1 shows how to compute powers of a complex number. If
z
r
cos 
i sin  
then

z 2
r 2
cos 2
i sin 2 

and

z 3
zz 2
r 3
cos 3
i sin 3 

In general, we obtain the following result, which is named after the French mathematician
Abraham De Moivre (16671754).
2

De Moivres Theorem If z
r
cos 
i sin   and n is a positive integer, then

z n
r
cos 
i sin   n
r n
cos n
i sin n 

This says that to take the nth power of a complex number we take the nth power of the
modulus and multiply the argument by n.
EXAMPLE 6 Find
SOLUTION Since

1
2

( 12
12 i)10.

12 i
12
1
i, it follows from Example 4(a) that 12
12 i has the polar

form
1
1
s2

i

2
2
2

cos




i sin
4
4

So by De Moivres Theorem,

  


1
1

i
2
2

10

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25
2 10

10

s2
2

cos

cos

10
10

i sin
4
4

5
5

i sin
2
2

1
i
32

De Moivres Theorem can also be used to find the n th roots of complex numbers. An n
th root of the complex number z is a complex number w such that
wn
z

COMPLEX NUMBERS 5

Writing these two numbers in trigonometric form as

w
s
cos
i sin 

and

z
r
cos 
i sin  

and using De Moivres Theorem, we get

s n
cos n
i sin n 
r
cos 
i sin  
The equality of these two complex numbers shows that
sn
r
and

cos n
cos 

s
r 1
n

or

sin n
sin 

and

From the fact that sine and cosine have period 2 it follows that
n

2k

Thus

 

w
r 1
n cos


2k
n

 


2k
n

or


2k
n

i sin

Since this expression gives a different value of w for k
0, 1, 2, . . . , n  1, we have the

following.
3 Roots of a Complex Number Let z
r
cos 
i sin   and let n be a positive integer. Then z has the n distinct n th roots

 

wk
r 1
n cos


2k
n

 

i sin


2k
n

where k
0, 1, 2, . . . , n  1.

 

Notice that each of the nth roots of z has modulus wk
r 1

n. Thus, all the nth roots
of z lie on the circle of radius r 1
n in the complex plane. Also, since the argument of each
successive nth root exceeds the argument of the previous root by 2
n , we see that the n
th roots of z are equally spaced on this circle.
EXAMPLE 7 Find the six sixth roots of z
8 and graph these roots in the complex

plane.
SOLUTION In trigonometric form, z
8
cos 
i sin  . Applying Equation 3 with n
6,

we get

wk
8 1
6 cos


2k

2k

i sin
6
6

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We get the six sixth roots of 8 by taking k
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 in this formula:





 

 

w0
8 1
6 cos




i sin
6
6

w1
8 1
6 cos




i sin
2
2

w2
8 1
6 cos

5
5

i sin
6
6

s2

1
s3

i
2
2

s2 i

s2 

1
s3

i
2
2

6 COMPLEX NUMBERS





Im
2 i w
w

2
_

w
0

w
_2 i

7
7

i sin
6
6

w4
8 1
6 cos

3
3

i sin
2
2

w5
8 1
6 cos

11
11

i sin
6
6

2 Re

w
w

 

 

w3
8 1
6 cos

s2 

1
s3
 i
2
2

s2 i

s2

1
s3
 i
2
2

All these points lie on the circle of radius s2 as shown in Figure 9.

FIGURE 9

The six sixth roots of z=_8

COMPLEX EXPONENTIALS

We also need to give a meaning to the expression e z when z
x
iy is a complex number. The theory of infinite series as developed in Chapter 8 can be extended to the case
2 as our guide,
where the terms are complex numbers. Using the Taylor series for e x (8.7.12)
we define
ez

n
0

zn
z2
z3

1
z





n!
2!
3!

and it turns out that this complex exponential function has the same properties as the real
exponential function. In particular, it is true that
e z
z
e z e z

If we put z
iy, where y is a real number, in Equation 4, and use the facts that
i 2
1,

i 3
i 2i
i,

i 4
1, i 5
i, . . .

we get
e iy
1
iy


1
iy 

1

iy2

iy3

iy4

iy5








2!
3!
4!
5!
y2
y3
y4
y5
i



i


2!
3!
4!
5!

 

y2
y4
y6
y3
y5





i y 


 
2!
4!
6!
3!
5!

cos y
i sin y
Here we have used the Taylor series for cos y and sin y (Equations 8.7.17 and 8.7.16).
The result is a famous formula called Eulers formula:

e iy
cos y
i sin y

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Combining Eulers formula with Equation 5, we get

7

e x
iy
e xe iy
e x
cos y
i sin y

COMPLEX NUMBERS 7

(a) e i

EXAMPLE 8 Evaluate:

(b) e1
i
2

SOLUTION

We could write the result of Example 8(a)

as

(a) From Eulers equation (6) we have

e i
1
0

e i
cos 
i sin 
1
i
0
1

This equation relates the five most famous

numbers in all of mathematics: 0, 1, e, i, and .

(b) Using Equation 7 we get




i sin
2
2

e1
i
2
e1 cos

1
i
0
i
1

e
e

Finally, we note that Eulers equation provides us with an easier method of proving
De Moivres Theorem:
r
cos 
i sin   n

re i n
r ne in
r n
cos n
i sin n 

EXERCISES
A Click here for answers.

2528

Click here for solutions.

3.
2
5i 
4  i

4.
1  2i 
8  3i 

5. 12
7i

6. 2i ( 12  i )

1
4i
7.
3
2i

3
2i
8.
1  4i

9.

27. 3
4i

2. (4  2 i)  (9
2 i)
1

1
1
i

11. i 3

12. i 100

13. s25

14. s3 s12

1517

32. z
4(s3
i ),

w
3  3i

21. x
2x
5
0

22. 2x  2x
1
0

23. z
z
2
0

24. z
z

0

1
2

Find the indicated roots. Sketch the roots in the complex

38. The fifth roots of 32

40. The cube roots of 1
i

43. e i
3

44. e i

45. e 2
i

46. e 
i

Write the number in the form a
bi.

42. e 2 i

47. Use De Moivres Theorem with n
3 to express cos 3 and

1
4

36.
1  i 8

i
2

41. e

20. x
1

4146

19. 4x
9
0

34. (1  s3 i )

33.
1
i 20

Find the indicated power using De Moivres Theorem.

39. The cube roots of i

Find all solutions of the equation.

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(c) z
z , where n is a positive integer

[Hint: Write z
a
bi, w
c
di.]
2

plane.

37. The eighth roots of 1

w
1
s3 i

w
1
i

3740

16. 1
2 s2 i

18. Prove the following properties of complex numbers.

(a) z
w
z
w
(b) zw
z w

31. z
2 s3  2i,

17. 4i

1924

w
8i

35. (2 s3
2i )

number.

30. z
4 s3  4i,

3336

Find the complex conjugate and the modulus of the

15. 12  5i

29. z
s3
i,

28. 8i

2932
Find polar forms for z w, z
w, and 1
z by first putting z
and w into polar form.

3
4  3i

10.

26. 1  s3 i

25. 3
3i

114
Evaluate the expression and write your answer in the
form a
bi.
1.
5  6i 

3
2i 

Write the number in polar form with argument between 0

and 2.

sin 3 in terms of cos  and sin .

8 COMPLEX NUMBERS

48. Use Eulers formula to prove the following formulas for cos x

and sin x :
cos x

e ix
eix
2

sin x

e ix  eix
2i

49. If u
x
f
x
it
x is a complex-valued function of a real

Thomson Brooks-Cole copyright 2007

variable x and the real and imaginary parts f
x and t
x are
differentiable functions of x, then the derivative of u is defined
to be u
x
f 
x
it
x. Use this together with Equation 7
to prove that if F
x
e rx, then F
x
re rx when r
a
bi
is a complex number.

50. (a) If u is a complex-valued function of a real variable, its

indefinite integral x u
x dx is an antiderivative of u.

Evaluate

ye

1
i x

dx

(b) By considering the real and imaginary parts of the integral

in part (a), evaluate the real integrals

ye

cos x dx

and

ye

sin x dx

(c) Compare with the method used in Example 4 in Section 6.1.

COMPLEX NUMBERS 9

ANSWERS
S

1. 8  4i
1
2

(2 s2 )cos
13
12
i sin
13
12, 14 cos

6
i sin

6

7.

 12 i

11
13

10
13

11. i

37. 1, i, (1

s2 )
1  i 

i
13. 5i

15. 12
5i; 13

23.  2  (s7
2)i

21. 1  2i

39. (s3
2)
2 i, i
1

Im

Im
i

19.  2 i

17. 4i, 4

35. 512 s3
512i

33. 1024

3. 13
18i

5. 12  7i
9.

31. 4 s2 cos
7
12
i sin
7
12,

Click here for solutions.

Re

25. 3 s2 cos
3
4
i sin
3
4

27. 5{cos tan

1 4
3

29. 4cos

2
i sin

2, cos

6
i sin

6,

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1
2

_i

( )]
i sin[tan ( )]}

1 4
3

cos

6
i sin

6

Re

41. i

43.

1
2

(s3
2) i

45. e 2

47. cos 3
cos3  3 cos  sin2, sin 3
3 cos2 sin   sin3

10 COMPLEX NUMBERS

SOLUTIONS

1. (5 6i) + (3 + 2i) = (5 + 3) + (6 + 2)i = 8 + (4)i = 8 4i

3. (2 + 5i)(4 i) = 2(4) + 2(i) + (5i)(4) + (5i)(i) = 8 2i + 20i 5i2

= 8 + 18i 5(1) = 8 + 18i + 5 = 13 + 18i

5. 12 + 7i = 12 7i

1 + 4i 3 2i
3 2i + 12i 8(1)
11
10
11 + 10i
1 + 4i
=

=
=
+ i
=
3 + 2i
3 + 2i 3 2i
32 + 22
13
13
13
1
1i
1i
1i
1
1
1
=

=
=
= i
9.
1+i
1+i 1i
1 (1)
2
2
2
7.

11. i3 = i2 i = (1)i = i

13. 25 = 25 i = 5i

122 + (5)2 = 144 + 25 = 169 = 13

t

17. 4i = 0 4i = 0 + 4i = 4i and |4i| = 02 + (4)2 = 16 = 4

t
t
19. 4x2 + 9 = 0 4x2 = 9 x2 = 94 x = 94 = 94 i = 32 i.

Thomson Brooks-Cole copyright 2007

15. 12 5i = 12 + 15i and |12 15i| =

21. By the quadratic formula, x2 + 2x + 5 = 0

s

2 22 4(1)(5)
2 16
2 4i
x=
=
=
= 1 2i.
2(1)
2
2
s

1 12 4(1)(2)
1 7
1
7
2
23. By the quadratic formula, z + z + 2 = 0 z =
=
=
i.
2(1)
2
2
2
s

3
25. For z = 3 + 3i, r = (3)2 + 32 = 3 2 and tan = 3
= 1 = 3
4 (since z lies in the second


3
3
quadrant). Therefore, 3 + 3i = 3 2 cos 4 + i sin 4 .

 
27. For z = 3 + 4i, r = 32 + 42 = 5 and tan = 43 = tan1 43 (since z lies in the first quadrant).



 
Therefore, 3 + 4i = 5 cos tan1 43 + i sin tan1 43 .
t 



2
29. For z = 3 + i, r =
3 + 12 = 2 and tan = 13 = 6 z = 2 cos 6 + i sin 6 .



For w = 1 + 3 i, r = 2 and tan = 3 = 3 w = 2 cos 3 + i sin 3 . Therefore,
 





zw = 2 2 cos 6 + 3 + i sin 6 + 3 = 4 cos 2 + i sin 2 ,
 







z/w = 22 cos 6 3 + i sin 6 3 = cos 6 + i sin 6 , and 1 = 1 + 0i = 1(cos 0 + i sin 0)










1/z = 12 cos 0 6 + i sin 0 6 = 12 cos 6 + i sin 6 . For 1/z, we could also use the formula that


precedes Example 5 to obtain 1/z = 12 cos 6 i sin 6 .
t 

2
= 1
2 3 + (2)2 = 4 and tan = 22
31. For z = 2 3 2i, r =
3
3




 
= 6 z = 4 cos 6 + i sin 6 . For w = 1 + i, r = 2,


1
3
tan = 1
. Therefore,
= 1 = 3
w = 2 cos 3
4
4 + i sin 4
 





3
3
7
zw = 4 2 cos 6 + 4 + i sin 6 + 4
= 4 2 cos 12 + i sin 7
,
12
 



  11 
 11 
4
3
3
4
z/w = 2 cos 6 4 + i sin 6 4
= 2 cos 12 + i sin 12


13
13
= 2 2 cos 12 + i sin 12 , and
 





1/z = 14 cos 6 i sin 6 = 14 cos 6 + i sin 6 .



33. For z = 1 + i, r = 2 and tan = 11 = 1 = 4 z = 2 cos 4 + i sin 4 . So by
De Moivres Theorem,
k 
l20  1/2 20 

cos 204 + i sin 204
2 cos 4 + i sin 4
= 2
(1 + i)20 =
= 210 (cos 5 + i sin 5) = 210 [1 + i(0)] = 210 = 1024

COMPLEX NUMBERS 11

t 

2
2
2 3 + 22 = 16 = 4 and tan = 2
35. For z = 2 3 + 2i, r =
= 13 = 6
3


z = 4 cos 6 + i sin 6 . So by De Moivres Theorem,

k
5  
l

5


2 3 + 2i = 4 cos 6 + i sin 6
= 1024 23 + 12 i = 512 3 + 512i
= 45 cos 5
+ i sin 5
6
6

37. 1 = 1 + 0i = 1 (cos 0 + i sin 0). Using Equation 3 with r = 1, n = 8, and = 0, we have

 



k
k
0 + 2k
0 + 2k
1/8
cos
wk = 1
+ i sin
= cos
+ i sin
, where k = 0, 1, 2, . . . , 7.
8
8
4
4


w0 = 1(cos 0 + i sin 0) = 1, w1 = 1 cos 4 + i sin 4 = 12 + 12 i,




= 12 + 12 i,
w2 = 1 cos 2 + i sin 2 = i, w3 = 1 cos 3
+ i sin 3
4
4


5
w4 = 1(cos + i sin ) = 1, w5 = 1 cos 5
= 12 12 i,
4 + i sin 4




= i, w7 = 1 cos 7
= 12 12 i
w6 = 1 cos 3
+ i sin 3
+ i sin 7
2
2
4
4


39. i = 0 + i = 1 cos 2 + i sin 2 . Using Equation 3 with r = 1, n = 3, and =
 



+ 2k
+ 2k
wk = 11/3 cos 2
+ i sin 2
, where k = 0, 1, 2.
3
3


w0 = cos 6 + i sin 6 = 23 + 12 i



5
= 23 + 12 i
w1 = cos 5
6 + i sin 6


9
= i
w2 = cos 9
6 + i sin 6
41. Using Eulers formula (6) with y =

,
2

we have

,
2

we have ei/2 = cos 2 + i sin 2 = 0 + 1i = i.

3
43. Using Eulers formula (6) with y = , we have ei/3 = cos + i sin = +
i.
3
3
3
2
2
45. Using Equation 7 with x = 2 and y = , we have e2+i = e2 ei = e2 (cos + i sin ) = e2 (1 + 0) = e2 .

47. Take r = 1 and n = 3 in De Moivres Theorem to get

[1(cos + i sin )]3 = 13 (cos 3 + i sin 3)

(cos + i sin )3 = cos 3 + i sin 3


cos3 + 3 cos2 (i sin ) + 3(cos )(i sin )2 + (i sin )3 = cos 3 + i sin 3




cos3 + 3 cos2 sin i 3 cos sin2 sin3 i = cos 3 + i sin 3
 3
 

cos 3 sin2 cos + 3 sin cos2 sin3 i = cos 3 + i sin 3

Equating real and imaginary parts gives cos 3 = cos3 3 sin2 cos

and sin 3 = 3 sin cos2 sin3

49. F (x) = erx = e(a+bi)x = eax+bxi = eax (cos bx + i sin bx) = eax cos bx + i(eax sin bx)
F 0 (x) = (eax cos bx)0 + i(eax sin bx)0

= (aeax cos bx beax sin bx) + i(aeax sin bx + beax cos bx)
= a [eax (cos bx + i sin bx)] + b [eax ( sin bx + i cos bx)]
 

= aerx + b eax i2 sin bx + i cos bx

Thomson Brooks-Cole copyright 2007

= aerx + bi [eax (cos bx + i sin bx)] = aerx + bierx = (a + bi)erx = rerx