MATH1110: Mathematics 1

Complex Numbers(I): Introduction

1 Introduction to Complex Numbers

Consider the equation
z2 − 1 = 0
To find the solution we rearrange and take square roots:

z2 = 1
=⇒ z = ±1

What about
z 2 + 1 = 0?
If we try to do the same thing we are asked to solve

z 2 = −1

This has no real solution!

Indeed, ever since Descartes’ introduction of the Cartesian plane, we could
see the absence of real solutions by plotting f (z) = z 2 + 1:

The function doesn’t cross the horizontal axis - it never equals zero for any
real number input.
Here our story would end, except for a tangled tale of secrecy in the 1500’s
concerning cubic equations. (See Paul J Nahin’s book An Imaginary Tale:

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√
The Story of −1.) The long and the short of it is: Girolamo Cardano and
Rafael Bombelli made a bold move, and said, lets treat
√
z = −1
√
as if it was a number, just other surd like 2, and see what happens.
500 years later, electrical engineers are grateful. (Exercise: find out why.)
In the meantime, we give a formal definition:

Definition 1. Formally, a complex number z is a number of the form

z = a + bi

where a and b are real numbers and i is a special number with the property
that
i2 = −1

√
Note that, by convention, if a is a positive real number then a is that√
positive
√ number that when squared is a. The two square roots of a are a
and − a. We now extend this convention by letting
√ √
−a = i a

(where once √
again a is a√positive real number). Thus the two square roots of
−a will be i a and −i a.

Definition 2. Let z = a + bi be a complex number. Then a is called the

real part of z. We write
Re(z) := a.
The coefficient of i, namely b, is called the imaginary part of z. We write

Im(z) := b.

A number of the form bi (i.e a = 0) is called a purely imaginary

number. The set of all complex numbers is denoted by the symbol C.

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Let
z = 2 + 3i
Then which of the following statements is false?

A The real part of z is 2

B The imaginary part of z is 3

C The imaginary part of z is 3i

D z is a complex number

We add and multiply complex numbers by assuming that they satisfy the
ordinary rules of algebra.
Example (addition): Let z = 2 + 3i and let w = 4 − 5i. Then

z + w = (2 + 3i) + (4 − 5i)
= (2 + 4) + (3 − 5)i
= 6 − 2i

Let z = 1 + 2i and let w = 3 + 4i. What is z + w?

A 3 + 8i

B 5+5i

C 4+6i

D 3+7i

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Note: In electrical circuit theory the symbol i is frequently used to denote

the current and in such cases the symbol j is used in writing complex numbers
instead.

Example (multiplication): Let z = 2 + 3i and let w = 4 − 5i. Then

zw = (2 + 3i)(4 − 5i)
= 8 − 10i + 12i − 15i2
= 8 − 10i + 12i − 15(−1)
= 8 − 10i + 12i + 15
= 23 + 2i

Let z = 1 + 2i and let w = 3 + 4i. What is zw?

A 3 + 8i

B 24i

C 11+10i

D -5+10i

The complex number z = a+bi is completely determined once we know its

real part (i.e.a) and its imaginary part (i.e. b). Thus we could write a complex
number as the ordered pair (a, b) and define the arithmetic operations as

(a, b) + (c, d) = (a + c, b + d),

(a, b) × (c, d) = (ac − bd, ad + bc).

While writing complex numbers this way has little practical value it does
suggest that we may interpret complex numbers geometrically as points in
the plane.

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2 The Complex Plane, the Complex Conju-

gate and the Modulus
The two dimensional plane in which the complex number z = a + bi is
represented by the point with coordinates (a, b) and in which each point
with coordinates (a, b) represents the complex number z = a + bi is called
the complex plane or the Argand plane.
Example 1. Plot the complex numbers 1 + 2i and −2.6 − πi in the Complex
plane.

Example 2. Find all complex solutions to x2 + x + 1

Using the quadratic formula:
√
−1 ± 12 − 4 × 1 × 1
x=
√2×1
−1 ± −3
=
2√
1 3
=− ± i
2 2
Notice that the complex solutions to a quadratic equation (with real co-
efficients) always occur in pairs. These pairs are called complex conjugates.

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Definition 3. Let z = a + bi be a complex number. Then the complex

conjugate of z, denoted by z̄, is defined to be

z̄ = a − bi.

Let z = 3 + 5i. What is its complex conjugate?

A z = −3 − 5i

B z = 5 + 3i

C z = −3 + 5i

D z = 3 − 5i

Example 3. If w = 1 − 2i, find w̄ and w̄¯

w̄ = 1 − 2i = 1 + 2i
w̄¯ = 1 + 2i = 1 − 2i

Also the conjugate of z (i.e. z̄) can be seen to be the reflection of z in

the real axis.

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Definition 4. Let z = a + bi be a complex number. Then the absolute

value, or modulus, of z is defined to be
√
|z| = a2 + b2

Notice that in the Complex plane the modulus of a complex number is

the distance of z from the origin.

Let z = 3 + 4i. What is its modulus?

√ √
A
p
|z| = 32 + (4i)2 = 9 − 16 = −7i

B |z| = 32 + 42 = 9 + 16 = 25

C |z| = |32 + (4i)2 | = 7

√ √ √
D |z| = 32 + 42 = 9 + 16 = 25 = 5

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Example 4. Find |2 + 3i|

√ √
|2 + 3i| = 22 + 32 = 13
Two complex numbers z = a + bi and w = c + di are defined to be equal
(i.e. we write z = w) if, and only if, a = c and b = d. Notice that we cant
order the complex numbers. That is, given two complex numbers z and w
(that arent equal) we cant say whether z < w or w < z. For example is
1 + 2i < 2 + i? (We will come back to this next week.)

3 Regions in the Complex Plane

We can use properties like the modulus of a complex number to specify whole
sets of complex numbers at once.
For instance, what would the set of complex numbers whose modulus is
exactly equal to 2 look like?
Its a circle of radius 2!
Im
3i
2i
i
Re
-3 -2 -1 1 2 3
-i
-2i
-3i

Every point in this set (i.e. every point on the circle) has the property
|z| = 2
We formally specify the set itself with the notation
{z : |z| = 2}.
Extension ideas: There are many variants on this idea. For instance,
think about how you would specify the disc of radius 2, i.e. the circle with
its interior included as might be indicated by colouring in the circle?
Also, how might you move the circle around? (Think about the meaning
of |z − 1| = 2, for instance.)

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4 Addition, Subtraction and Multiplication

with Complex Numbers, seen geometrically
Recall that

Definition 5. Let z = a + bi and w = c + di be complex numbers. Then

Addition: z + w = (a + c) + (b + d)i
Multiplication: z.w = (ac − bd) + (ad + bc)i.

Example 5. Find z + w, w.z, −1.z and 4w when z = 3 + 2i and w = 2 − i

z + w = (3 + 2i) + (2 − i) = (3 + 2) + (2 − 1)i = 5 + i

w.z = (2 − i)(3 + 2i)

= 6 + 4i − 3i − 2i2
=8+i

−1z = −(3 + 2i) = −3 − 2i

4w = 4(2 − i) = 8 − 4i

Example 6. Let z = 1 + 2i and w = 3 + i. Find z + w and 2z and represent

z, w, z + w and 2z geometrically (as line segments from the origin to the
Cartesian Coordinates associated with the complex number).

Algebraically

z + w = 4 + 3i
2z = 2 + 4i

In the following diagram you can see that 2z (i.e. 2 + 4i) is two times the
distance from the origin as z and they are both heading from the origin in the
same direction (the same angle from the positive x-axis). Also going from
the origin to z + w (i.e. 4+3i) is the same as going from the origin to z and
then travelling parallel to w (or travelling along w and then parallel to z)

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If z = 3 + 2i find a complex number w such that z + w = 0

A w = −3 − 2i

B w = −3 + 2i

C w = 3 − 2i

D w = 2 + 3i

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Example 7. Show that the conjugate of w = −1 − 2i is a solution to

x2 + 2x + 5 = 0

Note that w̄ = −1 + 2i. Thus

w̄2 + 2w̄ + 5 = (−1 + 2i)2 + 2(−1 + 2i) + 5

= (1 − 2i − 2i + 4i2 ) − 2 + 4i + 5
= −3 − 4i + 3 + 4i
=0

Example 8. Calculate z.z̄ when z = a + bi

z.z̄ = (a + bi)(a + bi)

= (a + bi)(a − bi)
= a2 − abi + abi − b2 i2
= a2 + b 2 (1)

Notice that z.z̄ = |z|2 .

Example 9. Find a complex number z that satisfies

2iz + 6 = 9i + z

Let z = a + bi. Then

2iz + 6 = 2i(a + bi) + 6 = (−2b + 6) + 2ai

9i + z = 9i + (a + bi) = a + (9 + b)i

Two complex numbers are equal when their real and imaginary parts are
equal. Thus 2iz + 6 = 9i + z when

−2b + 6 = a
2a = 9 + b

24 3 24 3
Solving gives a = , b = and so z = + i
5 5 5 5

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a + (−b)i
Example 10. Let z = a + bi. Show that if w = then zw = 1
a2 + b 2
   
z̄ 1
z.w = z = z.z̄ = 1
a2 + b 2 a2 + b 2
By defining addition and multiplication of complex numbers in this way the
rules of arithmetic that hold for real numbers will also hold for complex
numbers. Thus

Laws of Arithmetic for Complex Numbers

• Addition is commutative i.e. for x, y ∈ C, x+y =y+x

• Addition is associative i.e. for x, y, z ∈ C, (x+y)+z = x+(y +z)

• Addition has an identity ie. for x ∈ C, x+0=x

• Addition has an inverse ie. for x ∈ C, x + (−x) = 0

• Multiplication is commutative i.e. for x, y ∈ C, xy = yx

• Multiplication is associative i.e. for x, y, z ∈ C, (xy)z = x(yz)

• Multiplication has an identity ie. for x ∈ C, x×1=x

1
• Multiplication has an inverse ie. for x ∈ C, x 6= 0, x × =1
x
• Multiplication is distributive over addition, i.e. for x, y, z ∈ C,
x(y + z) = xy + xz

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Subtraction:
As with real numbers subtraction can be defined as addition of the
(additive) inverse. Thus if z = a + bi and w = c + di then

z − w = z + (−w)
= (a − c) + (b − d)i

Find z − 2w when z = 3 + 2i and w = 2 − i

A z − 2w = 1 + 3i

B z − 2w = 5 + i

C z − 2w = −1 + 4i

D z − 2w = −1

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5 Some Properties of the Modulus and the

Conjugate
When dealing with complex numbers there are some general properties of
the modulus and the conjugate that prove to be useful.

Theorem 1. Properties of the Modulus and the Conjugate

Let z and w be complex numbers. Then:

• |zw| = |z||w|
z |z|
•  =
 
w |w|
• |z + w| ≤ |z| + |w|

• |z − w| ≥ |z| − |w|

• z + w = z̄ + w̄

• z − w = z̄ − w̄

• zw = z̄.w̄
z z̄
• =
w w̄

 z 
Example 11. Find   when z = 2 + 3i and w = −1 + 2i
 
2w
√
 z  |z| 1 |z| 1 |2 + 3i| 1 13
 = = = = √
 
2w |2w| 2 |w| 2 | − 1 + 2i| 2 5
Example 12. Show that z + w = z̄ + w̄.

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

z + w = (a + c) + (b + d)i = (a + c) + (b + d)i
z̄ + w̄ = (a + bi) + (c + di) = (a + c) + (b + d)i

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Let z = 3 + 4i and let w = 6 − 8i. Find

z
 
w
 

A 1/2

√
2500
B 100
 
 −14 48
C

 100 + 100 i
 

D All of the above.

You should be able to:

• Use the terminology associated with complex numbers

• Perform arithmetic with complex numbers

• Verify and use the properties of the conjugate and modulus

√
Task 1. Let z1 = 1 − i, z2 = −2 + 4i and z3 = 3 − 2i. Evaluate the
following:
 
 z1 + z2 + 1 
1. 
 
z1 − z2 + i 
2. Re(2z13 + 3z23 − 5z33 )

3. (z2 + z3 )(z1 − z3 )

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 MATH1110: Mathematics 1

Task 2. For each of the following statements either prove it is true or find a
counter example:

1. z1 .z2 = z¯1 × z¯2

2. Im(z1 z2 ) = Im(z1 )Im(z2 )

Task 3. Find all complex solutions to

1. z 2 + iz + 6 = 0

2. z̄ = iz

3. (1 + i)z + 2w = 3 + 3i and
z − (1 − i)w = −3 + 2i

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